Percutaneous coronary intervention.
Symptoms associated with coronary heart disease include chest pain, dyspnoea, palpitations and collapse (Delahaye, 1999). Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has been found effective for relieving some of these symptoms (RITA-2 trial participants, 1997). The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (Department of Health, 2000) identified a need to double the number of these procedures carried out per year by 2010 to provide a service comparable with the rest of western Europe.
Aftercare↗