Coronary stents
Keeping vessels open
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Quickly — name a frequently implanted medical device.
If you guessed a pacemaker or an artificial hip, you're on the right track.
Among the most commonly implanted devices are tiny, expandable mesh tubes — or stents — which help prop open clogged arteries supplying the hearts of about 1 million Americans each year. Many doctors consider angioplasty with stent placement to be a good treatment because it's less invasive than open-heart surgery and has had good results.
But now a large medical study suggests angioplasty and stent placement may not be necessary in people who have regular, predictable chest pain (chronic stable angina) due to partially blocked arteries. However, if medication and lifestyle changes don't relieve your angina, or if you have a change in your usual pattern of chest pain (unstable angina), a stent may still be the best treatment.
