The role of coronary stents in interventional cardiology.

Coronary angioplasty is hampered with the problems of acute occlusions and coronary restenosis. Intravascular stents were used to prevent restenosis of arterial vessels after dilatation studies in animals have demonstrated the feasibility of stenting coronary arteries with several types of devices. However thrombosis is the major limitation for widespread use of coronary stents in animals and humans. New potent antithrombotic drugs need to be developed to prevent this complication. The emergence of biodegradable and temporary coronary stent may overcome some of current problems inherent to these irretrievable devices.