In vivo angioplasty prevents the development of vasospasm in canine carotid arteries. Pharmacological and morphological analyses.

To study the effects of in vivo transluminal balloon angioplasty (TBA) on the structure and function of the arterial wall, a canine model of hemorrhagic cerebral vasospasm of the high cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) was used. This model was also used to determine whether TBA performed before clot placement could prevent the development of vasospasm. Twelve dogs underwent surgical exposure of both distal-cervical ICAs, followed by baseline angiography. One randomly selected ICA in each dog was then subjected to in vivo TBA and repeated angiography. Both distal ICAs were then surrounded with blood clots held by silicone elastomer sheaths. Seven days later angiography was repeated, and all animals were killed. The ICAs in four animals were perfusion-fixed in situ for morphological analysis by electron microscopy, and the arteries in the remaining eight animals were removed and immediately immersed in oxygenated Krebs' solution. Contractile responses of isolated arterial rings from each ICA were recorded after treatment with KCl, noradrenaline, serotonin, and prostaglandin F2 alpha, while relaxations in response to the calcium ionophore A23187 and papaverine were recorded after tonic contraction to noradrenaline had been established. The morphology and pharmacological responses of ICAs that had been exposed to blood with or without prior TBA were compared with data obtained from control arterial segments of intact, more proximal regions of the ICAs from each animal. TBA resulted in immediate angiographic enlargement of the ICA lumen that was still evident 7 days later despite the placement of clotted blood around the artery. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated flattening of the intima and internal elastic lamina in these dilated arteries, associated with patchy losses of endothelial cells. In contrast, ICAs that had been exposed to clotted blood but had not undergone prior TBA developed consistent angiographic and morphological vasospasm. In comparison with control vessels and nondilated vasospastic vessels, vessels dilated with TBA and then exposed to clotted blood showed significantly diminished responses to all compounds tested, with the exception of prostaglandin F2 alpha. These results indicate that in vivo TBA results in a degree of functional impairment of vascular smooth muscle that persists for at least 7 days. This result is consistent with previous observations of the acute effects of TBA in isolated arteries. Furthermore, these results support the hypothesis that normal smooth muscle function is required for the development of vasospasm. Finally, these results indicate that TBA performed before the onset of vasospasm prevents its development.