Stent study surprises

In potentially bad news for device manufacturers, a new study released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that patients whose arteries are propped open with drug-eluting stents may have a much higher risk of developing blood clots than had previously been supposed. Patients tracked in the study had a 1.03 percent chance of developing a blood clot. The study tracked the progress of 2,400 patients in Germany and Italy. Johnson & Johnson's Cyper stent performed moderately better than Boston Scientific's Taxus. A Johnson & Johnson spokesman said the finding underscores the need for patients to receive the proper anti-clotting drugs.

For more on the stent study:
- see this story from the Boston Globe