Percutaneous coronary interventions in Europe 1992-2003.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this registry is to collect data on trends in interventional cardiology within Europe. Special interest focuses on relative increases and ratios in newer revascularization approaches and its distribution in different regions in Europe. We report the data of the year 2003 and give an overview of the development of coronary interventions since 1992, when the first data collection was performed.


RESULTS
Questionnaires were distributed yearly to delegates of all national societies of cardiology represented in the European Society of Cardiology to collect the case numbers of all local institutions and operators. The overall numbers of coronary angiographies increased from 1992 to 2003 from 684,000 to 1,993,000 (from 1,250 to 3,500 per million inhabitants). The respective numbers for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI-coronary angioplasty) and coronary stenting procedures increased from 184,000 to 733,000 (from 335 to 1,300) and from 3,000 to 610,000 (from 5 to 1,100), respectively. Germany has been the most active country for the past years with 653,000 angiographies (7,800), 222,000 angioplasties (2,500), and 180,000 stenting procedures (2,200) in 2003. The indication has shifted towards acute coronary syndromes, as demonstrated by raising rates of interventions for acute myocardial infarction over the last decade. The procedures are more readily performed and safer, as shown by increasing rate of "ad hoc" PCI and decreasing need for emergency coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). In 2003, use of drug-eluting stents had further increased. However, an enormous variability is reported with the highest rate in Portugal (55%).


CONCLUSIONS
Interventional cardiology in Europe is still expanding, mainly but not exclusively due to rapid growth in the eastern European countries. A number of new coronary revascularization procedures introduced over the years have all but disappeared. Only stenting has experienced an exponential growth. The same can be forecast for drug-eluting stenting.
Cook
Stéphane
S
Swiss Cardiovascular Center Bern, University Hospital, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
Togni
Mario
M
Walpoth
Nazan
N
Maier
Willibald
W
Muehlberger
Volker
V
Legrand
Victor
V
Milicic
Davor
D
Zambartas
Costakis
C
Zelizko
Michal
M
Madsen
Jan Kyst
JK
van Buuren
Frank
F
Lòpez-Palop
Ramon
R
Peeba
Margus
M
Koskenkorva
Johanna
J
Vanhanen
Hannu
H
Lablanche
Jean-Marc
JM
Lazaris
Itsiathios
I
Géza
Fontos
F
Eyjolfsson
Kristian
K
Kearney
Peter
P
Piscione
Federico
F
Erglis
Andrejs
A
Navickas
Ramunas
R
Beissel
Jean
J
Channam
Rachid
R
Koch
Karel
K
Deleanu
Dan
D
Melberg
Tor
T
Witkowski
Adam
A
Pereira
Hélder
H
Reho
Ivano
I
Fridrich
Viliam
V
Zorman
Darko
D
Nilsson
Tage
T
Oezmen
Ferhan
F
Ludman
Peter
P
Meier
Bernhard
B