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Trial available for patients with peripheral arterial disease

Spokane, WA - This spring, the first patient enrolled in a landmark clinical trial evaluating the use of a drug-coated stent to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a serious medical condition affecting more than 10 million Americans each year.  Now, Spokane area residents with the condition may also receive the innovative treatment offered in this trial.

A stent is a small metal device that acts like a scaffold, propping open the blocked arteries. In many cases, arteries can become blocked again over time as scar tissue forms around the implanted stent. Drug-eluting stents use medication to prevent the artery from renarrowing.

Drug-eluting stents, which have shown clinical success in treating coronary artery disease, are now being tested to see if they have similar benefits in treating arteries outside the heart.  This current trial is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Zilver PTX stent.  Made by Cook Incorporated, the stent uses the drug paclitaxel, a drug approved for clinical use as an anti-cancer agent and used successfully with coronary stents to reduce the risk of renarrowing of the artery.

Peripheral arterial disease affects blood vessels that lead from the heart to other areas of the body such as the legs, feet and kidneys. When the blood vessels become blocked due to fatty deposit buildup, blood circulation is restricted. Untreated, peripheral arterial disease results in pain when walking and can lead to gangrene and amputation.  The Zilver PTX stent is placed above the knee in the major artery in the thigh to treat the disease.

“Drug-eluting stents that also deliver medication have had phenomenal results for patients,” says Rodney Raabe, MD, radiologist at Sacred Heart Medical Center who is a principle investigator for the trial. “Currently, they are the primary therapy for opening blockages in coronary arteries. We hope similar technology, used in the legs, will help those who suffer from peripheral arterial disease.”

Sacred Heart Medical Center, is one of just 31 centers nationwide to offer the Zilver PTX treatment during this clinical trial.  For further information, call (509)474-4327.

 

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