Use caution with drug-eluting stents in patients with STEMI

Use caution with drug-eluting stents in patients with STEMI

VIENNA, Austria — Results from the GRACE registry suggest caution when considering drug-eluting stents in patients with ST-elevated myocardial infarction.

The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) trial results, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2007, demonstrated that patients with STEMI were at an increased risk for mortality. More patients with STEMI had reinfarction than patients with bare metal stents.

“Personally, I never implant drug-eluting stents in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI nowadays,” said Philippe Gabriel Steg, MD, professor of cardiology at Hopital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris.

In other registry trial results presented at the congress, Stefan James, MD, said updated data from the SCAAR (Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry) no longer indicated increased mortality in patients treated with drug-eluting stents vs. bare metal stents.

For more on GRACE, click here. For more on SCAAR, click here.