Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was introduced 22 years ago as a
nonsurgical catheter-based treatment for obstructive coronary artery disease. Over the
following 2 decades, major advances in equipment and techniques led to tremendous
growth in the use of PTCA to treat coronary artery disease and angina. Restenosis persists
as the limiting factor in the maintenance of vessel patency after PTCA, occurring in 30% to
50% of patients and accounting for significant morbidity and health care expenditures …