Percutaneous coronary revascularization in diabetics: from balloon angioplasty to drug-eluting stents

Abstract

Diabetic patients may have aggressive coronary disease with an excessive rate of restenosis and accelerated atherosclerotic progression. This article reviews the different modalities of percutaneous treatment and their results in the diabetic population, from the early days of balloon angioplasty to the current implementation of drug-eluting stents. As restenosis may be virtually eradicated in the near future, plaque progression remains the cornerstone for interventional cardiologists and the medical community. In this regard, attempts to modify life habits, and a more accurate control of the components of the metabolic syndrome should be the main therapeutic objective.

Keywords::

• angioplasty
• diabetes
• paclitaxel
• restenosis
• sirolimus