The Use of Drug-eluting Stents in the Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease - Past, Present and Future

摘要

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the major cause of death in developed countries. Revascularization as treatment for obstructive CAD began in the 1960's with the advent of coronary artery bypass surgery. In 1977, the first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed. Since that time, the number of PCI's performed have increased each year and more than 1 million procedures were performed in the United States last year. In part, the dramatic increase in the number of PCI's performed is due to advances in technology. Currently, the majority of patients treated in the US receive stents coated with polymer-containing therapeutic agents. The use of drug-eluting stents has greatly improved long term outcomes associate with PCI.rnMany of the advances in medical technology over the last 20 years have come from collaborations between physicians, engineers and physicists. Biomedical and pharmaceutical areas are fertile ones for thin film technologists to explore.