Despite the controversy over drug-coated stents, I maintain that the best stent is no stent at all.
Yes, there are indeed times when such things are necessary, but not with the frequency that they are implanted nowadays.
Another reason why stents are an undesirable phenemenon is that they muck up your heart scan. Take a look:
The long white object in the center is a stent in the left anterior descending artery of this 60 year old man. Just beyond the stent (at about 1 o'clock from the stent) is a plaque that could be scored. However, you can see that, with the presence of the stent, the bulk of this artery is no longer "scorable". If this man wishes to "track his plaque", he will have to be content with tracking only the circumflex and right coronary arteries, the other two arteries without stents.
The stainless steel or similar metallic materials of current stents simply prevent us from seeing through them for plaque scoring purposes. It's best if you can simply avoid getting one for this and other reasons.
Track Your Plaque Members: Watch for the upcoming editorial by our Heart Hawk on drug-eluting stents.