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Media Inquiries: 434-924-5679 U.VA. INTRODUCES DRUG-ELUTING STENT IN CARDIAC CARE |
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They’re called the new gold standard in interventional cardiology because they can help keep a patient’s heart vessels from re-clogging, a process called restenosis. This can reduce repeat angioplasties by up to 40 percent and even prevent heart bypass surgeries. New drug-eluting stents, approved for use nationwide by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late April, have now arrived at the University of Virginia Health System. The first drug-eluting stent at U.Va. was inserted in a patient’s heart vessel on May 21 by Dr. Michael Ragosta, director of interventional cardiology and associate professor of internal medicine at U.Va. The new stent, which looks like a tiny metal scaffold, is coated with an antibiotic called sirolimus. The drug prevents re-blockage inside heart vessels by inhibiting the growth of smooth muscle cells by leaving them in a resting state. Traditional “bare metal” stents are not coated with such drugs and are unable to prevent re-clogging in eight to 25 percent of cases, depending on several patient variables. “The drug-eluting stents represent a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease, “ Ragosta said. “We are excited that we can now offer this important treatment to our patients in central Virginia.” Patients who are at high risk of re-narrowing of the cardiac arteries are the best candidates for this new stent. This includes patients with diabetes, small arteries and long lesions in their arteries. Ragosta said the stent has not been well-studied in certain patient subgroups and may not be appropriate for all heart patients. U.Va. is participating in several ongoing clinical trials to study the effectiveness of other drug-eluting stents using a substance called paclitaxel instead of sirolimus and applying these stents to more diverse patient groups. Balloon angioplasties have been performed at U.Va. since 1981. Stent placement was incorporated in cardiac care in 1994. Approximately 1,400 coronary angioplasty procedures are performed each year at U.Va. and over 80 percent of these procedures involve stents. May, 23, 2003 |