What are the recent advances in coronary angioplasty, including stents and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, for patients with coronary artery disease?
This review highlights advances in coronary angioplasty, including the use of stents and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors to reduce acute complications and restenosis.
The goal of therapy in patients with coronary artery disease is to alleviate symptoms of angina and reduce the risk of death or nonfatal myocardial infarction. Although coronary angioplasty immediately reduces anginal symptoms in almost all patients who undergo it, its use is associated with death or nonfatal myocardial infarction in about 5 percent of patients18 and with restenosis requiring repeated angioplasty or bypass surgery in about 30 percent.36,9 Recently, several clinical trials have shown that the implantation of coronary stents5,6 or treatment with blockers of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptors1012 reduces the occurrence of acute . . .
John A. Bittl (1996) studied this question.