Stent

What is a stent?

A stent is a tiny, expandable mesh tube that goes inside your artery to keep it open for blood to flow through. Providers commonly place stents during angioplasty procedures after moving plaque out of the way. A certain type of stent, called a stent-graft, can serve as a new lining for arteries with weak walls.

Stents look like tiny fishing nets. Many stents are metal. Stent-grafts are made of metal and fabric.

Stent size can vary. Stents that go in your coronary (heart) arteries are 8 to 48 millimeters long. This is shorter than a golf tee. The opening is 2 to 5 millimeters wide. This is about as wide as the tip of a crayon. Stents for other arteries can be larger.

Types of stents

There are several different types of stents designed for certain arteries or issues. Examples include:

• Drug-eluting stent: This is a metal mesh stent coated with medicine that keeps your artery from getting narrow again. It’s the type providers use most often for heart arteries.
• Bare metal stent: This is made of nickel-titanium alloy, stainless steel or cobalt-chromium. There’s no medicine on it. Providers don’t often use this type today.
• Biodegradable stent: This type is newer and in limited use. It dissolves in your artery in a few months.
• Polyester fabric and metal stent: This is commonly called a stent-graft or simply a graft. Fabric covers a mesh metal frame. Providers use this type to reinforce weak spots in large arteries like your aorta.

This article focuses on stents that go in your arteries. But there are other types of stents, too. These include:

• Ureteral stents, which help pee flow from your kidneys to your bladder
• Airway stents, which help your breathing passages stay open

What does a stent treat?

Stents most commonly treat severe blockages in your arteries. These blockages come from plaque buildup. You can think of a stent like crowd control for your artery. After your provider moves plaque out of the way, the stent helps that space stay open so your blood can get through.

You might need stents if you have:

• Carotid artery disease: Stents in your carotid arteries, in your neck, help blood reach your brain. This can lower your risk of a stroke.
• Coronary artery disease: Stents in your coronary arteries let blood reach your heart. This can help you prevent or recover from a heart attack.
• Peripheral artery disease: Stents in arteries in your legs, pelvis or arms help blood flow better there.
• Renal artery disease: Stents in your renal arteries can improve blood flow to your kidneys.

Stents also commonly treat aortic aneurysms. This is a bulge in the largest artery in your body (aorta). The bulge forms at a spot where your artery walls are weak. A stent-graft serves as a new lining for that part of your aorta. This improves blood flow and lowers your risk of an aneurysm rupture.

How are stents placed?

The exact details depend on the condition the stent is treating. Common stent placement procedures include:

• Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI): You might know this as coronary angioplasty or getting heart stents. Your provider places stents in your coronary arteries, usually through a catheter in your wrist or your groin. It’s what most people think of when they hear “stents.”
• Carotid artery stenting: This procedure improves blood flow to your brain. It helps people who have a severe carotid artery blockage.
• Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR): This procedure repairs an aneurysm in the part of your aorta that runs through your belly. It involves placing a stent-graft in your aorta through a catheter in your groin or upper thigh.
• Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR): This is similar to EVAR. But it treats aneurysms in the part of your aorta that runs through your chest.

Your healthcare provider can tell you more about the stent procedure you need. They’ll explain details like whether you’ll be awake, how long you’ll need to stay in the hospital and what you can expect for recovery.

You may need to take medicines for a while — possibly for life — to lower the risk of a blood clot forming in your stent. Follow your provider’s guidance closely. Don’t stop taking your medicine unless your provider tells you to. 

What are the advantages of stents?

Advantages of stents include:

• They help blood flow better through the artery where your provider places them.
• Along with angioplasty, they can stop a heart attack.
• They improve symptoms of heart disease, like chest pain.
• They may keep your artery from getting too narrow again.
• People who have a heart stent recover faster than those who have coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). This is because you can get a stent without a surgeon opening your chest.

What are the risks of placement?

Serious complications rarely happen during stent placement. People with heart failure, diabetes, kidney disease or a previous artery blockage have a higher risk of serious complications. Possible risks include:

• A blood clot inside your stent, especially if you abruptly stop taking your medicines that protect the stent
• An allergic reaction to the stent or its drug coating
• Bleeding at the spot your provider used to access your blood vessel
• Infection
• A tear inside your artery
• Abnormal heart rhythm
• A stent leaking or moving out of place
• Narrowing of the artery again
• Heart attack or cardiac arrest
• Stroke