How Safe Are Drug Coated Stents?

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Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 03 Dec 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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Drug-coated stents are very small coils which are placed in your artery and slowly release a medicine which makes sure the artery does not clamp shut again. Over six million people around the world have received this 'medical wonder' - people who suffered chest pain and/or heart attacks.

Drug coated stents were seen as wonderful and completely safe. However, doctors say it is possible that if a patient does not stay on Plavix, his chances of developing dangerous blood clots are significantly raised. The trouble is, nobody knows how safe the long-term taking of Plavix, an anti-clotting medication, is for stent patients. In the USA, Plavix costs $4 per day.

Some doctors say the raised risk is not significant - about five clots are found in every 1,000 drug-coated stent patients - and are concerned an overreaction to the risk could undermine patients' long term options.

An FDA panel will meet in a few days to discuss this. Meanwhile, stent patients are being asked to continue taking their medication(s).

Stents are inserted during an angioplasty. A miniscule deflated balloon is positioned next to a clog, it is then inflated, thus flattening the clog, a tiny mesh scaffolding (stent) is placed in the area to keep the artery open.

Doctors are not sure what to do when confronted with patients who have developed new blockages - they could use the traditional metal stents, perform bypass surgery, or use just drugs.

A bypass operation costs much more and is risker than an angioplasty.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today


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