Percutaneous coronary intervention: balloons, stents and scaffolds.

In this review, major achievements in the field of percutaneous coronary interventions are delineated with particular focus on Germany's contribution. The review deals with important developments, including the first heart catheterization and coronary angiography, first coronary balloon angioplasty and refinement of the technique, coronary stenting and optimization of adjunctive antithrombotic treatment, drug-eluting stents and balloons, as well as bioresorbable polymeric and metallic drug-eluting scaffolds.