Boston Scientific Taxus Stent?

Question

Does anyone here have one in a heart artery? or any other artery? What do you think about them? Does it scare you? I'm scared.

i had one put in in April of 2004 and in Oct. of 2004 i had a near fatal heart attack. blood clot behind the stent. i was on plavix and still am. i still have angina and am on a slow release nitro pill.

as soon as the stent was put in i started having spasms in my arteries, so the doc called it, i was taking lots of nitro tabs also. they told me they thought i was at low risk for death but didn't mention the stent. three months later i had the heart attack

oh and fyi. i also had to go through a crash landing on a commercial jet. i've also seen the explosion of a Delta jet crash in Irving, TX. i wouldn't be comparing it to things like that.

Answer 1

Stents are wire-mesh tubes that prop open arteries after they have been cleared of blockages through a procedure called angioplasty. The latest versions are coated with drugs to prevent the growth of scar tissue that can re-block arteries. The Boston Scientific Taxus stent and Johnson and Johnson's Cypher stent are basically identical in function, just different brands. It is really kind of a Ford vs. Chevy thing with different surgeons having different preferences. The Boston Scientific Taxus stent is considered easier to place than Johnson and Johnson's. Be advised though, Boston Scientific did have a recall on their stents whereas Johnson and Johnson has not to my knowledge. Ask your surgeon about this before you decide.

Answer 2

Presumably you are referring to the 'late event' (after one year)reports of the drug eluting stents producing blood clots (and thus heart attacks) years after being deployed. The late event incidence is 0.05% over your life time. That is about five events per ten thousand stents deployed will have that complication in people who are not taking Plavix. It is thought that using Plavix reduces the risk even further - but it is such a rare event that you will have to have a large study over a long period to prove it.

To put this in perspective, the risk from your stents blocking is slightly higher than that of being killed by your commercial jetliner crashing on any given trip. In sum, you would be better off to worry about if your retirement is well enough funded or if the children of Somolia are being fed today.

Good luck.

P.S. Boston Scientific had to recall 99,200 stent systems because of a defect that made it hard, in some cases, to deflate the balloon used to implant the stent. The defect was linked to three deaths and 47 serious injuries. If your stent was successfully deployed, then this recall in no way effects you.

Answer 3

Hello. yes i have 3 stents and all are drug coated and they were put in at 2 different times.. The first one was put in right after a heart attack and helped the blockage.. 2 years ago.... 2 months ago i was having chest pressure and they put in 2 more stents in the heart artery and I have not had any pressure since and going to cardiac rehab and feel much better. Its doesn't scare me it helps and after a few days of rest you don't feel a thing,,,, it just made me tired from the angioplasty. Nothing to be scared about, if you would like any other help or support let me know,,,