What Causes Stent-Related Blood Clots? Researchers Think They Know

Researchers in South Korea may have discovered the cause of blood clots following implantation of bare-metal or drug-eluting stents. By shedding light on the origins of stent-related thrombosis, physicians may be able to improve survival rates for long-term stent patients.

Blood clots, also known as thrombosis, can lead to sudden patient death if not treated. According to researchers at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine (Seoul, South Korea), stent thrombosis may occur after plaque buildup inside a patient's stent ruptures. Researchers published details in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.

Many researchers still dispute the cause of late stent thrombosis. However, if plaque buildup is the cause of thrombosis, researchers may be able to target this problem in the future. If medical device manufacturers can find ways to minimize the buildup of plaque in future stents, they may be able to minimize the risk of the condition before it happens.

In the study, researchers scrutinized Cypher stents by Johnson & Johnson, Taxus stents by Boston Scientific and Xience stents by Abbott Laboratories. In total, 27 patients received drug-eluting stents. Six patients received bare-metal stents. All the bare-metal stents in the study showed evidence of ruptured plaque, and approximately two-thirds of the drug-eluting stents in the study showed evidence of ruptured plaque.

Researchers also noted that patients who received poorly placed drug-eluting stents often had lesions. This problem wasn't noted in patients with bare-metal stents.