You should ask the interventionist who puts the stent in. I am quite certain he/she will tell you very specifically. Furthermore, strictly speaking, unless you are in atrial fibrillation, you will not be on "blood thinners," an expression that is generally applied to anticoagulation with warfarin or one of the newer anticoagulants that do not work through a vitamin K dependent mechanism. You will be on anti-platelet drugs such as low dose aspirin plus clopidogrel, prasugrel, or ticagrelor. Generally you will be on two of these, aspirin and one other, for at least 6 months if you get a drug-eluting, medicated, stent. If you get a bare metal stent, the time of dual anti-platelet therapy will be less. I cannot be more specific than this since it entirely depends on the factors I mentioned above. However, one thing is for sure. Once you stop the two anti-platelet drugs, you will have to be on one, usually aspirin, for as long as possible. The risk of bleeding with anti-platelet drug(s) is less than that with "blood thinners."

Jeremiah M. Gelles MD FACP FACC