Next-Gen Heart Stents May Feature Toothlike Coating [News]
Monday, June 2, 2008 - 14:42
in Health & Medicine
When arteries carrying blood to the heart muscles become blocked, doctors often clear them by performing an angioplasty (inserting a balloon to open the narrowing passageways) and then inserting a mesh metal tube called a stent. This conduit is designed to act as scaffolding to keep the artery open. Because this procedure was introduced three decades ago, researchers have been searching for ways to coat such stents to protect patients from allergic reactions to the metal and keep surrounding tissue from growing through the mesh and reclogging the artery. [More]