The Cordis Cypher Stent is a cardiac drug-eluting stent manufactured by Johnson and Johnson.  There have been studies that suggest the Cypher medicated stent carries an increased risk of serious and potentially deadly blood clots.

Although Johnson & Johnson has had reason to know of the increased risk of stent thrombosis, they failed to warn users and have attempted to down play the risk of heart attacks and blood clots. As a result, thousands of individuals have suffered blood clots and heart attacks which may have been prevented.

Cypher stent lawsuits were previously reviewed by the lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. for heart patients who have suffered a:

  • Heart Attack
  • Reclogging of the Artery
  • Death

New cases are no longer being accepted. This page is maintained for informational purposes only.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON CYPHER DRUG ELUTING STENTS

The Johnson and Johnson Cypher stent is a sirolimus-drug-eluting stent which was introduced in 2003.  It was developed by Cordis Corporation, which is a Johnson and Johnson Company.

When stents were first introduced during the 1990s they were bare-metal devices inserted into the arteries. 

The Cypher stent is one of two newer generation stents which contain a drug coating on the metal to prevent scar tissue inside the artery and reduce the risk of a new blockage.  However, research has shown that the drug coating may actually act as a magnet for potentially fatal blood clots. 

Many health experts considered this to be a much more serious risk than the possibility of another blockage from scar tissue.

>>INFORMATION: Drug Coated Stent Dangers

Cardiac stents gained widespread use during the 1990s, but in recent years the drug-coated stents have grown to account for nearly 90% of the heart stents used in procedures throughout the United States. 

The Cypher stent is one of two medicated heart stents on the market.  The other is the Taxus stent, manufactured by Boston Scientific.

Over the three years since the Cypher medicated stent was approved for sale in the United States, it has become a top-selling product.  Approximately 6 million people world-wide have either the Taxus stent or Cypher stent with the drug coating.  Sales for these medicated stents have exceeded $5 billion a year.

CYPHER STENT PROBLEMS

The Cypher drug-coated stent has been shown to carry a statistically significant risk of blood clots, or stent thrombosis.  The danger of potentially fatal blood clots can extend for years after the stent is inserted into the artery, raising significant concerns in the medical community.

>>INFORMATION: Heart Stent Problems

Although cardiologists have questioned the safety of Cypher stents, Johnson & Johnson has continued to defend their product to Wall Street analysts.  They have taken the position that there is no difference in the risk associated with medicated stents when compared with older bare metal stents.  However, many have speculated that this is simply an effort to avoid loss of profits while FDA regulators evaluate the safety of these devices.

The manufacturer of the other brand of medicated stents, Boston Scientific, has confirmed that their own Taxus stent carries an increased risk of blood clots.  They re-reviewed their own data following patients for several years after receiving drug-coated stents compared with patients who received bare-metal stents.  Another study presented at a meeting of cardiologists in September 2006 confirmed that the Cypher stent risk of clotting is similar to that of the Boston Scientific Taxus stent.

CYPHER STENT CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS

The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk represented individuals nationwide who were investigating potential Cypher stent lawsuits after suffering a blood clot, heart attack or death. New cases are no longer being accepted. This page is maintained for informational purposes only.