[Transluminal coronary angioplasty: immediate and short-term results. Apropos of 302 dilated vessels].

This study reports the experience of the Cardiac Hospital of Lille up to the 1st October 1984. Two hundred and sixty-nine patients with a mean age of 51 years underwent transluminal coronary angioplasty for one or more stenotic lesions. Three hundred and two vessels were dilated. The left anterior descending artery was dilated in 72.5% of cases, the right coronary in 17.6% and the left circumflex in 8.6% of cases. The immediate results may be summarised as follows: it was possible to cross the stenosis to be treated in 91.4% of cases; the primary success rate (a gain of more than 20% without complications) was 83%. The narrowing was significantly decreased from 72 +/- 7% to 25 +/- 17%, the average gain in lumen size was 53 +/- 16%. The emergency coronary artery bypass surgery rate was 4.3%, and 3.6% of all the patients developed myocardial infarction. Sixty four per cent of patients had negative maximal exercise stress tests on discharge from hospital. The patients who had positive tests had improved exercise tolerance compared to the stress test performed before angioplasty. Angiographic control at 6 months was performed in about half the patients and showed coronary stenosis in 27%. Sixty eight per cent of the patients were totally asymptomatic.