Antithrombotic treatment in percutaneous coronary interventions

Periprocedural thrombosis is the most threatened early complication of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). In pre-stent period the incidence of acute occlusive thrombosis following balloon angioplasty has been reported between 4.2 and 8.3%. The wide diffusion of new revascularization devices and in particular the use of coronary stents dramatically lowered the risk of acute complications and the risk of late restenosis. Antithrombotic treatments have been shown to reduce the risk of acute ischemic complications of PCIs both in patients treated with balloon dilation and in patients undergoing intracoronary stent placement. The usefulness of pharmacological interventions is clearly established for elective procedures in clinically stable patients and in emergency procedures such as primary PCI for acute myocardial infarction.