Background The Bard XT stent is a balloon expandable stent with a new design, consisting of discrete zigzag modules welded onto a flexible longitudinal spine. Methods To assess the safety and efficacy of this recently introduced coronary stent, we studied 81 patients (107 lesions) who underwent implantation of 108 such stents (66% elective). Results Primary success in stent delivery was 97.1% and angiographic success was achieved in all cases. Reference segment diameter was 2.69 ± 1.4 mm and average lesion length 10.9 mm. Mean minimal luminal diameter before the procedure was 0.79 ± 1.11 mm and increased to 2.55 ± 1.09 mm after stenting. Diameter stenosis decreased from 76% ± 24% to 9% ± 12%. One Q wave and 1 non-Q-wave myocardial infarction occurred but no other significant complications were observed. At 1-month follow-up, angiographically documented subacute thrombosis occurred in 2 cases at days 1 and 3. Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that the Bard XT stent has a promising design for the safe and effective treatment of coronary lesions, even in the presence of high-risk clinical and unfavorable angiographic characteristics. (Am Heart J 1998;136:786-91.)