Catheter-based myocardial revascularization-where are the current limits?
- Klinika kardiologie, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny, Praha, Česká republika
The aim of the paper is to draw attention to new options in catheter-based management of coronary heart disease. The advent of new technology and products expands the "conventional" indications for PCI to include more complex lesions. Management of left coronary artery lesions, bifurcation lesions, chronic coronary artery occlusion (formerly preferred indications for surgical myocardial revascularization) is gradually becoming routine procedures in interventional cardiology. The availability of drug-eluting stents will increase the number of patients with multi-vessel coronary lesions indicated for PCI. Acute coronary syndromes are the domain of interventional cardiology and the philosophy of routine invasive approach results in early management of most lesions by PCI. Major changes are to be expected in indicating patients for cardiac surgical procedures whose numbers are likely to decrease with a shift toward more complex and higher-risk patients.
Keywords: Percutaneous coronary interventions; Coronary artery bypass grafting; Drug-eluting stents
Published: March 1, 2005 Show citation