<International Circulation>: Does the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy of post-DES procedures differ from that of post-BMS procedures？

Dr. Kandzari: Historically， the standard duration of thenopyridine treatment after a BMS has been 2~4 weeks and that is very different from our current recommendations after drug-eluting stent placement. And yet， most of the studies suggesting benefit of longer duration in patients with acute coronary syndromes included those treated with bare metal stents. Probably the most common reason bare-metal stents are used today is because there is a perception that patients may not be able to take longer dual antiplatelet therapy. What we do not know is whether long term dual antiplatelet therapy after a BMS confers the same benefit as after a DES and so some forthcoming trials will address this issue by including both bare-metal and drug-eluting stent treated patients.