The increase in life expectance makes the diagnosis of PFO a possible and not easily manageable event in patients ＞ 60-years-old due to the presence of different comorbidities and in particular of diastolic dysfunction which is considered as a contraindication to PFO closure. The literature review suggests that aged patients with PFO cannot be excluded a priori from PFO closure that should evaluated as therapeutic options in presence of anatomical and functional indications. Moreover in the elderly many other syndromes than paradoxical stroke mediated by PFO required full assessment and, if needed, transcather PFO closure: deoxygenating in obstructive sleeping apnoea, unexplained increased dyspnoea associated with hypoxemia after lung surgery, paralysis of the hemidiaphragm, and platypnea orthodeoxia. Differently from in the young and middle age, the management of PFO in aged patients should obligatory include the careful evaluation of potential comorbidities and eventual contraindications, such as severe diastolic dysfunction due to for example to hypertensive cardiomyopathy and coronary heart disease, the main causes of diastolic dysfunction.

We report a modified technique to perform iliac artery stenting through the brachial artery access. A 6F Brite tip sheath (Cordis, Jonhson & Jonhson Medical, Miami Lakes, FL, USA) is inserted into either brachial artery and a standard 4F Judkins Right diagnostic catheter was inserted over a 260 cm 0.038 Terumo Stiff wire (Terumo Corp, Tokyo, Japan) through the sheath. The catheter is navigated down to the aortic bifurcation, and after selecting the common iliac artery ostium, the wire is navigated through the lesion and advanced to the ipsilateral superficial femoral arteries. The catheter should be then moved forward over the wires beyond the lesion and the Terumo guidewire is replaced by two 0.038 260 cm Supracor wires (Boston Scientific Corporation, San Jose, CA, USA). In order to facilitate advancement of the stent without risk of dislodgement as well as to check the position with low contrast dose injection, a 6 F (or 7F if large stent is selected) 90cm Shuttle Flexor introducer long sheath (Cook Group, Bloomington, IN, USA) should be advanced over the Supracor wire until it reaches the common iliac artery ostium. A road-map technique can be used to check the ostium position in order to properly deploy the selected stent. This technique promises to be safe and effective offering more support than guiding catheter technique; moreover it reduces the stress on the arterial vessel at the subclavian site and enables a stiff balloon or stent catheter to be advanced even through a very elongated and calcified aorta without the risk of stent dislodgement.

In the last few years the treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusive disease has undergone greater changes in management including more aggressive endoluminal therapy, especially in the elderly patients who are at high risk for extra-vascular comorbidities from the surgical approach. While acute and chronic arterial limb ischemia is the conditions which the interventional cardiologists frequently encounter, the elderly population represents special problematic clinical and anatomical setting due to heavy calcification and poor distal run-off. Arterial thrombolysis, rheolytic thrombectomy, mechanical thrombectomy, laser angioplasty, cryoplasty, and new flexible long stents are some of the promising techniques to improve the technical and clinical outcomes in these elderly patients.

Drug-coated balloon has been developed as an alternative to drug-eluting stents for in-stent restenosis but the performance of drug infusion balloon in such setting has not been previously described. We present a case of particularly aggressive in-stem restenosis after drug eluting stent implantation treated with a new kind of drug infusion balloon developed in order to overcome the impossibility to inflate regular drug-coated balloon for several dilatation.

Objective Recently it has been suggested that,in patients with large patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal aneurysms (ASA),a certain amount of left atrial (LA) dysfunction may be active as an alternate mechanism promoting arterial embolism-Following this hypothesis,elderly patients,being more susceptible to atrial chambers stiffness,should present a more severe LA dysfunction profile.We sought to evaluate the grade of LA dysfunction in elderly patients submitted to transcatheter PFO closure.Methods We retrospectively enrolled 28 consecutive patients with previous stroke (mean age 67±12.5 years,18 females) referred to our centre for catheter-based PFO closure after recurrent stroke.Baseline values of LA passive and active emptying,LA conduit function,LA ejection fraction,and spontaneous echocontrast (SEC) in the LA and LA appendage were compared with those of 50 atrial fibrillation patients,as well as a sex/age/cardiac risk matched population of 70 healthy controls.Results Pre-closure elderly subjects demonstrated significantly greater reservoir function as well as passive and active emptying,with reduced conduit function and LA ejection fraction,when compared to healthy and younger patients.After closure in elderly patients,LA parameters did not return completely to the levels of healthy patients,whereas LA dysfunction in younger subjects returned normal.Conclusions This study suggests that elderly patients have more severe LA dysfunction than younger patients,which affects the LA remodelling after closure.

Background To investigate the long-term results of global coronary and peripheral interventional treatment of diabetic foot patients.Methods We retrospectively included 220 diabetic patients (78.5±15.8 years,107 females,all with Fontaine III or IV class) who were referred to our centre for diabetic foot syndrome and severe limb ischemia from January 2006 to December 2010.Patients were evaluated by a team of interventional cardiologists and diabetologists in order to assess presence of concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) and eventual need for coronary revascularization. Stress-echo was performed in all patients before diagnostic peripheral angiography. Patients with indications for coronary angiography were submitted to combined diagnostic angiography and then to eventual staged peripheral and coronary interventions.Doppler ultrasonography and foot transcutaneous oximetry of transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) before and after the procedure were performed as well as stressechocardiography and combined cardiologic and diabetic examination at 1 and 6 month and yearly.Results Stress-echocardiography was performed in 94/220 patients and resulted positive in 56 patients who underwent combined coronary and peripheral angiography.In the rest of 126 patients,combined coronary and peripheral angiography was performed directly for concomitant signs and symptoms of coronary heart disease in 35 patients.Coronary revascularization was judged necessary in 85/129 patients and was performed percutaneously after peripheral interventions in 72 patients and surgically in 13 patients.For Diabetic foot interventions the preferred approach was ipsilateral femoral antegrade in 170/220 patients (77.7%) and contralateral cross-over in 40/220 patients (18.8%) and popliteal retrograde+femoral antegrade in 10/220 patients (4.5%).Balloon angioplasty was performed in 252 legs (32 patients had bilateral disease):the procedure was successful in 239/252 legs with an immediate success rate of 94.8% and a significant improvement in TcP02 and ABI with ulcer healing in 233/252 legs (92.4%).Freedom from major amputation was 82.8% at a mean follow-up of 3.1±1.8 years (range 1 to 5 years) whereas survival was 88%.Conclusions Global coronary and peripheral endovascular management of diabetic foot syndrome patients seems to lead to an high immediate success and limb salvage rates and increasing survival compared to historical series.

Background Patent foramen ovale (PFO)-related stroke is a possible and not easily manageable occurrence in ≤60-years-old patients due to the presence of different comorbidities and in particular of diastolic dysfunction which is considered as a contraindication to PFO closure.The grade of diastolic dysfunction for which PFO closure is contraindicated and whether there are changes in diastolic dysfunction class after closure have not been investigated in deep yet.Methods We prospectively enrolled patients who were referred to our centre over a 12 months period for PFO transcatheter closure having echocardiographic demonstration of diastolic dysfunction (≤Ⅲ class diastolic dysfunction).Echocardiography was scheduled at 1,6 and 12 months in order to assess changes in haemodynamic parameters of left ventricle function.Results Thirteen out of 80 patients referred to our centre (16.2%,mean age 65 + 6.4 years) over a 24-month period were enrolled in the study (Table 1).Eighteen Amplatzer PFO Occluder 25 mm and one 35 mm,two Amplatzer 25/25 mm Cribriform Occluder and two 25 nun Premere Occlusion System were successfully implanted with no intraoperative complications.As collateral findings on ICE 8/12 patients (66.7 %) had hypertrophy of the interatrial septum (thickness of the rims ＞ 1.2 mm) probably imputable to hypertensive cardiomyopathy.Four patients developed atrial fibrillation during the first month post-implantation,all successfully treated with antiarrhythmic drugs.After a mean follow-up of 40±4.3 months left ventricle performance indices (ejection fraction and end-diastolic volume) and diastolic dysfunction parameters (E/A,deceleration time,diastolic dysfunction class) did not change significantly.Conclusion The present study suggests that PFO transcatheter closure may be safely performed in aged patients with diastolic dysfunction class 1-2.(J Geriatr Cardio12008;5:3-6.)