INDIANAPOLIS -- A team of Indianapolis doctors is among the first in the country to use the first stent designed specifically for heart patients with diabetes.

Stents are a common treatment for blocked arteries, but diabetics have smaller arteries and elevated blood-sugar levels, a combination that increases their risk of complications and death, RTV6's Stacia Matthews reported.

"We have a lot of good stents out there that are very good, but this one is effective in treating diabetics," said Dr. Bill Berg with St. Francis Health.

The drug-coated Resolute Integrity Drug Eluting Stent is guided by balloon to the narrowing, where it expands and remains in place, providing a scaffold to keep the artery open and restore blood flow.

Berg said what makes the stent different is the drug embedded in the polymer.

"Most of the time, when an artery narrows down after the stent, the smaller muscles develop scar tissue," he said. "This drug is designed to prevent that scar tissue from forming."

More than a third of heart patients who receive a stent are diabetic, a number that's higher in Indiana.

In some cases, diabetics must undergo open heart surgery for doctors to open a narrowed artery. But Berg said the new stent could mean fewer patients will have to face that invasive treatment.

"This is very good news," he said. "It's one more thing we've got to offer patients to help treat them and provide care, and hopefully avoid surgery, or at least delay it."

The Food and Drug Administration approved the new stent Friday. It can also be used in patients without diabetes.