Researchers in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Thomas Jefferson University have found that nicardipine, a commonly available calcium channel blocker, is effective in reversing the "no-reflow" phenomenon that affects as many as 50,000 patients annually who undergo angioplasty -- a procedure to clear arteries that have been clogged up or narrowed by plaque.
Coronary angioplasty is a medical procedure used to restore blood flow through a narrowed or blocked artery in the heart. The arteries of the heart (the coronary arteries) can become narrowed and blocked due to buildup of a material called plaque on their inner walls. This narrowing reduces the flow of blood through the artery and can lead, over time, to coronary artery disease and heart attack.
Some angioplasty patients develop a no-reflow condition after the obstruction in the artery has been cleared with the procedure but blood flow to the heart muscle is not there. One of the reasons of no-reflow is the result of dislodged plaque releasing chemicals which cause the artery to spasm and blocking blood flow to the heart muscle. No-reflow can be a potentially serious complication that places patients at high risk of heart attack or even death, said Dr. Michael Savage, director of the catheterization laboratory and associate professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College.
The study by Jefferson University involved 72 angioplasty patients who developed no-flow and were treated with the calcium channel blocker nicardipine. It reversed the no-flow problem in 71 of the 72 patients. None of these 71 patients experienced low blood pressure, heart block, or required a temporary pacemaker.
The findings will be published in the November issue of the journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.