Primary percutaneous coronary intervention is the preferred reperfusion therapy for ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction patients within 12 hours of symptom-onset. Routine stent implantation during the procedure significantly reduces the rate of target vessel revascularization, although restenosis still represents a current limitation of the technique. Drug-eluting stents were developed to treat and prevent coronary restenosis. Randomized trials, meta-analysis, and registries proved their efficacy and safety in different clinical situations, including acute myocardial infarction. However, the increased risk of late stent thrombosis associated with drug-eluting stents during primary percutaneous coronary interventions encourages a careful analysis to identify which patients most benefit from them, as well as those where a prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy does not represent a limiting factor.
©2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.