Novel treatment for artery disease has advantages over conventional treatments

A new treatment for coronary and peripheral artery disease is superior to corresponding conventional treatments. Two IN.PACT drug-eluting balloons, produced by Medtronic, Inc., were tested in multicenter, randomized controlled trials. In one study, the safety and effectiveness of the IN.PACT Falcon was evaluated in comparison with the Taxus drug-eluting stent (DES) from Boston Scientific Corp. in reducing late lumen loss (the change in the diameter of a stent after it is first placed) in small-vessel coronary artery disease and was found to be a viable alternative. In fact, almost two-thirds of the vessels treated with the Falcon were too small to be treated with a DES. Another study compared the IN.PACT Pacific with conventional, uncoated balloons. The Pacific was found to have a much lower instance of late lumen loss, as well as a much lower risk of death and other complications (7.1 percent versus 34.9 percent.)