Stent coated with Viagra may help prevent blood clots
By AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION NEWS
Coating heart stents with the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, known by the generic name sildenafil, could one day reduce blood clots and re-narrowing of arteries, according to new research.
Stents prop open heart arteries to help restore blood flow to the heart, lowering the risk of a heart attack. Use of the small tube-shaped scaffolds is common, with more than 640,000 stent procedures in 2009.
But traditional bare metal stents can lead to restenosis — re-narrowing or blockage of a treated artery. Coating a stent with medicine can help prevent restenosis but may lead to blood clots near the stent.
Read story here at American Heart Association News
