When your arteries become weak or damaged, you may be a candidate for a stent. Stenting involves placing a small mesh tube in the impaired artery in order to keep it open and promote normal blood flow. If you have a condition that can be treated with a stent, here are 10 terms you should know to help prepare you for a consultation with your doctor.
- Artery: A muscular, tube-shaped blood vessel lined by smooth tissue. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the other tissues of your body. They become weakened or narrowed due to plaque buildup.
- Plaque: When cholesterol combines with fat, calcium, and other substances in your blood, plaque deposits form. These deposits slowly build up and harden on the inner walls of your arteries, causing your arteries to become clogged.
- Atherosclerosis: The hardening and narrowing of arteries due to plaque buildup. When arteries are blocked by plaque, blood flow is reduced. Abnormal blood flow places you at risk for a number of medical conditions that can be treated with stenting.
- Angioplasty: This procedure treats plaque buildup in your arteries and restores normal blood flow. The most common form of angioplasty is the use of a balloon catheter. This catheter is guided through your blood vessels until it reaches the blocked artery where a balloon, attached to the tip of the catheter, is inflated. The inflated balloon destroys the plaque. A stent is commonly placed during an angioplasty after the artery has been unblocked.
- Angina: The medical term for chest pain or discomfort. After the stent is placed, you may experience slight angina.
- Restenosis: This occurs when the treated artery begins to narrow again within months of the angioplasty procedure. Stents help prevent restenosis from occurring.
- Drug-eluting stent: A newer type of stent that is covered with drugs in order to help prevent the treated artery from reclosing.
- Blood clot: When your blood doesn’t flow normally, blood clots can form. If blood collects in your blood vessels or heart, the platelets are likely to stick together. Following a procedure where a stent was placed, you are at risk for a blood clot the first few months.
- Stent thrombosis: Although uncommon, this condition occurs when an implanted stent in an artery suddenly becomes blocked by a blood clot. This can lead to a heart attack or death.
- Antiplatelet therapy: After stenting, you will be sent home on antiplatelet therapy (blood thinners). This therapy will help prevent blood clots from forming on the stent. It is important you take your prescribed medication because a blood clot is one of the main reasons for restenosis.
