Is This the Beginning of the End for Bare-Metal Stents?

A large randomized trial shows no difference in rates of death or myocardial infarction or in quality of life after drug-eluting stents or bare-metal stents.

Drug-eluting stents (DES) reduce restenosis better than bare-metal stents (BMS), but rates of death and myocardial infarction (MI) with the latest generations of both devices have not been adequately compared. In the current study, which involved all eight centers for percutaneous coronary intervention in Norway, 9013 patients with both stable angina and an acute coronary syndrome were randomized to receive DES or BMS and were followed for a median of 5 years. All patients received aspirin indefinitely and clopidogrel for 9 months.

At 6 years of follow-up, the primary composite endpoint of all-cause mortality and nonfatal MI did not differ significantly between groups (DES group, 16.6%; BMS group, 17.1%). The groups also did not differ in ca…

Reviewing Author

Howard C. Herrmann, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAffluent Medical; Artedrone; Caranx; Johnson & Johnson; Medtronic; Prolifagen; Wells Fargo

EquityMicrointerventional Devices, Inc.

RoyaltiesUniversity of Pennsylvania

Grant/Research SupportAbbott Vascular; Edwards Lifesciences; Johnson & Johnson; Medtronic

Editorial BoardsCatheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions; Journal of the American College of Cardiology; Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions; JACC Cardiovascular Interventions; JACC Case Reports; JSCAI

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesHeart Valve Collaboratory (Scientific Committee Member, Chair of the Publications Committee)