Significance of balloon imprint during coronary angioplasty

Balloon imprint during angioplasty is often seen, but not at all inflations. We prospectively studied 235 consecutive patients undergoing 282 PTCAs during a 4-month period, who were divided into two groups: those with balloon imprint during inflation (159 patients, 190 lesions; 67%) and those without (76 patients, 92 lesions; 33%). Clinical and lesion characteristics and immediate outcome were compared. Patients undergoing urgent PTCA had less balloon imprint than those undergoing nonurgent PTCA (14.2% vs. 28.3%; P < 0.005). Although not reaching statistical significance, younger patients and diabetic patients tended toward less balloon imprint (P < 0.06). Patients with observed imprint had less visible thrombus at lesion site (31.1% vs. 42.4%; P < 0.05), and a tendency without statistical significance toward more dissections but less acute closure was observed (P < 0.07). In addition, more stents were implanted in the imprint group (79.5% vs. 66.3%; P < 0.02). Patients needing pressure > 6 atm to break the imprint had more eccentric lesions (68% vs. 27.1%; P < 0.000) and more dissections (13.9% vs. 5.1%; P < 0.03) than those needing lower pressure. Patient and lesion characteristics may determine the appearance of balloon imprint at PTCA, which in turn influences the procedure and its immediate outcome. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2001;53:331-333.