Drug-eluting stents in coronary arteries

Conclusions

• Compared with bare metal mesh stents, drug-eluting stents prevent the recurrence of narrowing of the coronary artery, without increasing the risk of complications. This applies to both stable and unstable coronary artery disease.
• Various drug-eluting stents may differ in both effect and risks:
  • Everolimus-eluting stents give rise to fewer stent thromboses than sirolimus-eluting stents, and fewer myocardial infarctions and stent thromboses than paclitaxel-eluting stents.
  • However, in comparative studies, there seem to be no differences in safety or effect of everolimus-, biolimus- or second-generation zotarolimus-eluting stents.

Figure 1 Narrowing in a coronary artery is caused by arteriosclerotic plaque, which can be displaced mechanically by a metal stent expanded by means of a balloon.