What do the stents used in arteries look like?”
A stent, which is a wire mesh tube, is a device used as part of a procedure to unblock an artery and allow better blood flow. It is inserted during angioplasty — when a catheter is threaded up the body to the heart, usually via the femoral artery, reached through a small incision in the groin. A balloon on the tip of the tube is moved up to the clogged area and inflated, disrupting the blockage, at which point the stent expands to make a scaffold that holds the artery open. The stent stays in the artery permanently, improving blood flow to the heart muscles and relieving symptoms — most commonly chest pains. The lining of the artery will grow over the metal structure of the stent within a few weeks of the operation. There are two main types of stent: a bare metal stent and a drug-eluting stent, which is coated with medication that is released once the scaffold has been raised and reduces the risk of the artery becoming blocked again. Angioplasty, which is one of the most common medical
Reporting from Los Angeles and New York – Former President Clinton, who underwent major surgery to clear blocked arteries six years ago, suffered chest pains Thursday and was taken to a New York hospital where doctors inserted stents in one of his coronary arteries, according to a close aide. Clinton, 63, was “in good spirits” after the procedure, said Douglas Band, counselor to the former chief executive. Clinton began experiencing “discomfort” in his chest and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights, Band said in a statement. It was not immediately clear where Clinton was when he was stricken, but the headquarters of his William J. Clinton Foundation are in nearby Harlem. According to a White House official, President Obama “spoke to Clinton shortly before 7 p.m. [Eastern time] and wished him a speedy recovery. . . . Clinton said he was feeling ‘absolutely great.’ ” The insertion of the stents, which are used to prop open arteries, was done after consultatio
