Preferred embodiments of an implantable medical device with a high degree of flexibility is shown and described. One aspect includes an implantable stent having an intermediate portion with a helical winding and first and second end portions. The implantable stent further includes a coupling portion with a helical winding, and bridges joining struts of defining the helical windings. The stent also includes a paddle providing a bridge joining the ends or the helical windings. Another aspect relates to a radially self-expansible stent with a plurality of radiopaque markers attached to it. The markers are shaped and located at the stent end such that the compressive stress exerted on the end annulus of the stent during release of the stent is shared between the markers and the inflection zones that do not carry a marker.