Baseline characteristics of the study population grouped according to allocated predilatation strategy (non-compliant vs semi-compliant balloons).
| NCB cohort (n=53) | SCB cohort (n=51) | P value | |
| Age (years; mean±SD) | 64.0±8.6 | 62.3±11.2 | 0.40 |
| Sex (male; n (%)) | 38 (71.7%) | 43 (84.3%) | 0.12 |
| Weight (kg; mean±SD) | 82.1±15.5 | 84.2±19.5 | 0.86 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |||
| Hypertension (n (%)) | 38 (71.7%) | 37 (72.6%) | 0.94 |
| Smoking (current; n (%)) | 9 (17.0%) | 18 (35.3%) | 0.10 |
| Diabetes (n (%)) | 16 (30.2%) | 11 (21.6%) | 0.32 |
| Hyperlipidaemia (n (%)) | 31 (58.5%) | 32 (62.8%) | 0.66 |
| Medical history | |||
| Previous MI (n (%)) | 12 (22.6%) | 20 (39.2%) | 0.07 |
| Previous CABG (n (%)) | 1 (1.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | – |
| Previous PCI (n (%)) | 21 (39.6%) | 23 (45.1%) | 0.57 |
| History of stroke (n (%)) | 1 (1.9%) | 5 (9.8%) | 0.12 |
CABG, coronary artery bypass grafting; MI, myocardial infarction; NCB, non-compliant balloon; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; SCB, semi-compliant balloon.