Complementary Clinical Benefits of Coronary-Artery Stenting and Blockade of Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Receptors

Since the introduction of balloon angioplasty more than 20 years ago, two therapies have been demonstrated to improve outcomes after the procedure and have been widely adopted into clinical practice. Inhibition of platelet aggregation by blockade of the platelet surface glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor with abciximab, a monoclonal-antibody Fab fragment, was shown to reduce the incidence of periprocedural ischemic complications among patients undergoing balloon angioplasty or atherectomy. 1 – 3 The development of techniques for blocking the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor was paralleled by the widespread acceptance of coronary-artery stent implantation as the predominant means of percutaneous coronary intervention, on the basis of the . . .