Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging - Length of Anti-Platelet Therapy After Drug Eluting Stent Placement

Patients who receive drug-coated stents (as opposed to the less frequently used bare metal stents) are currently recommended aspirin plus a thienopyridine such as Plavix, Effient, or Ticlid for one year. These guidelines apply to all patients with drug-coated stents, regardless of the type of stent they received. The purpose of these medications is to prevent a clot at the stent site when there is poor healing of artery tissues over the stent. A clot is a serious concern because it can suddenly block blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack. These medications have been proven to be helpful in stent patients, but they do have risks. The common side-effects are related to bleeding which in a few patients can be serious. A patient may be at risk for forming a clot if they must put these medications on hold for a surgical procedure to reduce the risk of bleeding. Plavix and Effient are also expensive for patients who are underinsured or uninsured. There is interest is finding a way to show that a patient's stent has healed properly before 12 months and that they can safely stop these medications early. This study is looking at a way to determine if patients who receive the Endeavor drug-coated stent and who are prescribed aspirin and Plavix can safely stop Plavix at 3 months instead of 12. Previous studies have shown 99.9% coverage of the body's own tissues on an Endeavor stent after 3 months. A device called an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) catheter will be used in this study to look at how much a stent has healed. It allows imaging inside a heart artery and the ability to see the healing of tissues over the stent.