[Complications of transluminal coronary angioplasty. A multicenter French study (1983)]

The authors report the complications observed during 1 247 transluminal coronary angioplasties (TCA) performed in 1 187 patients in 17 french centers between 1979 and October 1983. There were 855 primary successes (68.9 p. 100). There were 41 cases of symptomatic dissection (3.3 p. 100) of which 32 underwent aortocoronary bypass surgery with a residual myocardial infarction (MI) in 13 cases (40.6 p. 100). Medical treatment of symptomatic dissection gave very poor results (7 out of 9 MI) and is formally contra-indicated. 67 per- or postoperative occlusions were observed (5.3 p. 100). This is the most serious complication which necessitates an emergency revascularisation procedure (TCA or coronary bypass surgery--CBS--) because MI rapidly follows in patients without a well-developed collateral circulation. In this series MI occurred in 28 out of 45 patients--62 p. 100--despite CBS. This underlines the value of an immediate repeat TCA which, when successful, results in a much faster revascularisation. Seventy-three MI (5.8 p. 100) were observed in the first 24 hours: 50 p. 100 were secondary to an angiographically documented coronary occlusion. The other two causes were coronary dissection and spasm. Emergency CBS was carried out in 107 cases (8.9 p. 100) mainly for coronary occlusion or symptomatic dissection. The mortality was 11 out of 1 187 patients (0.93 p. 100). Death occurred in the catheter laboratory in 3 cases, during the first 24 hours in the operating theatre in 1 case, and after the first 24 hours but before hospital discharge in 7 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)