Stents open clogged arteries

Stents are scaffolding devices placed in blood vessels to treat conditions such as atherosclerosis or stenosis which block or narrow the arteries. Essentially, they work by opening up the artery again to increase blood flow through the vessel. These medical devices have become popular among the media within the past weeks as a result of former president Bill Clinton undergoing a procedure to have two stents placed in a coronary artery. This operation was necessary because Clinton underwent a quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 to bypass four clogged arteries. It is not unusual for bypass grafts to have fairly short life spans before complications arise. According to Dr. Michael Lee, the associate director of interventional cardiology research at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the surgeons opted to place stents in most likely because one or more of the bypass grafts may have been completely obstructed. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the cardiologist of Dick Cheney, added that Clinton’s symptoms, which included chest “discomfort”, were typical signs of angina or ischemia, conditions which result from a decrease in blood flow to the heart due to an obstructed coronary artery. Other/additional treatment includes blood thinners such as aspirin or heparin and bed rest, and with this treatment, a majority of chest pain goes away.

Website: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/11/chest.pain.clinton/index.html

Nathan Poon
VTPP 435-501