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Coronary Stents: The Impact of Technological Advances on Clinical Outcomes

  • Medical Stents: State of the Art and Future Directions
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Abstract

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) were proposed in the late 1970s as an alternative to surgical coronary artery bypass grafting for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Important technological progress has been made since. Balloon angioplasty was replaced by bare metal stents, which allowed to permanently scaffold the coronary vessel avoiding acute recoil and abrupt occlusion. Thereafter, the introduction of early generation drug-eluting stents (DES) has significantly improved clinical outcomes, primarily by markedly reducing the risk of restenosis. New generation DES with thinner stent struts, novel durable or biodegradable polymer coatings, and new limus antiproliferative agents, have further improved upon the safety and efficacy profile of early generation DES. The present article aims to review the impact of technological advances on clinical outcomes in the field of PCI with coronary stents, and to provide a brief overview on clinical margins of improvement and unmet needs of available DES.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Stefanini has received speaker fees from Abbott Vascular, AstraZeneca, Biotronik, and Biosensors. The other authors report no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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  1. Cardiovascular Department, Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy

    Marco G. Mennuni, Paolo A. Pagnotta & Giulio G. Stefanini

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  1. Marco G. Mennuni
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  2. Paolo A. Pagnotta
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  3. Giulio G. Stefanini
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Correspondence to Giulio G. Stefanini.

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Associate Editor Sean McGinty oversaw the review of this article.

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Mennuni, M.G., Pagnotta, P.A. & Stefanini, G.G. Coronary Stents: The Impact of Technological Advances on Clinical Outcomes. Ann Biomed Eng 44, 488–496 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1399-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-015-1399-z

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