The Coronary Vascular Wall Post-PTCA

Although Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) is widely established as an effective therapy in patients with coronary artery disease1–3, it is well known that it causes severe disruptions in the vascular structures and functions4–8. Vasospasm9 ‚ elastic recoil10, thrombus formation11,12, and intimal tears and dissection11–13 are changes that have been described to occur immediately after PTCA.