Stent News and Research

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A stent is a small mesh tube that’s used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body.

You may have a stent placed in an artery as part of a procedure called angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). Angioplasty can restore blood flow through narrowed or blocked arteries. Stents help prevent arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after treatment with angioplasty. You may also have a stent placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.

Stents are usually made of metal mesh, but sometimes they’re made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are used in larger arteries. Some stents are coated with medicines that are slowly and continuously released into the artery. These medicines help prevent the artery from becoming blocked again.

Stenting for Stroke Prevention is More Effective Than Surgery in Keeping Blood Vessels Open

Research presented in a six-hour symposium on carotid artery disease at the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology showed carotid artery stenting to be safe and effective for highrisk patients. Currently, the standard of care for stroke prevention in patients with moderate to severely blocked carotid arteries is carotid endarterectomy surgery. The ARCHeR trials treated patients who were high-risk surgical candidates with carotid artery stenting with and without embolic protection, a device to capture debris that may break off during the procedure.

25 Mar 2004

New treatment for heart attacks

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has developed a potential new treatment for heart attacks. The therapy inhibits fluid leakage from cardiac blood vessels following a heart attack and thereby significantly prevents long-term heart damage and improves survival.

22 Mar 2004