title: [Interventional cardiology. Where are we and where are we going from here?].
abstract: This article summarizes 20 years of percutaneous interventional cardiology for coronary angioplasty. During this period, interventional cardiology has evolved faster than any other type of treatment in the field of cardiovascular diseases. We describe the early results of interventional cardiology, the increase in primary success rates and the reduction in complication rates for percutaneous techniques during this period, which coincided with the introduction of technological advances. In the early 1990s, primary success rates for the treatment of coronary lesions stood at 86%-88%, with a restenosis rate of 30%-40% at 6-month follow-up. Current primary success rates have risen to over 95% with a restenosis rate of under 10%, even for many types of lesions classically considered complex. Currently the main limitations in interventional cardiology remain coronary segments that cannot be accessed due to chronic total occlusion, or severe proximal tortuosity or calcification. Rapid improvements have led to broader clinical indications for percutaneous revascularization procedures, and have made frequent updates of clinical practice guidelines necessary. Meanwhile, comparative studies involving other modes of surgical revascularization have become extremely difficult because percutaneous methods used in long-term studies begun 5 to 10 years have become obsolete.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain. grupo_corpal@arrakis.es
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suárez de Lezo
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Segura
authors.forename: Djordje
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pavlovic
authors.forename: Soledad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ojeda
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández-Dueñas
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ariza
mesh_terms: D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends; D002309:Cardiology / Q000379:methods*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D015607:Stents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends