New stent comes with low risk of complications for patients with and without diabetes

A new stent produced by Medtronic, Inc. has shown to perform strongly in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with and without diabetes. The Resolute Integrity drug-eluting stent (DES) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in February. It is specifically designed to treat patients who suffer from diabetes in addition to CAD. People with diabetes have a two- to three-fold increased risk for CAD as well as increased risks of complications and death. The results of a clinical trial showed that with the Resolute DES, rates of cardiac death, heart attack, and the need for repeat procedures were low in both patients with and without diabetes -- 9.6 percent for those with and 7.1 percent for those without, despite the high-risk nature of CAD in the diabetes patient population.