Coronary artery stenting in active duty soldiers

The treatment of coronary artery disease in young patients must take into account the long-term success of the treatment modality and the possibility of repeat interventions. Elective placement of Palmaz-Schatz coronary stents have been shown to reduce six month restenosis rates in discrete, de novo lesions in native coronary arteries albeit at a significant risk of bleeding and vascular complications. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the role of intracoronary stenting in young active duty soldiers. Between March 1988 and December 1994, fifteen active duty soldiers (age 37 to 53 years) underwent elective placement of one or more Palmaz-Schatz coronary stents at our institution. Angiographic success was 100% with no complications (acute/subacute closure, bleeding requiring transfusion, vascular repair, myocardial infarction, death, or in-hospital coronary artery bypass grafting). Six month angiographic follow-up is available in 13 patients (87%) with angiographic restenosis in one patient (8%) and no target vessel revascularization at six months. Clinical follow-up is available on all patients at a mean of 33 months (range 6-65) after the procedure. There was one death (7%) attributed to progression of coronary disease in another vessel and one patient (7%) who underwent target vessel revascularization for silent ischemia at 24 months after the procedure. These preliminary encouraging results suggest there may be a significant role for intracoronary stenting in active duty soldiers with coronary artery disease.