Stent

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Stent

A stent is a small, coiled wire-mesh tube that can be inserted into a blood vessel and expanded using a small balloon during a procedure called angioplasty. A stent is used to open a narrowed or clotted blood vessel, most often an artery in the heart.

When the balloon inside the stent is inflated, the stent expands and presses against the walls of the artery. This traps any fat and calcium buildup against the walls of the artery, allows blood to flow through the artery, and helps prevent the artery from closing again (restenosis). It can also help prevent small pieces of plaque from breaking off and causing a heart attack.

To insert the stent, a flexible, thin tube (catheter) is passed through an artery in the groin or arm into the narrowed artery. A small balloon positioned inside the stent is inflated. The pressure from the inflated balloon opens the stent and pushes it in place against the artery wall.

Some stents are coated with a medicine to more effectively prevent restenosis.

Credits

Author	Jeannette Curtis
Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor	Pat Truman
Primary Medical Reviewer	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Last Updated	May 25, 2007

Last updated:	May 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman

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