Percutaneous coronary intervention

Associate Editor-In-Chief: Mohammed A. Sbeih, M.D.[mailto:msbeih@perfuse.org] Phone:617-849-2629

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), commonly known as coronary angioplasty, is an invasive cardiologic therapeutic procedure to treat the stenotic (narrowed) coronary arteries of the heart. These stenotic segments are due to the build up of cholesterol-laden plaques that form due to coronary heart disease.

Percutaneous coronary intervention can be performed to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of coronary artery disease, including angina (chest pain), dyspnea (shortness of breath) on exertion, and congestive heart failure. PCI is also used to abort an acute myocardial infarction, and in some specific cases it may reduce mortality.

Procedures
The term balloon angioplasty is commonly used to describe percutaneous coronary intervention, which describes the inflation of a balloon within the coronary artery to crush the plaque into the walls of the artery. While balloon angioplasty is still done as a part of nearly all percutaneous coronary interventions, it is rarely the only procedure performed.

Other procedures that are done during a percutaneous coronary intervention include:
 * Implantation of stents
 * Rotational or laser atherectomy
 * Brachytherapy

Additional Resources

 * The MD TV: Comments on Hot Topics, State of the Art Presentations in Cardiovascular Medicine, Expert Reviews on Cardiovascular Research
 * Clinical Trial Results: An up to dated resource of Cardiovascular Research