What Is The Most Common Heart Stent?

The most common type of heart stent used today is the drug-eluting stent (DES). Drug-eluting stents are coated with medications, typically antiproliferative drugs, that are slowly released into the surrounding tissue to inhibit cell proliferation and reduce the risk of restenosis (re-narrowing of the treated artery). These stents have become the standard of care for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures to treat coronary artery disease (CAD).

Drug-eluting stents offer several advantages over bare-metal stents (BMS), including:

1. **Reduced Restenosis:** The drug coating on DES helps to suppress the growth of scar tissue within the stent, reducing the risk of restenosis compared to bare-metal stents.

2. **Lower Rates of Repeat Procedures:** By reducing the likelihood of restenosis, drug-eluting stents can lower the need for repeat procedures, such as target lesion revascularization (TLR), compared to bare-metal stents.

3. **Improved Long-Term Outcomes:** Clinical studies have shown that drug-eluting stents can lead to improved long-term outcomes, including lower rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) such as heart attack, target vessel revascularization (TVR), and stent thrombosis.

4. **Versatility:** Drug-eluting stents are available in various designs and sizes to accommodate different vessel diameters and lesion characteristics, providing versatility for a wide range of clinical scenarios.

5. **Enhanced Healing:** The polymer coatings used on drug-eluting stents are designed to degrade over time, allowing for improved vessel healing and reduced inflammation compared to earlier generations of drug-eluting stents.

While drug-eluting stents are the most commonly used type of heart stent today, bare-metal stents may still be used in certain clinical scenarios, such as in patients with a short life expectancy, those who are at high risk of bleeding complications, or when prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy is not feasible. The choice between drug-eluting and bare-metal stents is typically made by the interventional cardiologist based on factors such as the patient's clinical presentation, lesion characteristics, and individual risk profile.