Percutaneous coronary intervention: the story so far

Over the past two decades, the use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to treat ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD) has expanded dramatically. With new technological improvements (e.g., drug eluting stents, distal protection devices), refinements in periprocedural adjunctive pharmacology (e.g., glycoprotein IIb/IIIa [GP IIb/IIIa] inhibitors, alternative thrombin inhibitors), and better understanding of early and late outcomes, the procedural success, safety, and durability of results have improved dramatically. Increase in mortality associated with drug eluting stents has been a concern lately. Until newer randomized studies are available to fully evaluate this increase in mortality, physicians should abide by the Food and Drug Administration's guidelines for use of these stents.