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...

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...

BACKGROUND Noncardiac surgery performed after coronary stent implantation is associated with an increased risk of stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and death. The influence of stent type and period of risk still have to be defined. METHODS AND RESULTS We linked the Scottish Coronary Revascularisation Register with hospital admission data to undertake a Scotland-wide retrospective cohor...

BACKGROUND Although drug-eluting stents have become a mainstay of percutaneous coronary intervention, information about drug-eluting stents outcomes in elderly patients is limited. Data from the paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) trials and registries were pooled to assess PES benefits relative to advancing patient age, including comparison with bare-metal stents. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from 5 ...

The risk of stent thrombosis and restenosis with the second generation drug eluting stents remains. The bioresorbable vascular scaffold is a third generation stent and overcomes the problems associated with drug eluting metallic stents. The bioresorbable vascular scaffold completely absorbs within the coronary vessel over 3-5 years. Multiple trials in patients with non complex coronary disease ...

OBJECTIVES This study evaluates outcomes and complications in patients treated with drug-eluting stents (DES) for "off-label" indications. BACKGROUND Drug-eluting stents have been effective in randomized trials, but their safety and efficacy for off-label indications has not been well studied. METHODS The STENT (Strategic Transcatheter Evaluation of New Therapies) Registry is the largest mu...

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy is the leading cause of death after the first year of heart transplantation. The optimal treatment for unprotected left main coronary artery disease in orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) patients is unknown. Two OHT patients with left main disease following heart transplantation underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Technical success was achieved...

BACKGROUND There is no consensus regarding the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents, as compared with bare-metal stents, in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction who are undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS We randomly assigned, in a 3:1 ratio, 3006 patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction to receive paclitaxe...

BACKGROUND Drug-eluting coronary-artery stents have been shown to decrease restenosis and therefore the likelihood that additional procedures will be required after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We evaluated the use of a drug-eluting stent in patients undergoing PCI for acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation. METHODS We randomly assigned 619 patients presenting with...

Background—Drug-eluting stents significantly improved angiographic and clinical outcomes compared with bare metal stents in diabetic patients. However, a comparison of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in diabetic patients has not been evaluated. Therefore we compared effectiveness of everolimus-eluting stents and sirolimus-eluting stents in patients with diabetes mellitus....