ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Despite the remarkable impacts that bare-metal and drug-eluting stents have made on coronary intervention, important limitations remain. From an efficacy standpoint, restenosis continues to occur in a substantial proportion of patients. With regard to safety, stent thrombosis remains our primary concern. While angiography alone is often adequate to diagnose and treat either condition, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can provide important insight into the underlying mechanisms and ultimately help guide treatment.
