Drug Coated Stents Better After Heart Attack

A new study shows that stents implanted in arteries of heart attack vicitims are more succesful when they are drug-coated as opposed to bare metal. The liklihood of a second heart attack, additional heart surgeries, or death was reduced in the 7,000 heart attack patients studied. Stents are often implanted into patients whose arteries or other conduits need structural support to counteract a decrease in diameter due to disease.

A similar and larger study was done earlier this year, and the results were very comparable. This new study was more detailed and informed about the health of the test subjects. Both confirm the benefits of drug-coated stents.

Drug-coated stents are currently used fairly often, but the benefits had not been highly studied. There are still cases where the bare-metal stent is preferred.

This is of interest to bioengineeres because we are finding ways for the body to accept and utilize artificial structures and machines put into patients. Coating other implants with drugs could improve their success rates and decrease complications.

http://news.health.com/2008/09/24/drug-coated-stents-better-after-heart-attack/#more-5629