Are cardiologists indulging in ‘stentomania’? According to a leading cardiology specialist, some 50% of patients with diseased coronary arteries are now treated by stent placement in some countries. But the relative efficacy and cost effectiveness of this approach, compared with balloon angioplasty, are not yet known. The recently completed BENESTENT II trial hopes to offer some answers. The preliminary results of the trial were presented at the 18th Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) [Birmingham, UK; August 1996]. Also at the conference, delegates heard of the latest progress with ‘suicide’ gene therapy strategies for tackling restenosis.