The present invention relates to tubular stents that are implanted within a body lumen. The stent (1400) has a cylindrical shape defining a longitudinal axis and includes a helical section (1408) and a closed endless ring section (1420) within the helical section. The helical section has of a plurality of longitudinally oriented strut members (1413) and a plurality of circumferentially oriented hinge members (1414) connecting circumferentially adjacent strut members to form a band, the band being wrapped about the longitudinal axis in a substantially helical manner to form a plurality of helical windings. The closed ring section interrupts the repeating helical pattern and separates the helical section into a proximal helical section and a distal helical section. The intermediate ring section includes a plurality of longitudinally oriented strut members and a plurality of circumferentially oriented hinge members connecting circumferentially adjacent strut members to form an endless ring.
