title: The evolution of percutaneous coronary intervention: from balloons to drug eluting stents.
abstract: Percutaneous coronary balloon angioplasty was pioneered by Andreas Gruentzig who designed and assembled balloon dilatation catheters in his own kitchen. In 1976, he reported the successful application in canine coronary experiments. He performed the first successful coronary angioplasty in a patient in September 1977 in Zurich. The dilation catheter consisted of a balloon attached to a long shaft and a short wire attached to its tip. Since then, remarkable refinement in the technology paved the way for the emergence of new percutaneous coronary devices that include coronary atherectomy catheters, laser and stents. The 1980's and early 1990's was primarily a balloon angioplasty era.
authors.affiliation: Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program, Emory University School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Ziyad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ghazzal
mesh_terms: D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D000818:Animals; D017225:Atherectomy, Coronary; D004285:Dogs; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents; D006801:Humans; D015607:Stents