A percutaneous method via the brachial artery for left heart catheterization and selective coronary angiography is described. The technique uses the sheath intended for the femoral artery, continuously infused and introduced following a particular technique. The procedure was performed with minimal complications over 18 months, with multipurpose "Schoonmaker" or preshaped catheters, in all the patients (37) in whom the femoral approach was contraindicated or failed. When a catheterization must be performed from the arm, this method, without cutdown and arteriotomy and allowing a good distal flow during the procedure, appears to have some advantages over the classical Sones technique or the percutaneous arterial axillary approach.

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To evaluate the acute effects of cigarette smoking on coronary arteries (CA), repeated coronary angiograms were performed in 13 patients with angina at rest and with normal coronary angiograms at basal state, during smoking, and then after methylergometrine (MEM) and after intracoronary nitroglycerin. Smoking induced anginal pain in three patients, triggered spasm (focal narrowing) in six, and/or an abnormal segmental diffuse narrowing (greater than 30%) in eight. The narrowing of the left CA was on average -21 +/- 13% (P less than 0.001), with more important narrowing of the mid-left anterior descending (-29 +/- 19%, P less than 0.001). The mean of the maximal segmental narrowing by patient was -34 +/- 13% (P less than 0.001). MEM produced similar effects and induced focal CA spasms in nearly the same patients at the same sites. Cigarette smoking may induce vasoconstrictive effects on CA in patients with rest angina and normal coronary angiograms. This action is not dose-dependent and may be initiated by less than one cigarette. These observations offer a new perspective for the understanding of the role of smoking in the precipitation of coronary events.

Transluminal coronary angioplasty from the arm is performed generally with cutdown and brachial arteriotomy. We describe a brachial percutaneous technique for coronary angioplasty, almost similar to the femoral one, with a special focus on the prevention of induced vasoconstriction. Our preliminary results are satisfactory and without complications: 13 procedures in 11 patients have been performed over a 30 month period, with the sheaths left in place for 4-6 h after the procedure. This method could be an easy alternative to the Sones technique for operators who are essentially familiar with the femoral percutaneous arterial approach.

A case of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) from the groin to a 7-cm right brachial artery occlusion in a 41-year-old man, having previously undergone Sones coronary angiography 2 months earlier, is presented. The post-PTA angiogram shows near-normal reconstitution of the total obstruction, persisting after 6 months with complete loss of collateral circulation. In a case of total obstruction of the brachial artery, femoral PTA should be considered before resorting to surgical treatment.