International guidelines say that Plavix should be taken at least for a month after implanting the stent. Patien then can continue taking Plavix for the next 9-12 months. Aspirin should be given for life if there isn't any contraindication (peptic ulcer). If there is a contraindication for Aspirin you can replace it with Plavix.

I am a 38 years old male,on September 20, 2007 i had a heart attack, 5 days later I received a drug eluted stent on 90 % blocked LAD.
The Cardiologist told me at that time due to the fact I have a drug eluted stent, I will be on plavix for rest of my life,Fact wich i am not very happy with it. My question is it safe to stop taking plavix after 1 year or maybe 2 years?

Theres a percentage of cardiologists that are recommending taking it for life but in my (somewhat limited) experience they're in the minority. I had 2 of the Cypher drug eluting stents implanted Nov 2006 and have seen 3 cardiologists and 2 GPs since. The longest that any of them have recommended Plavix is 12 months.That said I'm just now beginning to taper off. I am,as most are reluctant to let go of the thing that is holding off clots,strokes etc. Conversely I'm extremely tired from bleeding more than usual from small cuts,bruising for no apparent reason and living in fear of being in a BAD accident.Also there have been studies linking long term use to brain hemorrhages among other bleeding problems. I mentioned tapering off and you may want to google "Plavix Rebound" (see my post further down)for an explanation. Millions of people have taken it and stopped with no problems.

dodo1 You may want to check with other doctors for their opinions but I think the majority will tell you 12 months which is what the AMA & AHA are recommending. Of course you'll be taking asirin for life. I'm taking 325 mgs daily rather than 81 mg as my doctor said we'd much rather err on the side of too much rather than too little. That sounds reasonable to me!

To "dodo1":
Do you take Aspirin together with Plavix?

Yes I do. I am taking 81 mg aspirin daily , also I am taking 40 mg of lipitor, 2 mg of coversyl, and I am taking some fish oil pills.
The problem is I am getting so tired and some times even short of breath, I went couple of times to Emergency room for this, they did ECG, some blod tests and told me my heart is fine, so I am tending to believe my problem may come from medication.
Hopefully today I am going to find some answers, finally after 6 months I have an appointment with a specialist. ( I live in Canada, the medical care is free, but is so free that you don`t really get access to it, unless you are almost dead and you are lucky and did not die yet).
So I would like to find more opinions about my problem.
Thank you for your help!
Dodo

It doesn't seem likely to me that medicines you are taking can cause your symptoms. I believe that you should perform stress-test or chronography to confirm or exclude presence of coronary heart disease. You can consult some cardiologist about this.