Effect of taper of the lesion on immediate and late results of coronary angioplasty by the use of standard balloons

In performing coronary angioplasty, the choice of the appropriate size of the balloon catheter is crucial for the success of the dilation. In case of significant tapering of the vessel to be dilated it has been suggested the use of tapered balloon to improve the results. In 187 lesions a significant anterograde taper was present in 179 and reverse taper was present in 8. The vessel taper affected the immediate results of angioplasty, performed by conventional cylindrical balloons: the stenosis was significantly lower in lesions with minor tapering (p=0.01). At follow-up, no correlation was observed between the degree of taper and the percentage of stenosis