Stent placement compared with balloon angioplasty for small coronary arteries: in-hospital and 6-month clinical and angiographic results

Background Stenting has been demonstrated to be superior to balloon angioplasty in de novo focal lesions located in large native vessels. However, in small vessels, the benefit of stenting remains questionable. Methods and Results A total of 381 symptomatic patients with de novo focal lesion located on a small coronary segment vessel (P =0.0001), resulting in a larger minimal lumen diameter (2.06±0.42 versus 1.70±0.46 mm, P =0.0001). At follow-up (obtained in 91% of patients), angiographic restenosis rate was 21% in the stent group versus 47% in the balloon group ( P =0.0001), a risk reduction of 55%. Repeat target lesion revascularization was less frequent in the stent group (13% versus 25%, P =0.0006). Conclusions Elective stent placement in small coronary arteries with focal de novo lesions is safe and associated with a marked reduction in restenosis rate and subsequent target lesion revascularization rate at 6 months.