Heart Beat: 03/07

Patients fitted with drug-coated stents are advised to stay on anti-clotting drugs for at least a year. The advisory recommends doctors tell their patients to take an anti-clotting drug such as clopidogrel and aspirin for a year to reduce the risk of clotting, which could lead to a heart attack or death. The long-term safety of clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix) in stent patients has not been established.