Objective: We explored the impact of increasing number of off-label patient and lesion characteristics on 5-year clinical outcome following implantation of first generation drug eluting stents. Furthermore we tried to assess if stent performance might be improved if the off-label characteristics present were taken into account to guide the stent brand selection. Design: A total of 2888 coronary...

Drug-eluting stents (DES) reduce coronary restenosis significantly; however, late stent thrombosis (LST) occurs, which requires long-term antiplatelet therapy. Angioscopic grading of neointimal coverage of coronary stent struts was established, and it was revealed that neointimal formation is incomplete and prevalence of LST is higher in DES when compared to bare-metal stents. It was also obser...

Coronary artery disease is characterized by a narrowing (stenosis) of the arteries that supply blood to the tissue of the heart. Continued restriction of blood flow manifests itself as angina and ultimately myocardial infarction (heart attack) for the patient. Heart bypass was once the only treatment for this condition, but over the years percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become an i...

BACKGROUND Stent implantation for obstructive femoropopliteal artery disease has been associated with poor long-term outcomes. This study evaluated the effectiveness of shape memory alloy recoverable technology (SMART) nitinol self-expanding stents coated with a polymer impregnated with sirolimus (rapamycin) versus uncoated SMART Stents in superficial femoral artery obstructions. METHODS AND ...

Introduction: Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) with stenting, especially Drug eluting stents (DES), is the most widely accepted strategy globally for patients presented STEMI, which necessitates a long duration of Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) to prevent stent thrombosis. Potent P2Y12 inhibitors DAPT are preferred in view their superior protection against thrombosis but at e...

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary intervention using second-generation drug-eluting stents with those of coronary artery bypass grafting among patients with multivessel disease and/or unprotected left main coronary artery disease in terms of mortality, myocardial infarction, repeat revascularization, and angina. BACKGROUND Although coronary artery disease ...

INTRODUCTION In this study we present our findings from a series of patients who underwent coronary angioplasty and implantation of drug-eluting stents with rapamycin or paclitaxel. METHODS Two hundred and twenty-three consecutive patients with 343 coronary lesions underwent angioplasty with implantation of 220 rapamycin-eluting stents (Cypher) and 297 paclitaxel-eluting stents (Taxus). RES...

Drug-eluting stents (DESs) have been central focused area of interest interventional cardiology ever since the RAVEL study was presented at the meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in September 2001. Their novelty, along with the promising preliminary results published for that study, aroused many expectations.1 Although these expectations have not been fully met and the rate of resten...

The development of coronary stents represents a major step forward in the treatment of obstructive coronary artery disease since the introduction of percutaneous coronary intervention. The initial enthusiasm for bare metal stents was, however, tempered by a significant incidence of in-stent restenosis, the manifestation of excessive neointima hyperplasia within the stented vessel segment, ultim...

OBJECTIVE Drug-eluting coronary stents reduce restenosis rate and late lumen loss compared with bare-metal stents; however, drug-eluting coronary stents may delay vascular healing and increase late stent thrombosis. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta (PPARδ) exhibits actions that could favorably influence outcomes after drug-eluting coronary stents placement. APPROACH AND RE...