BACKGROUND: Clinical trials have shown drug-eluting stents (DES) to be superior to bare metal stents (BMS) in preventing in-stent restenosis and target vessel revascularization. Although these results have ushered in a sea change in the practice of myocardial revascularization, important questions remain unanswered concerning rates of ischemic complications when DES are used in a broader population not represented in the clinical trials. STUDY DESIGN: The EVENT registry will include 7500 to 10,000 patients enrolled at approximately 60 sites across the United States. The intent of the registry is to characterize a population of consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with stent deployment using BMS and DES in terms of processes and outcomes of care. A unique aspect of EVENT is the prospective assessment of rates of periprocedural myocardial infarction among all patients. These data will allow us to compare rates of periprocedural myocardial infarction and other ischemic complications between patients receiving DES and BMS. In addition, the EVENT registry will characterize temporal changes in the patterns of DES use and the relationship between any such changes and both short- and long-term outcomes.