Compared to men women have a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease. Accordingly, data on safety and efficacy of stents in women remain sparse owing to the restricted inclusion of women into randomized trials. This is contrasted by the fact that percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) have become the most frequently performed therapeutic intervention in medicine with more than 1 million procedures performed every year worldwide – a third of which on women.

Focussing on the female heart patient

For this reason Dr. Giulio Stefanini from the Department of Cardiology at Bern University Hospital has analysed a large-scale study on the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents in women, today published in the Lancet.

The findings of the study indicate that the use of drug-eluting stents in women is more effective and safe than bare-metal stents during long-term follow-up. Indeed, drug-eluting stents of the new generation not only reduced the risk of repeat revascularization by 60% compared with bare metal stents but also the risk of death or myocardial infarction.