Revascularization treatment in patients with coronary artery disease.

The choice of optimal revascularization strategy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is becoming more challenging lately, due to recent advances in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). On one hand, drug-eluting stents (DES) have emerged as a solution to the problem of restenosis after balloon angioplasty or bare-metal stent implantation, which was responsible for a higher rate of events (mainly repeat revascularization) in relation to CABG. On the other hand, off-pump bypass techniques and minimally invasive grafting of the left anterior descending artery appear to be safe and efficacious alternatives to traditional, on-pump CABG. Available literature includes studies outdated by current technologies, leaving the dilemma of best revascularization strategy unanswered in the general CAD population, but also in high-risk groups, such as diabetics and patients with chronic kidney disease. A number of ongoing trials, especially designed for this purpose, are set to end the debate, providing headto- head comparisons between DES-assisted PCI and contemporary bypass surgery.