Stents are small tube that expands the narrowed arteries in the body. The function they perform is opening the narrowed arteries, reduce the chest pain, help to treat a heart attack. They are also referred to as cardiac stents or coronary stents.
These are usually made of metal mesh and put into the arteries the procedure is called percutaneous coronary intervention or, its more common name, angioplasty.
History Of Stent
Earlier in 1970s doctor user balloon angioplasty to widen the arteries that have narrowed. A catheter which is nothing but a thin long balloon-tipped tube I placed inside the artery in either arm or the groin and with the help of the X-Ray it is moved to the blockage area.
This helps to blood flow and hence the arteries receive the amount of oxygen-rich blood. But there was one issue with this method as there was no resistance the artery regain their previous shape as the balloon gets deflated.
To solve this problem small stents were created which were mounted on the balloon and place into the blood vessels. It forms a permanent place to hold and open the artery after the balloon is deflated and removed.
In the year 1986, the first stent was tested and placed inside the human artery, and later after 8 years, the FDA approved the first stent for use in the U.S.
Types of Stent
- Dual Therapy Stent (DTS):
- It is the latest type of coronary stent. It is designed to open up and heal the arteries. It contains the benefits of DES and bioengineering stents and it is only stents that contain the drug to heal the arteries.
- It has coating from both the side i..e inside and outside which reduces the blood clots, inflammation, and healing of arteries.
- The stent wall contains the drug that is released into the artery which stop the artery to stop blocking and the drug is released from the bioresorbable polymer that will degrade over time.
- The other side of the stent facing the blood vessels contains the antibodies which promote the natural healing of the arteries.
- Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold(BVS): It is a type of drug which is of dissolvable type on the scaffold platform which can be consumed over time by the body. The drug is released with the help of a polymer over a time that stops the arteries to re-narrowing but unlike DTS it does not contain any antibodies that heal the arteries.
- Drug-Eluting Stent(DES): Coated with medication that is released with the help of polymer which ensures the smooth blood flow, re-narrowing the arteries but it also leads to blood clots. It has a slow healing process so the patient implanted with DES is recommended to follow their drug therapy to reduces the risk of stent thrombosis.
- Bare Metal Stent(BMS): These are stainless steel and not have any coating. Their work is to open the narrowed arteries and as the artery heals tissue grows around the stents.
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