Should everolimus-eluting stents be preferred in patients with acute and stable coronary syndromes?

Drug-eluting stents (DES) were first approved in the United States in 2003 on the basis of improvement in angiographic and clinical restenosis. The first 2 DES, now referred to as “first-generation” DES, were the sirolimuseluting stent (SES) (Cypher, Cordis Corporation, Miami Lakes, Florida; approved in 2003) and paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) (Taxus, Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts; approved in 2004). Within a few months of approval, early signs began to accumulate suggesting that DES were associated with increased risk of sub-acute stent thrombosis and adverse cardiac outcomes. This was followed by indications that the benefits of DES relative to restenosis and target-lesion revascularization (TLR) might have been