Arterial remodelling after percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty

Atheromatous coronary artery disease progresses by atheroma accretion, plaque rupture and thrombus formation, with or without spontaneous fibrinolysis [1-3]. The natural history may be altered by modifying risk factors in an attempt to induce regression [4], or treated by mechanical means such as balloon angioplasty, directional coronary atherectomy or drills, or flow modulated by the insertion of an aorto coronary bypass graft with or without endarterectomy [5, 6]. Here we discuss the natural history of the atheromatous disease in a series of 355 patients who underwent at least one PTCA procedure and then underwent a second angiographic study to determine the changes in the dilated and nondilated arteries.