drug eluting stents

(Cardiovascular Research Foundation) Results of five research studies and a clinical registry first-report presentation scheduled for the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, suggest that triple antiplatelet therapy for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents achieves greater platelet inhibition than conventional dual antiplatelet therapy.

A large community-based registry of patients treated with drug-eluting stents is providing important insight into how long patients with complex coronary artery disease typically stick to their doctors' orders to take clopidogrel, a drug that prevents unwanted blood clots; why they stop taking the drug; and the long-term consequences of that decision.

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation will present results of the largest meta-analysis to date comparing drug-eluting stents with bare metal stents at the Drug-Eluting Stent Revolution VII meeting tomorrow in Chicago.

The analysis includes approximately 180,000 patients from both randomized, controlled trials and observational registry analyses.

The data shows dramatic reductions in repeat revascularization with DES, and strong safety statistics. It is the first meta-analysis to include DES registry data with data from RCTs.