New intracoronary stent designs: form follows function versus function follows form.

Intracoronary stenting improves the acute and long-term safety and efficacy of percutaneous coronary interventions by minimizing the risks of abrupt closure and late restenosis. Enhanced designs of new coronary stents will continue to expand the spectrum of coronary anatomy and clinical settings amenable to nonsurgical revascularization. Improvements in deliverability, application to complex lesions, and durability of results are direct effects of improved design characteristics. Future design features may also include incorporating adjunctive therapies such as antithrombotic or antiproliferative agents with stent-based delivery systems. Results of new stent registries and randomized clinical trials are reviewed.