Balloon vs. stent: new trial could change how we treat blocked arteries
NCT ID NCT07363161
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study is testing whether a drug-coated balloon is as good as a drug-eluting stent for treating complex coronary artery disease in high-risk patients. About 2,184 participants will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two treatments. The main goal is to see if the balloon works just as well at preventing heart-related events like death, heart attack, or the need for another procedure over 3 years.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- drug-coated balloon (SeQuent® SCB) and drug-eluting stent
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that a drug-coated balloon is as effective as a stent for treating complex heart disease, with potentially fewer bleeding risks.
- What could go wrong
- This is a non-inferiority trial, meaning it aims to prove the balloon is not worse than the stent, not necessarily better. Results may not apply to all patients, and long-term outcomes are still being studied.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 2,184 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Subject must be 18 years of age or older * Subject can understand risks, benefits, and treatment alternatives of receiving DCB treatment or DES and provide written informed consent before any study-related procedure * Subject should have a documented angina pectoris or silent ischemia as assessed by non-invasive testing, or functional invasive assessment, or equivalent (dyspnea, arrhythmia, ≥75% diameter stenosis without stress test at staged procedure), or unstable angina, hemodynamically stable NSTEMI and STEMI more than 48 hours after primary PCI and without residual thrombotic material * Subject must be affiliated with a social security system, where applicable Subject must have at least one of the high clinical or anatomical risk features: High clinical risk, defined as: * DM on treatment (insulin or oral antidiabetic agents), or * At least 75 years of age, or * CKD (eGFR \<60 mL/min/1.73 m2), or * Treated for ACS (unstable angina, hemodynamically stable NSTEMI, hemodynamically stable STEMI more than 48 hours after uneventful primary PCI and without residual thrombotic material), or * High bleeding risk (defined by Academic Research Consortium criteria - ARC HBR) OR High anatomical risk lesions requiring treatment as follows: * Multivessel treatment (two or three vessels) * True bifurcation with side branch involvement * Long lesions (≥36 mm) * Lesion likely requiring calcium modification In the case of multivessel (MV) disease, multiple vessels can be treated provided that all lesions are amenable to treatment with either DCB or DES and vessel size at the site of the lesion is \>2.0 mm by visual assessment. The trial does not restrict the number of target lesions. However, the operator should determine that all target lesions intended to be treated must be suitable for treatment with either DES or DCB. For patients randomized to the DCB arm, the likelihood of requiring provisional stenting must be assessed as less than 30% for each lesion requiring treatment. Exclusion Criteria: * Primary PCI (acute STEMI patients) * Cardiogenic shock * Subject enrolled in an active interventional trial * Subject not able or unlikely to comply with the planned follow-ups * Subject who is pregnant, nursing or planning to become pregnant during the study * Subject not able to give informed consent * Subject under judicial protection, guardianship or curatorship or patient deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision (where applicable) * Subject with a life expectancy \<12 months * Subjects with known allergies to antiplatelet agents (e.g., acetylsalicylic acid, P2Y12 inhibitors), anticoagulants (e.g., heparin, direct thrombin inhibitors), iodinated contrast media, or mTOR inhibitors (e.g., sirolimus and related compounds) * Angiographic exclusion criteria: 1. aorto-ostial lesions, 2. coronary bypass grafts requiring intervention, 3. chronic total occlusion requiring intervention 4. Previous PCI at any time of a vessel intended to be treated (Instent-restenosis lesions excluded) 5. Previous PCI within 30 days, except for recent STEMI, \>48 hours after uneventful primary PCI and without residual thrombotic material on coronary angiography
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Stadtspital Zürich - Klinik für Kardiologie
RECRUITINGZurich, 8063, Switzerland
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University Hospital Basel
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGBasel, 4031, Switzerland
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Universität des Saarlandes - Klinik für Innere Medizin III
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGHomburg, 66421, Germany
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