The coronary sinus reducing stent (CSRS) is a stainless-steel mesh that is designed to create a focal narrowing in the lumen of the coronary sinus. The CSRS is pre-mounted on a customised hourglass shaped balloon catheter inserted into its place via the jugular vein under local anaesthesia.

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the use of CSRS in refractory angina pectoris patients when compared to sham CSRS procedure. For the assessment of clinical effectiveness, one randomised controlled trial met the inclusion criteria. For the assessment of safety, seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The overall strength of evidence for effectiveness and safety was moderate.

The inclusion in the Austrian catalogue of benefits is currently not recommended. Even though the current evidence indicates that the assessed technology CSRS is potentially more effective than sham intervention for refractory angina pectoris patients (in terms of Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Seattle Angina Questionnaire scores) who have no other alternative interventions available, the lacking internal validity of the studies undermines the partially positive results. A re-evaluation is recommended in 2022.