What are "coronary stents"?

What are "coronary stents"?

Coronary stents are thin metal networks, thin metal nets really, that we can use to help prop open a coronary artery. When we put an angiopasty catheter and balloon down into a coronary artery where there's a narrowing, we place the stent, which looks sometimes like a little bit of chicken wire, around the baloon. And then when we blow the balloon up, to expand that area in the coronary artery, the metal stent remains expanded. And when we deflate the balloon and pull it out, the stent stays in place and helps keep the artery open. The stent has that physical effect even if its just a plain, bare metal stent. But some stents also have medications on them that gradually come out of the stent and help keep that artery from closing up so quickly.People who get stents need to take blood thinning medications after they get the stent to make sure that no clots form within the stent and thus, within the coronary artery.