Stenting is the process of using a wire metal mesh tube to prop open an artery during angioplasty.
Once the artery is widened, a device called a stent is usually placed in the artery to act as scaffolding to help prevent the artery from re-narrowing after the angioplasty. The stent looks like a very tiny coil of wire mesh. Stents can be coated with medication that's slowly released to help prevent arteries from re-clogging. These coated stents are called drug-eluting stents, in contrast to noncoated versions, which are called "bare-metal" stents.
The procedure:
- The stent is collapsed, placed around a balloon at the tip of the catheter and guided through the artery to the blockage.
- At the blockage, the balloon is inflated and the spring-like stent expands and locks into place inside the artery.
- The stent remains in the artery permanently to hold it open and improve blood flow to the heart.
- Once the stent is in place, the balloon catheter is removed and more images (angiograms) are taken to see how well blood flows through the newly widened artery.
- Finally, the guide catheter is removed and the procedure completed.
After the stent placement, the patient may need prolonged treatment with medication to reduce the chance of blood clots forming on the stent material.
Condition Details:
Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic. Over time, however, too much pressure in your arteries can make the walls thick and stiff — sometimes restricting blood flow to your organs and tissues. This process is called arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.Atherosclerosis is a specific type of arteriosclerosis, but the terms are often used interchangeably.
Although atherosclerosis is often considered a heart problem, it can affect arteries anywhere in your body. For example:
- When arteries leading to your limbs are affected, you may develop circulation problems in your arms and legs called peripheral arterial disease.
- When arteries to your heart are affected, you may have coronary artery disease, chest pain (angina) or a heart attack.
- When arteries supplying blood to your brain are affected, you could have a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke.
- Atherosclerosis can also lead to a bulge in the wall of your artery (aneurysm).
- You may not know that you have atherosclerosis until a hardened artery causes a medical emergency. But you can take steps to protect yourself. Healthy lifestyle changes and medications can help.here are usually no signs or symptoms until an artery is so narrowed or clogged that it can't supply adequate blood to your organs and tissues.The specific signs and symptoms depend on which arteries are affected. For example:
- Heart arteries. Obstruction of the arteries to your heart (coronary arteries) may cause symptoms of heart attack, such as chest pain.
- Arteries supplying the brain. Obstruction of the carotid arteries in your neck may cause symptoms of stroke, such as sudden numbness, weakness or dizziness.
- Arteries in the arms and legs. Obstruction of the arteries supplying blood to your arms and legs may cause symptoms of peripheral arterial disease, such as leg pain when walking (intermittent claudication).
