Editor's Message (June 2002)

As many of you may know, the field of Invasive Cardiology experienced a huge loss on May 6th, 2002. Dr. Thomas Linnemeier, a member of our editorial board and a long-time close personal friend and colleague of mine, was fatally injured in an automobile accident in Florida. Over the last 20 years, Tom made significant contributions to the practice, science and business of cardiology. He will be greatly missed. This issue includes a reflection by Dr. Richard Myler on the life and contributions of Tom Linnemeier. On behalf of the staff at the Journal of Invasive Cardiology and HMP Communications, I offer our deepest sympathies to Tom’s family and the friends and colleagues he has left behind. This issue of the Journal includes a number of original research articles and accompanying commentaries. In the first article, Drs. Braun, Stroh and Heinrich from the Departments of Cardiology and Angiology at the Duisburg Heart Center in Duisburg, Germany compare the Rotablator® versus the Cutting Balloon® in the treatment of long in-stent restenosis, demonstrating that the Cutting Balloon has a lower rate of restenosis. Drs. George Dangas and Costantino O. Costantini from the Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute and Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York include their thoughts on treatment options in an accompanying editorial. In the second research article, Dr. Andrew Michaels and collaborators from the University of California, San Francisco, Yorkshire Heart Center in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, Harvard Clinical Research Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston report on their randomized trial showing beneficial results using intragraft administration of verapamil prior to PCI to reduce the occurrence of no-reflow and to improve myocardial perfusion. Dr. Dean Kereiakes and associates from the Lindner Center for Research and Education in Cincinnati, Ohio have provided an excellent commentary on the benefits of this therapeutic approach. In the third research article, Dr. R.G. Nader and colleagues from the Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Miami Heart Institute in Miami, Florida present a clinical evaluation demonstrating the utility of a new vascular closure device in patients undergoing catheterization laboratory procedures. In the fourth article, Dr. Yusuf Atmaca and colleagues from Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey compare the use of direct stenting in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes versus standard stent placement with pre-dilatation, showing that in-hospital and 6-month results are similar between the groups. In addition, Drs. Christophe Loubeyre and Marie Claude Morice from the Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris Sud in Quincy, France have written an interesting commentary to follow the article. In the last original research article, Dr. Hiroshi Suzumura and collaborators from the Nagoya City University Medical School, National Toyohashi Higashi Hospital and Toyohashi Heart Center in Toyohashi, Japan report on their use of 3-Dimensional IVUS to evaluate vessel remodeling in patients undergoing balloon angioplasty compared to those receiving directional atherectomy. Our special teaching collection this month highlights articles representing unusual cases that cover a broad range of clinical topics. Drs. Wicky, Lyon and Kappenberger from the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland have submitted an unusual case of a patient with a single coronary anomaly depicted by magnetic resonance angiography. Dr. Rajpal Abhaichand and colleagues from the Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris Sud in Massy, France present a case in which collateral circulation developed in the absence of coronary disease. Dr. Chin-Chang Fang and colleagues from Tainan Municipal Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan report an unusual case of a patient with a single coronary artery and sick sinus syndrome. In the next case, Drs. Timurkaynak, Ciftei and Cengel from the Gazi University Medical School in Ankara, Turkey describe a rare coronary artery anomaly in which a patient presents with atherosclerosis in a double RCA. Dr. Jack W. Bandel and associates from the Hospital de Clinicas Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela report on a patient with Dextrocardia and Situs Inversus in which the Amplatzer Septal Occluder was used for the management of multiple atrial septal defects. The last case report, submitted by Drs. Boccara, Teiger and Cohen from Saint-Antoine University and Medical School in Paris and Henri Mondor University and Medical School in Creteil, France demonstrate the use of a stent to treat a left main coronary occlusion in an HIV-infected patient on protease inhibitors. This issue also includes a case report submitted by Drs. Sharma, Loubeyre and Morice describing the use of the radial approach to perform primary angioplasty in a pregnant patient experiencing a myocardial infarction. This issue also has articles from two of our special sections. In the Acute Coronary Syndromes special section, edited by Dr. Lloyd Klein from the Section of Cardiology, Rush Heart Institute at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Rajesh Mohan and Warren Laskey from the University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland have provided an excellent review and discussion of available data on myocardial infarction and the culprit plaque. The other special section, Interventional Pediatric Cardiology, edited by Dr. P. Syamasundar Rao from the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, includes an article from Dr. Massimo Chessa and collaborators from the Instituto Policlinico in San Donata Milanese and the University of Chicago on transcatheter closure of congenital and acquired muscular ventricular septal defects using the Amplatzer® device. It is my hope that all of us in our daily lives will keep the memory of Tom Linnemeier alive and appreciate the variety of treatment options that are available to us because of his work and the work of others who have made major contributions to the treatment of cardiac patients.