New directions in nonoperative management of coronary artery disease

This review has discussed several nonoperative approaches designed to restore or maintain coronary artery patency in patients with coronary artery disease. Information obtained during the last decade concerning the use of thrombolytic, anticoagulant, and antiplatelet drugs and the development of the technique of PTCA have dramatically changed the clinical management of patients with coronary artery disease. It is likely that the application of these therapies will continue to evolve during the next several years as new pathophysiological insights are obtained and large ongoing or planned clinical trials testing current hypotheses are completed.