Less than a year after it was officially approved for use, the drug-coated stent is making a big difference for heart patients at Doylestown Hospital's Heart Center.

Each year, hundreds of Doylestown heart patients undergo angioplasty, a procedure that uses a tiny, inflated balloon to open a blocked artery. Inserting a cardiac stent, a wire mesh cylinder, into the blood vessel widens the passage for blood flow. Until recently, the stents were made of uncoated, bare metal that irritated the walls of the blood vessels and could cause scar tissue to form and press through the mesh. Newly-opened arteries often became blocked again, a condition called restenosis, which required a second procedure to correct.

That changed last April when the Food and Drug Administration approved a new type of stent, which is coated with a medication that is released over time into the surrounding tissue. It keeps cells from regrowing and forming scar tissue in the arterial wall.

Doylestown Hospital cardiologists wasted no time applying the drug-coated stent, which was created by a division of Johnson & Johnson. In fact, the day after the stent was approved, Doylestown doctors used it to treat a cardiac patient who, coincidently, worked for a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.

Fewer repeat angioplasties

"The new stents will reduce the need for repeat coronary interventions," confirms cardiologist David Boland, MD. Almost one-third of the million angioplasties performed each year in the United States are due to an artery becoming blocked again.

"We currently have only a 5 percent to 7 percent incidence of restenosis within the treated segment of the artery when we use the drug-coated stent," Dr. Boland says.

The American Heart Association listed drug-coated stents as one of the Top 10 advances in heart disease treatment last year. Stents are a dramatic step forward in coronary care.

"The stents have clearly improved our ability to treat patients with coronary blockages. However, that is only half the fight against heart disease," warns Dr. Boland. "Patients need to modify their risk factors so new blockages won't develop."