Carotid artery stenting: what have we learned from the clinical trials and registries and where do we go from here?

As with other minimally invasive surgical procedures, carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) has developed rapidly over the last decade. Although many believe equivalency with carotid endarterectomy has been established in high-risk patients, the effectiveness of CAS in lower-risk patients is not yet established. This report aims to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the trials and registries of CAS and to offer insight into future directions of this emerging technology.