Overview of cardiovascular stent designs

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death globally. Research over recent decades has greatly increased understanding of the pathophysiology of this condition and revealed potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Revascularization procedures are used to treat more advanced stages of the disease to restore blood to the affected tissue. For many years, this was achieved through the use of a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). This remains a very effective treatment that is still widely used, particularly in patients with multivessel disease or complex lesions in major vessels. However, in recent decades it has been overtaken by the use of a less invasive procedure, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). There have been various technology developments that have helped drive this increased use of PCI, with the introduction of stents being particularly significant. The permanent implantation of a stent, a tube-like metal device, immediately following traditional balloon angioplasty provides ongoing mechanical support to the vessel wall. As its name implies, this chapter will provide an overview of cardiovascular stent designs, with particular focus given to drug-eluting stents. The chapter closes with a discussion on the current state of the art in stent design and future perspectives.