[The Registry of the Activities of the Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology Section in 1998].

The results of the Spanish Registry of Hemodynamic and Interventional Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology in 1998 are hereby presented. The Registry collects the activity of 82 centers, which constitutes all the cardiac catheterization laboratories in Spain. The main activity was adult cardiac catheterization in 75 centers, and exclusively pediatric cardiac catheterization in 7. A total of 74,364 diagnostic catheterization procedures, 80% coronary angiographies (59,321; 1,498 per million inhabitants), were performed, which represents a 2.8% total increase compared to 1997. Coronary intervention increased by 8.6% compared to 1997, for a total number of 20,146 procedures. The ratio of coronary interventions per million inhabitants was 509. Success rates of coronary interventions (94%) and complications (2.3%) are similar to those registered in previous years, and in 9.7% of the cases, IIb-IIIa glicoprotein inhibitors were used. A 8.6% of the procedures were performed in order to treat an acute myocardial infarction. Coronary stenting is, continues to be the main device for coronary intervention. In 1998, coronary stents were employed in 14,497 cases (a 27% increase compared to 1997) which represents the 72% of all coronary revascularizations procedures. A total of 19,378 prosthesis were implanted, 83% in a elective way and 12.9% primary stenting, with a low rate of complications (1.5% subacute closure, 1.5% myocardial infarction and 0.94% mortality). Compared to 1997, directional coronary atherectomy (83 procedures) showed a slight decrease, whereas rotational atherectomy (549 procedures) has stabilized the number of procedures and centers performing this technique. As in previous years, a slight decrease (9% compared to 1997) in adult valvuloplasties (505 vs 559) were noted. Pediatric interventional procedures increased by 20% (557 vs 465 procedures) compared to the 1997 Registry.