[Cardiac interventions in Switzerland in 1994]

As in the previous seven years, a survey of cardiac invasive, interventional and surgical procedures among the 25 Swiss centers was carried out in 1994 by a detailed questionnaire. The resulting data are presented per individual center and per university, private or public sector. The outstanding findings of the 1994 survey are: There is an ongoing increase in the use of coronary angioplasty. The rapid evolution of coronary angioplasty is predominantly due to an extension of indications towards simple cases since the percentage of multivessel angioplasties has remained low. More than half of all angioplasties have been performed immediately after the respective coronary angiography (ad hoc angioplasty). The use of coronary stents has increased steeply over the past three years. Other new devices like directional coronary atherectomy, rotablation and transluminal extraction have lost further ground. PTCA for ongoing infarction has remained exceptional, probably due to logistical problems. Among the diagnostic tools, only coronary ultrasound has been used regularly. Coronary as well as non-coronary surgery seem to plateau. Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasties remained rather rare interventions. Catheter closure of congenital shunt defects has joined the routine interventional procedures. The majority of interventional catheter procedures have been performed at the five university centers whereas the majority of coronary artery bypass graft interventions have been carried out at private institutions.