Coronary stent immobilization during angioplasty by transcoronary ventricular pacing via a guidewire.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: In some patients, cardiac contractions cause the coronary artery segment adjacent to a stent to move in such a way that accurate stent positioning is difficult. A number of techniques have been described for immobilizing the stent at the target site by inducing periods of either asystole or tachycardia. This study shows how pulsatile motion can be controlled by means of rapid ventricular pacing via an angioplasty guidewire. METHODS: The study involved 27 consecutive patients in whom excessive stent movement during angioplasty complicated accurate stent implantation. In these selected patients, myocardial tachycardia was induced by transcoronary ventricular pacing via an angioplasty guidewire with the aim of reducing the pulsatile motion of the stent. RESULTS: At baseline, the median displacement was 4.08 mm (interquartile range 2.75 mm). During pacing at 100 and 150 beats per minute, the median displacement was 1.39 mm and 0.54 mm, respectively (interquartile range 1.66 mm and 0.54 mm, respectively). Transcoronary myocardial pacing was effective in 96% of cases. No complications associated with pacing were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Transcoronary ventricular pacing via an angioplasty guidewire was an effective and safe method for achieving stent immobilization in cases where there was excessive pulsatile motion.