ORLANDO -- Drug-eluting balloons can be used in place of stenting in patients at high risk of bleeding, Mariusz Zadura, MD, explains in this exclusive InFocus report.They are particularly useful for patients on warfarin, Zadura, of the Heart and Diabetes Center in Karlsburg, Germany, told cardiology editor Chris Kaiser.When drug-eluting stents are implanted, dual antiplatelet therapy is contraindicated for 12 months; when balloons are deployed, antiplatelet therapy can begin a month later.The balloons also offer a solution for bare-metal instent restenosis, Zadura said.

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