Newer is better when it comes to drug-eluting stents, according to a report from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry. Newer models are associated with a 38% lower risk of restenosis and a 50% lower risk of stent thrombosis compared with old-school drug-eluting stents. Among the reasons are improved stent designs with thinner struts and more biocompatible polymers that may have an important impact on drug elution, the group says.
Using a national registry, the study evaluated the long-term outcome in all patients who underwent stent implantation with bare-metal stents, "older generation" drug-eluting stents, and "new generation" drug-eluting stents in Sweden.
The group says more studies are needed to determine what component of the new drug-eluting stents is involved in the decrease in thrombosis or restenosis--the polymer, the stent alloy or the eluting-drug.
- read the release from the European Society of Cardiology