The panel released the advisory warning to all concerned on Tuesday, which will be published in several medical journals.
The stents used for coronary surgery help to keep previously blocked arteries open to keep blood flowing through the heart.
Controversy has surrounded the use of the new drug-eluting stents, which are coated with slow-releasing medication to keep the arteries from becoming blocked. However, there are various stents that have been over the years.
The prescription drug Plavix, an anti-clotting agent, is usually recommended for patients who have undergone a stent placement. Many times doctors also advise their patients to take aspirin as well to avoid any blood clots from forming and to prevent clogged arteries.
The advisory panel warned patients that "... antiplatelet [anti-clotting] therapy is sometimes prematurely discontinued within the first year after stent implantation."
The discontinuation of anti-clotting medications can cause stent blockage and can potentially be very deadly. Clotting can cause heart attacks, stroke or death. Always contact your doctor for personal health advice.
Death rates from stent blockage have been presumed or documented to range from 20 to 45 percent, according to the advisory report.
According to Cindy Grines, MD, advisory writing committee chair and cardiologist at William Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, MI) stated, "We want to alert patients and healthcare professionals that this is a serious medical issue; they shouldn't even think about stopping antiplatelet therapy because it could result in heart attack or death."
Grines added, "If a physician, dentist or surgeon feels that stopping these medicines is absolutely necessary, the patient's cardiologist should be consulted, and the medications should be re-started as soon as possible. Patients are advised to postpone elective procedures if the physician or dentist doing it isn't comfortable with continuing antiplatelet medicine." The advisory panel based their opinion on recent research that showed blood clots had formed in as many as 29 percent of the patients who had stopped taking the anti-clotting medications early after surgical drug-coated stent placement.
The advisory panel also cited study research that showed death rates of anti-clotting medication use in patients who had drug-coated stents placed after a heart attack. The death rate for those who stop taking the anti-clotting medications within 11 months was 7.5 percent compared with 0.7 percent for those who continued the medication during the same timeframe.
There are several factors that lead to stopping the anti-clotting medications. One of the most prevalent for patients is the expensive cost of the drugs. Also cited by the advisory panel were instructions from physicians or dentists to stop taking the drugs before certain procedures, and inadequate education and understanding for patients.
The panel outlined several recommendations to patients, health care providers, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and Congress to eliminate the early discontinuation of this much needed drug therapy for patients with stents.
The joint science advisory panel consists of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, American College of Surgeons and American Dental Association.
