Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine

CIRCULATIONAHA: 3/11/14

In the late 1970s, Gruentzig’s groundbreaking reports on a series of successfully performed coronary angioplasties created the field of endovascular medicine, setting the precedent for the Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) approval of the procedure in 1981.² Over the next decade, the number of angioplasties performed in the United States grew exponentially from 1000 procedures in 1980 to >300 000 by 1995.³ Despite robust growth, however, clinical trials failed to demonstrate the benefits of angioplasty over thrombolysis for the treatment of ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).^4–7The Primary Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction (PAMI) and ZWOLLE trials in 1993 were the first randomized, controlled studies to demonstrate the efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over fibrinolytic therapy,^8,9 nearly 10 years after reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (diagnosis-related group 108) was granted. Read more