Healing Achilles — Sirolimus versus Paclitaxel

Since the inception of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), restenosis leading to repeated target-lesion revascularization has been the primary weakness of the procedure and has been repeatedly referred to as its Achilles' heel. Placement of a coronary-artery stent has emerged as the technique of choice for PCI, because it provides a substantial reduction in the percentage of patients who need subsequent target-lesion revascularization — from 25 to 35 percent after balloon angioplasty alone to 10 to 15 percent after stenting. Most of the luminal loss after stent placement is clinically evident in the first six to nine months after the placement . . .