Medicated Stents Reduce Heart Attacks by Delivering Medication Downstream
patients receiving drug-coated stents do better than patients receiving bare metal stents
Sept.
15, 2011, Cardiac patients receiving medicated stents a procedure that occurs often when blood vessels are blocked have a lower likelihood
of suffering heart attacks or developing new blockages in the vessel downstream from the stent, according to researchers at Cleveland Clinic.
Stents have been used to prevent re-narrowing of coronary arteries after balloon angioplasty and newer designs have
included coatings with medications to prevent re-narrowing from occurring within the stent after implantation.
The recent study led by Richard Krasuski, M.D., Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease Services and a staff
cardiologist in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic suggests that
these medicated stents may deliver the medication to the vessel beyond the stent.
In a study recently published in the American Heart Journal, Dr. Krasuski and his colleagues demonstrate that
patients receiving medicated stents have a lower likelihood of suffering heart attacks or developing new blockages in the vessel downstream
from the stent.
"Though there have been concerns about clots forming inside drug-releasing stents, the totality of data suggests that
patients receiving drug-coated stents do better than patients receiving bare metal stents," Dr. Krasuski said.
"It has not been clear before, however, why preventing re-blockage in the location of a stent would have such a large
benefit, but our study suggests that there may be more that the stent is doing.
When blood flows through the stent, medication not only reaches the vessel it is touching but likely the distal vessel
as well. In this way it could be having a much more profound effect on the vessel."
If this concept is confirmed it could revolutionize treatment of cardiovascular disease and problems with other organ
systems as well. Stents could be altered to deliver many different medications in small amounts directly to the blood vessels. This could
maximize the benefits of different drugs and reduce their toxic effects as well as improve patient compliance.
About Cleveland Clinic
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates
clinical and hospital care with research and education. More at
www.clevelandclinic.org.
What Is a Stent?
A stent is a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body. Arteries are blood vessels
that carry blood away from your heart to other parts of your body.
You may have a stent placed in an artery as part of a procedure called
angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). Angioplasty restores blood flow through narrowed or blocked arteries. Stents help prevent the arteries
from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after angioplasty.
You also may have a stent placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.
Stents usually are made of metal mesh, but sometimes they're made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are
used in larger arteries.
Some stents are coated with medicines that are slowly and continuously released into the artery. These stents are called
drug-eluting stents. The medicines help prevent the artery from becoming blocked again.
Sept.
15, 2011, Cardiac patients receiving medicated stents a procedure that occurs often when blood vessels are blocked have a lower likelihood
of suffering heart attacks or developing new blockages in the vessel downstream from the stent, according to researchers at Cleveland Clinic.
What Is a Stent?