The introduction of DES has had a greater impact on our Interventional Cardiology than any single development since the initial clinical application of PCI. In the new “post-restenosis” landscape, we will inevitably see changes in PCI therapeutic strategy, with DES effecting changes in the indications for both PCI and CABG, and revolutionizing the entire spectrum of existing strategies for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Yet, this is not to say that the current generation of DES and the strategies they are used in are the final word: problematic lesion subsets remain, such as DM, bifurcation lesions, diffuse lesions, CTOs and LMT bifurcation lesions, which will require the development of new strategies to exploit the opportunities now offered by DES.

Today, the direction the CCT should take is not simply to highlight existing best practice in techniques using DES, but must also be to explore the best way to exploit DES to ensure the expansion and standardization of ever more dependable and more complex angioplasty, while instilling and maintaining the energy and drive needed to meet the challenge of the unresolved questions still confronting PCI in the real world.

Recent advances in diagnostic imaging modalities have also sparked a debate about whether DES may be a useful preventative strategy against vulnerable plaques. This clearly is another potential avenue for the CCT to explore.

CCT2004 also sees the introduction of a brand new course component, the Peripheral Intervention Course. We aim to develop and encourage a new field, one we shall call Complex Peripheral Intervention, and with this course, start to tackle the issues this new field is likely to raise. We hope this new course will develop and expand in the same way as our Surgical Course has, since its introduction.