World’s newest drug-eluting stent implanted at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center

“This stent is unique because it is designed in a way that it can go where other stents can’t, such as in twisting, tortuous arteries that are difficult to access. If cardiologists can reach the diseased artery with this stent, we don’t have to send the patient to surgery,” said Dr. Stuart Solomon, interventional cardiologist at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and principal investigator on the trial. “Our research has also shown strong results in terms of safety and effectiveness.”

In February Medtronic’s Endeavor stent received FDA approval for treatment of coronary artery disease, which affects 13 million Americans and is the country’s leading cause of death.

Stents are tiny wire mesh tubes used to prop open coronary arteries to restore blood flow to the heart. Drug-eluting stents deliver medication to the artery wall to reduce the chance that the artery will narrow again and require a repeat procedure.

Methodist cardiologists have been pioneers in the research and development of coronary stents, and some of these first stents were implanted at Methodist 20 years ago. Since then, more than 100,000 stents have been used to open arteries in patients at Methodist. More recent research conducted at Methodist over the past five to 10 years has also helped fine-tune treatment for patients who have drug-eluting stents, making post treatment safer and more effective with the use of anti-platelet therapy.