Complications of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

: The most frequent complication of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is acute obstruction of the artery to be dilated. The authors present their experience with the solution of this situation. In a group of 154 consecutive patients with chronic stable angina pectoris a sudden occlusion was observed in 7.7%, infarction in 5.8% and the necessity of operation arose in 5.2%. A significant position in the solution if these complications is held by cardiosurgical revascularization. As to pharmacological treatment, it is useful to administer a combination of nitrates, calcium channel antagonists and thrombolytic treatment.