After certain types of heart attacks, doctors often use stents to prop open the arteries. Another method that may be used involves removing blood clots through thrombus aspiration (TA), but studies have shown mixed long-term results.

Patients who have previously suffered from a blood vessel blockage and received a medication-coated stent to prop the artery open may have a lower risk of developing another blockage or having a heart attack.

Some patients with coronary blockage benefit from medicine-coated stents to prop the artery open. A new study confirms stents are safe with limited use.

Inherited bleeding and clotting disorders are not well understood. Scientists hope that a study to create human platelet cells, which could aid chemotherapy patients in need of platelet transfusions, will provide insight into platelet function.