Coronary Artery Perforation Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Coronary artery perforation (CAP) is a rare but serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention. Risk factors for CAP include female gender, older age, and lesion complexity. The most common causes of CAP include wire perforation, atherectomy, and aggressive sizing of balloons and stents. Complications of CAP vary greatly from clinical insignificance to hemodynamic collapse and death, depending on the severity of the CAP. Early recognition is of utmost importance to surviving CAP. Generally accepted treatment options depend on lesion severity, and include balloon inflation to tamponade the vessel, reversal of anticoagulation, covered stents, and embolization. Emergent pericardiocentesis or surgical evacuation may be required for the most severe cases.