Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Devices, Research, and Clinical Implications

Today, worldwide, coronary artery disease is the most prevalent form of cardiac disease, which occurs when lesions, stenoses, or occlusions are present in one or more coronary arteries. Historically, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was the gold standard treatment for restoring blood flow to the ischemic myocardium, but in recent years, the less invasive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatment options have become increasingly prevalent due to improved clinical outcomes. Many devices and strategies have been developed to simplify these procedures, reduce complications, and improve the patient population’s quality of life. Balloons, stents, atherectomy devices, coronary lithotripsy procedures, intravascular imaging modalities, guide wires, micro-catheters, etc. have all been developed and optimized over the last few decades to aid PCI procedures, particularly complex procedures including bifurcation stenting and chronic total occlusions. Additionally, various training and preclinical research tools have also been established to constantly innovate the PCI devices and techniques and educate the patients, physicians, and device designers to better understand the processes, potential complications, and bailout strategies associated with PCI and stenting.