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Reoccurrence of ischemic events several months after a percutaneous transcutaneous coronary angioplasty is usually due to a restenosis. Coronary angiography rarely shows a new stenosis on another site or on the left main coronary artery. In this series, we report 5 cases of left main coronary artery stenosis which have occurred from 3 to 12 months after a prior percutaneous angioplasty. This phenomenon which has previously been described after direct cannulation of the coronaries ostia during aortic valve replacement in the 70'. This complication is related to intimal damage caused by traumatic manipulation of the left main, which can be either already minimally altered or normal. This complication is rare after percutaneous transcutaneous coronary angioplasty (0.2-1.7%) according to various series. We compare our cases to the published cases in the literature.

The frequency of early occlusion of coronary stents has fallen with the use of a powerful association of platelet antiaggregants (ticlopidine and aspirin) in the first month. The authors report the case of coronary stent occlusion after a negative exercise stress test, 11 days after implantation in a centre of cardiac rehabilitation. According to the literature, this type of complication would appear to be rare and related to the small size of the stent and the conditions of implantation (acute phase). It would be useful to compile a registry of complications related to coronary angioplasty during rehabilitation to determine their prevalence and, if necessary, change the protocols of physical training of these patients.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: Several criteria are used for coronary stent design: biocompatibility, i.e. the capacity to resist thrombotic events and corrosion, flexibility, radial force sufficient to resist elastic recoil, percentage of the lesion covered, radio-opacity, minimal shortening at opening, absence of effect on collateral branches, possibility to use small calibre probe guides, and cost. TWO CATEGORIES: Both tubular stents (self-expanding stents and balloon stents) and filamentary stents (made of stainless steel or tantalum) are used, THE IDEAL STENT: There is no one ideal stent. Choice is dictated by the characteristics of the lesion and by the status of the artery to treat.

RATIONALE FOR ANTITHROMBOSIS THERAPY: Introducing a foreign body into the coronaries raises the risk of thrombosis in the acute phase and for the 4 following weeks. The objective of antithrombotic therapy is to inhibit platelet adhesion and aggregation or to induce hypocoagulability. AT IMPLANTATION: High-dose heparin is given in a bolus following pretreatment with aspirin. ASPIRIN-TICLOPIDINE COMBINATION: The risk of subacute thrombosis is low, about 1%, and the rate of vascular complications is minimal. Treatment is simple and compatible with short hospitalization.

BETTER THAN ANGIOPLASTY: Prolonging inflation with a perfusion balloon decreases the risk of acute coronary occlusion after angioplasty. The longer the artery remains patent, the greater the chances of 0% residual stenosis. This is what the sent allows. Stent act on both mechanisms of stenosis: elastic recoil and fibrous remodeling of the arterial plaque. TARGETTED ACTION: Stents improve angioplasty prevention of acute stenosis. They have a real action on preventing degeneration of the saphenous graft and lead to a significant reduction in the rate of restenosis of the dilated site. There are however two specific complications: subacute occlusion and greater incidence of vascular events. Stents are particularly indicated for the treatment of restenosis and chronic occlusions. TWO IMPROVEMENTS: Risks related to the implantation of a foreign body in the vascular system have been reduced with the use of ticlopidine and high-pressure stent implantation. POSITIVE RESULTS: Stents have produced better angiographic results. They limit restenosis and the number of revascularizations required in treated patients. Several questions concerning indications remain open.

Fabry's disease is a hereditary sex-linked sphinglopidosis characterised by abnormal cellular lipid overload in most organs due to deficiencies in enzymes implicated in the catabolism of certain neutral glycolipids. There are two main clinical forms; cardiovascular manifestations usually congestive cardiac failure, and renal manifestations progressing to renal failure and death due to uraemic coma. The authors report a case presenting with juvenile, symptomatic complete infrahisian atrioventricular block. They describe the different cardiovascular complications of Fabry's disease from a review of the medical literature.

The authors report the case of a patient undergoing coronary angiography for angina who had an anomalous origin of the septal perforator artery from a separate ostium. Anomalies of the coronary arteries may consist not only of anomalous trajectories and coronary fistulae but also of anomalous origins of the main coronary arteries. The anomalous origin of a septal artery from a separate ostium is very rare accounting for 0.5% of cases in the medical literature. In some cases, this artery provides a collateral circulation for occluded main coronary vessels, thereby preserving left ventricular contractility.

Ruptured mitral chordae tendinae is a classical complication of myxomatous mitral valves or Barlow's syndrome. This complication is controversial in non-myxomatous mitral valve. Of 91 consecutive patients with mitral valve prolapse examined over an 18 months period by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, 42 (18 women and 24 men) with an average age of 76 +/- 8 years (60-93 years) had ruptured mitral chordae tendinae. The thickness of the anterior mitral leaflet measured at the distal third of the valve by transesophageal echocardiography enabled the identification of two groups of patients; group I: > 3 mm (24 patients), average 4.8 +/- 0.8 mm and group II: < or = 3 mm (18 patients), average 2.6 +/- 0.3 mm. The diameter of the mitral ring and left atrium, the length of the anterior mitral leaflet, the left ventricular end diastolic dimensions and fractional shortening, were measured by transthoracic 2D echocardiography (mitral ring) and M mode (other parameters). Ruptured chordae were detected in only 13 cases (31%) by transthoracic echocardiography; 38% were asymptomatic and a chance finding at transesophageal echocardiography. No significant difference was observed between the two groups with respect to age, gender presence of hypertension, dimensions of the cardiac chambers, fractional shortening or localisation of the prolapse related to the ruptured chordae. Fifty-eight per cent of patients in group I were in NYHA functional classes 3-4 as compared to 16% in group II (p < 0.02). The size of the left atrium was significantly greater in group I, 51 +/- 8 mm vs 38 +/- 7 mm (p < 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)