Open AccessPercutaneous treatment in acute coronary syndromes
Author(s) -
Eduardo Alegría-Barrero,
Raúl Moreno
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
world journal of cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1949-8462
DOI - 10.4330/wjc.v3.i10.315
Subject(s) - medicine , restenosis , cardiology , myocardial infarction , percutaneous coronary intervention , acute coronary syndrome , angioplasty , interventional cardiology , percutaneous , clinical trial , stent
Both ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are the result of an acute thrombotic lesion obstructing blood flow in the coronary vasculature. Percutaneous treatment has shown to improve clinical outcome in this clinical setting by resolving coronary obstruction with different devices directed to restore coronary blood flow. In comparison with balloon alone angioplasty, implantation of bare metal stents reduced the rate of restenosis and cardiac events, but high rates of restenosis remained, leading to further investigations to develop drug-eluting stents with different pharmacological coatings that reduced restenosis rates and clinical events. In this review, we discuss the current treatment of ACS, reviewing recent randomized clinical trials and advances in medical treatment, including new antiplatelet agents and recent guideline recommendations.