UT Southwestern researchers find drug-coated stents less risky for heart bypass patients

Coronary bypass surgery may carry less risk of serious complications if stents coated with a drug that suppresses cell growth are used in the procedure rather than bare-metal stents, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers and colleagues have found.

The study, appearing online and in an upcoming issue of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is the first large, multicenter trial comparing two types of commonly used stents. Stents are small mesh tubes that reinforce the walls of blocked blood vessels. In this study, stents were used to treat blockages in diseased coronary arteries.

In bypass surgery, grafts are taken from the saphenous vein in the patient’s thigh and sewn to the coronary arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart, relieve severe chest pain and reduce the risk of heart attacks from blocked arteries. Years after surgery, those grafts may develop blockages inside the graft that are challenging to treat because of high rates of recurrence.