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Fri 12 Dec 2006US studies coated heart stent risksThe broad use of drug-coated heart stents in unapproved patients came under scrutiny today as US advisers weighed the risks of the tiny tubes implanted in millions to keep arteries open.Blood clots have appeared months later in some patients treated with drug-coated stents sold in the United States by Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific causing some doctors to return to older, bare-metal versions. Clots can kill or cause heart attacks.