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  • Stents

    Stents

    For patients whose cardiovascular symptoms do not respond to lifestyle changes and medicines, the best treatment is often angioplasty and stents. An interventional cardiologist opens the artery by inflating a tiny balloon at the blockage and then inserts a small mesh tube called a stent. The stent keeps the artery open, improving blood flow to the heart, brain, kidney, other organs, and limbs.

  • Heart & Vascular Disease

    Blood clot formation (thrombosis)

    After either a bare metal or drug-eluting stent is implanted, there is a small chance that a blood clot may form on its surface. The chance of forming blood clots is low (it occurs in less than one in 200 patients). However, if blood clots form, the complications can be serious. They can result in recurrent chest pain or heart attack.

  • Treatment & Prevention

    Cardiac Rehabilitation

    Cardiac rehabilitation programs help participants resume a healthy lifestyle after a cardiac event and include monitored exercise, education and counseling about cardiac risk factors, and psychosocial support.

    Types of stents

    Your doctor may choose from two types of stents: bare metal and drug-coated (or drug-eluting). He or she may decide which type of stent to use to prop open your artery based on several factors, including the size of the artery and the location of the blockage and other factors specific to your case.

  • Resources

    Carotid Angioplasty and Stenting

    This short animation shows how a carotid angioplasty and stenting procedure can open blocked arteries in the neck and restore blood flow to the brain, potentially preventing a stroke.

    Claire Kurz – Born With a Fighting Spirit

    Claire Kurz – Born With a Fighting Spirit

    Melissa – Knowing the Signs: Women & Heart Attacks

    Heart attack was just about the last thing on 40-year-old Melissa’s mind. The active mother of two sons had just seen her doctor for a complete physical a few months earlier and had no symptoms that would indicate heart disease.

    Stent Placement

    Arteries opened with angioplasty can become blocked again if the artery collapses. To reduce the risk of collapse, many angioplasties are accompanied or followed by the insertion of a stent, a small stainless steel mesh tube that helps prop open the artery at the point where the blockage was opened. Watch this short animation to see how a stent is placed to help restore blood flow through a previously blocked artery.