The present invention relates to tubular stents that are implanted within a body lumen to support the organ, maintain patency and/or deliver drugs or agents. The stent (1200) has a cylindrical shape defining a longitudinal axis and includes a helical section (1208) having of a plurality of longitudinally oriented strut members (1213) and a plurality of circumferentially oriented hinge members (1214) connecting circumferentially adjacent strut members to form a band. The band is wrapped about the longitudinal axis in a substantially helical manner to form a plurality of helical windings. The helical section further includes a proximal section (1208A), a distal section (1208B) and an intermediate section (1220) there between. The stent further includes a plurality of connector members (1212) extending between longitudinally adjacent helical windings, wherein the number of circumferentially adjacent connector members per winding in the intermediate section is greater than the number of circumferentially adjacent connector members per winding in the proximal or distal sections.
