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About Drug Eluting Stents (DES)
The concern centers on medical devices called drug-eluting stents. Millions of Americans could be walking around with drug coated tiny time bombs in their hearts. Doctors implant them in the hearts of about a million Americans a year to treat coronary artery disease.
Although it sounds good, the drug eluting stents may be doing more harm than good. Do you have a Stent (Drug Coated Stent, Drug Eluting Stent, Medicated Stent) lawsuit?
The origin of this terrifying problem is that medical devices, like drugs, get tested for a few months in a few hundred or at most, a few thousand people before the FDA approves stents.
Do You Have a Drug Eluting Stents Lawsuit? »
What is a drug eluting stent? A stent is a latticed, metal scaffold that is placed within the coronary artery to keep the vessel open. Heart attacks are the major causes of death and disability and are the result of inadequate blood flow to the heart caused by blocked arteries.
The first kind of drug eluting stent is made by Cordis Corporation (Johnson & Johnson) and is marketed under the brand name of Cypher. This stent is made of stainless steel and uses a polymer as the carrier and releases a powerful immunosuppressant drug called Sirolimus.
The second kind of drug eluting stent is produced by Boston Scientific and uses paclitaxel, another antiproliferative drug that is used against various types of cancer. This drug eluting stent is marketed under the name Taxus and is derived from the yew tree. Like above, this stent is made of stainless steel and uses a polymer as the carrier.
Unfortunately, there is a strong tendency for blood clots to form at the site where the stent damages the arterial wall. Since the FDA approved drug eluting stents in 2003, they have become the favorite medical device of choice for preventing heart attacks…until recently. Now experts are asking for better ways of assuring safety before medical devices like drug eluting stents are implanted into millions of people for a lifetime.
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Find out if you or your family is eligible for a drug eluting stent lawsuit. Start with a free legal DES consultation now.
