What is a "stent"?

The answer is c, a device for treating heart attack patients.

Stents are tubes made out of wire mesh that are inserted into arteries to help keep them open so blood can flow to the heart. When placing a stent, a doctor will often begin with a procedure called angioplasty to open up the clogged artery. Then the stent is inserted to provide a tiny framework, like support beams in a mine, to help keep the walls of the reopened artery in place.

Although stents are commonly used now, they're not a panacea. Sometimes arteries will still get clogged and narrow again even with a stent. When an artery that's been opened narrows again, that's called "restenosis."

An improved type of stent has been in the news recently because researchers found that by coating stents with certain drugs, they could dramatically reduce the number of cases of restenosis. Although it was an early study and more research is needed, doctors said they found that of 43 patients who received drug-coated stents, not a single one had restenosis over a two-year period.

Resources

Read more about stents and view animated films of stenting procedures at The Stent Center.

One consumer's wary opinion of drug-coated stents appears at About.com.

April 13, 2002