More than 25 years of coronary stent implantation

: The number of Dutch patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) currently comprises approximately 38,000 cases a year; a stent is implanted in approximately 90% of cases. About two-thirds of these patients undergo PCI for acute coronary syndrome; the number of patients treated for stable coronary disease is gradually decreasing. The modern coated stents improve the durability of treatment considerably: 7% require a repeat procedure after 1 year. Complex stenoses, which were usually treated with coronary bypass surgery in the past, are becoming more accessible to PCI due to current innovations and improvements in techniques and equipment. A combination of functional and anatomical measurements of a stenosis is needed to make an informed decision about whether or not to implant a stent. A large number of clinical studies are currently being conducted for the purpose of identifying the most optimal combination of a stent and platelet-aggregation inhibitors.