TCTMD -- Data from a registry of patients with drug-eluting stents (DES) shows that while clopidogrel use is protective against myocardial infarction (MI) for up to 18 months, it also is associated with a risk of major bleeding for at least as long. The study, published in the June 2010 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, contradicts earlier research suggesting that bleeding risk is concentrated in the early period after stenting.
