New Abbott stent gets FDA approval

The Food and Drug Administration has given approval to Abbott Labs Xience, stent which is drug coated.

Xience is touted as being more flexible and thinner than older models.

Drug-coated stents are thought to work better at keeping arteries from re-clogging. But concerns surfaced about the safety of these devices a couple years ago following a report about a small risk of blood clots. Still, many doctors recommend the devices and use them.