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But Experts Warn Against Enthusiasm Outpacing Science

Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2004;291:682-683.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

For years, interventional cardiologists have attempted to improve outcomes for patients with blocked arterial vessels. Some are hailing drug-eluting stents (DESs) as one of the greatest interventional advances in the past decade. But others warn that while DESs appear to offer benefit over bare-metal stents, the hype may be outrunning the science.

Photo credit: Boston Scientific Corporation

Many patients undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery to relieve angina and improve long-term survival related to narrowing or blockage of coronary arteries. Less invasive procedures, percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty, and angioplasty with bare-metal stents attempted to fix or strengthen the vessels instead of bypassing them. But the desired effects of balloon angioplasty and other forms of angioplasty are often curtailed by restenosis. Bare-metal stenting after angioplasty has more durable effects than angioplasty alone, but researchers are still seeking ways to reduce restenosis, which occurs about 20% of the time . . . [Full Text of this Article]