New devices in interventional cardiology: present and future

Interventional cardiology emerged with the development of balloon angioplasty some 20 years ago, and has undergone tremendous changes since then. The coronary balloon was brought to a mature development stage, being the major "workhorse" of interventional cardiology. Various atherectomy techniques, aimed at removing plaque material, have been developed and showed immediate beneficial effects on the angioplasty results. Laser angioplasty is still looking for an appropriate place in interventional cardiology, with most of the results to date being disappointing. Stents are emerging as a breakthrough technology which has been proven to prevent restenosis and provide an important adjunctive device for suboptimal results following balloon angioplasty. Medically coated stents may have an important impact on the future of interventional cardiology. Novel imaging and flow measurement technologies are being further developed and optimized to assist clinical decisions and treatment strategies in interventional cardiology. In summary, interventional cardiologists today are provided with a set of tools from which they can select the appropriate ones for each lesion subset. Together with the appropriate adjunctive pharmaceutical therapy, prevention of restenosis is on the horizon.