A Bumpy and Winding but Right Path to Domestic Drug-Eluting Coronary Stents

Restenosis and stent thrombosis remain major concerns after percutaneous coronary intervention for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The present review was undertaken in order to highlight the various coronary stents that have been investigated in our Heart Research Center, and how far we have come from the first heparin-coated stent first used in the late 1990s. Thereafter, from the abciximab-coated stent to the current gene-delivery stent and other newer agents, our group has applied a range of techniques in this field. However, in groups similar to ours, the restenosis rates of such stents are still high for second-generation drug-eluting stents (DESs). Moreover, our nation imports almost all of these types of stents from other countries. Thus, we need to develop domestic coronary stents. Research into newer DESs are warranted in Korea so as to achieve improved safety and efficacy outcomes.