Called "Endeavor," this kind of stent has been the first to hit the U.S .market since 2006 when the popularity of stent declined due to health risks concerns.
A stent is a tiny, lattice-shaped mesh-wire tubes that is inserted permanently into an artery and helps blood to flow through it.
In 2003, the stents which come in two types such as the bare-metal models and drug-coated versions, had been considered as the most modern devices and were widely used in coronary arteries, veins, bile ducts, esophagus, colon and trachea.
Two years ago, the findings of a panel of federal advisers indicated that those who used drug-coated stents had a higher risk of heart attack. But it was never established whether drug coatings were related to higher recorded deaths.
Meanwhile, with the approval of FDA, the Medtronic is expecting to ship at least 100,000 units of stents in various U.S. hospitals, this month alone.
