Drug-Coated Stents Side Effects

Drug-coated stents may cause uncommon serious, adverse reactions. If you have any of the following symptoms, immediately contact your healthcare provider or doctor:

Chest pain, sweating, drowsiness or dizziness which may be indicators of a heart attack. Since stents alter the blood flow through the arteries, this is a possible side-effect that may be caused by irregular heart beats after the surgery
Blood vessel damage caused by the stent which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Patients suffering from this may require bypass surgery
Allergic reactions such as bodily swelling, trouble breathing, or chest pain. If these symptoms persist, the stent must be removed
Thrombosis or blood clots which may decrease the blood flow to vital organs and may also lead to a heart attack or stroke

Potential side effects following the procedure of a drug-coated stent may include the following. Although more common, if these symptoms persist for longer than several days or if there is an increase in severity, it is important to seek professional attention at once:

Chest soreness and distress
Abnormal heart beat (Arrhythmia)

Warnings & Recalls for Drug-Coated Stents

In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug-coated stents for patients with clogged arteries. Researchers testify that drug-coated stents decrease the chances of retenosis or blood clotting by 50% after the procedure, an area where bare-metal stents remain a risk to patients. However, patients with drug-coated stents are advised to continue usage of medication prescribed by their doctor. According to analysts, approximately 29% of patients who terminated their use of medicine earlier than advised developed blood clots. Drug-coated stents should not be used for off-label purpose or reasons not approved by the FDA. The most common off-label purpose is decreasing short-term difficulties of stenting in saphenous vein grafts where treatment has shown significant reduction in the number of patients needed follow-up surgery after a year. Although approximately 60% of patients receive a stent for unapproved reasons, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not sufficiently examined these uses to advise patients to undergo the procedure. Patients who are allergic to the following should not use a drug-coated stent:

Zotarolimus
Cobalt
Nickel
Chromium
Molybdenum
Blood thinners

Drug-Coated Stents Treatment and Use

Drug-Coated Stents| Drug-Eluting Stents (DES) are peripheral or coronary stents placed in patients to treat peripheral or coronary artery blockages or retenosis. Doctors implement drug-coated stents as modern alternatives to bare-metal stents (BMS) which in recent studies were shown to have more occurrences of major adverse cardiac incidents including re-narrowing of the artery.

Stents are utilized to prevent and treat a buildup of artery clogging chemicals such as:

Calcium
Lipids or fats
Cholesterol

How Do Drug-Coated Stents Work?

During an angioplasty procedure, a drug-coated stent may be placed by doctors within a diseased, clogged peripheral or coronary artery. The stent opens the blockage, then releases a drug which stops cell production that may further obstruct the passageway of the artery causing fibrosis which may lead to retenosis. This method opens and unblocks the passageway of the artery, allowing for a more regular circulation of blood throughout the body as well as allowing any tears in the artery to heal.

Blockage in artery before stent.

Artery opening after stent.

How are Drug-Coated Stents Implemented and Maintained?

Drug-coated stents may be surgically placed in the artery by an Interventional cardiologist or an Interventional radiologist. The stent, shaped as a circular metal cage, expands once positioned in the artery and opens the passageway. This procedure typically takes between 30 minutes and an hour to perform.

After the process is complete, the stent is left in the artery. To ensure prevention of buildup around the stent, patients may be asked to use a combination the following medications to make platelets less productive:

Soluble Aspirin or Bayer Aspirin, which is to be used indefinitely so long as the patient is not allergic to the medicine
Plavix, which is used for 4-6 weeks after the surgery when natural tissue will have completely covered the stent

Your doctor may advise you to take blood-thinners for about a year after surgery for optimal results in preventing clots.

Other Names for Drug-Coated Stents

Coronary and peripheral stents come in the forms of:

Drug-coated stents or drug-eluting stents (DES)

Bare-metal stents (BMS)