Coronary drug eluting stent: The drug delivery system using a bare metal stent

Abstract

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which was invented by Grüntzig in 1977, has become the most important therapeutic procedure in patients with coronary heart disease. Although the use of balloon angioplasty was limited by abrupt vessel closure and chronic re-stenosis, coronary stents improved procedural safety and long-term efficacy. Drug-eluting stents (DES) with controlled local release of antiproliferative agents have consistently reduced restenosis rate after implantation as compared with bare-metal stent. Although first generation DESs has an adverse effect of very late stent thrombosis that needs to continue dual antiplatelet therapy for more than one year, new polymers and platforms for new DESs that are aimed at improving safety and efficacy have been developed. This review provides the history of PCI and information of currently available DESs.