Methods of Treatment with Drug Eluting Stents with Prolonged Local Elution Profiles with High Local Concentrations and Low Systemic Concentrations

A method of treating peripheral vascular disease in a subject, the method comprising:

• implanting in a peripheral artery of a subject a drug eluting stent comprising:
• a stent body of about 130 mm to about 170 mm in length, the stent body being a design of annular elements and interconnectors where the annular elements are connected adjacently by at least one interconnector;
• a polymeric coating disposed on the stent body, the polymeric coating being 2 μm to 50 μm in thickness;
• and
• a lipophilic drug disposed in the polymeric coating, the lipophilic drug being present at an amount between about 4 mg to about 8 mg;
• wherein the maximum systemic blood concentration of the lipophilic drug in the subject is about 30 ng/ml or less than 30 ng/ml.