Stents are used to keep coronary arteries open after angioplasty for angina (chest pain) or acute coronary syndrome, but they have posed many problems. The original small metal mesh cylinders had a tendency to become clogged.
The next generation of stents were coated with immune-suppressing drugs such as everolimus to prevent tissue overgrowth. But the downside was that they might attract blood clots. As a result patients with these stents are usually required to take anticoagulant drugs for months or years to prevent clotting.
Worries About Anticoagulants:
The trouble is that such blood thinners can lead to uncontrollable bleeding. This tightrope walk between clotting and bleeding requires careful monitoring.
Now a new heart stent from Abbott Laboratories is awaiting approval by the FDA. The device, called Absorb, is made of a material similar to dissolving sutures. As a result it gradually disappears over the course of three years. Before it disappears, it gradually gives off immune-suppressing medication similar to that used in the older drug-eluting stents.
Does the Absorb Stent Have Advantages?
The expectation is that the artery will return to a more normal condition. Clinicians probably hope that such a stent will be safer and require less medication.
At this point, however, there is not enough data to be able to say for sure how often that is the outcome. In the past, cardiologists were convinced that stents were more helpful than they proved to be. We hope that patients and their physicians will have the necessary data on the new resorbing stent before too long.
