Coronary angioplasty – terminology

Coronary angioplasty – terminology

Short explanations of various terms used in coronary angioplasty.

Causes of acute vessel closure after balloon angioplasty
Dissection, recoil, thrombosis and spasm are the common causes of acute vessel closure after balloon angioplasty.
Components of a drug eluting stent
Drug eluting stents have stent struts, polymer used to anchor the drug and the drug itself. Polymer coating of the drug eluting stent reduces the expandability of the DES.
Binary restenosis after percutaneous intervention
Binary restenosis is 50% or more of luminal narrowing at repeat angiogram.
Late loss of lumen
Minimal luminal diameter at the end of the procedure minus the minimal luminal diameter at the repeat angiogram, generally at 6 months.
Instent restenosis
Instent restenosis is often asymptomatic. One third of cases of in stent restenosis can present with acute coronary syndrome and was quoted as an indication for routine coronary angiography at 3 to 6 months after unprotected left main stenting.
Geographical miss
Geographical miss is failure to cover whole of the diseased segment during stenting.
Black hole seen on IVUS in coronary restenosis
Black holes are sonolucent areas within areas of restenosis by intravascular ultrasound. Regions near the IVUS catheter and towards the adventitia are more echogenic while the area in between is sonolucent and are called black holes.