Health Blog Primer: What’s a Stent?

Published On: February 12th, 2010

Stent Bill Clinton was admitted to the hospital for chest pain today and had two stents placed in one of the arteries around his heart.

Here’s what that means:

A stent is a wire mesh tube that’s used to prop open an artery. That’s a stent in the picture.

Stents are often used for patients with unstable angina — sudden chest pain that can be a prelude to a heart attack.

In a typical procedure, doctors start by making a small incision in the patient’s groin, then threading a catheter through the incision and up into a clogged artery near the heart. Then they perform a procedure called angioplasty, using a tiny balloon to clear away plaque that’s clogging up the artery. Then the doctors run the stent through the catheter and into section of the artery that was just de-gunked.

The stent reduces the risk that the artery will re-close. Some stents are coated with a drug, to further reduce that risk.

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few years about whether stents are overused, particularly for patients with chronic chest pain. For more on that subject see this front-page story from this morning’s WSJ.

Image via Bloomberg News

View original here:
Health Blog Primer: What’s a Stent?

STOP PANIC ATTACKS - A Natural Technique To Stop Panic Attacks and Anxiety Fast!

The technique I teach has been developed by me Joe Barry, a former sufferer of all too frequent panic attacks and GAD. I developed a completely natural approach to eliminating 100% of general anxiety and panic attacks. This may seem very hard to believe for someone who may have had this condition for some time but believe me the new information is now available to be free from anxiety. I will reveal the whole technique to you.

Did you know:

African-American women have the highest death rates from heart disease, breast and lung cancer, stroke, and pregnancy among women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds

ShantericaPerry : @YungFamousMF stfu...clinton!

2012-02-10T06:14:41Z - Reply - View Tweet
Meridithbgp : The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House: The definitive account of one of the most accomplished, controver... http://t.co/lPErnP8h

2012-02-10T06:13:26Z - Reply - View Tweet
7giorni_news : Obama: �Italia partita a razzo. Piena fiducia in Monti, porter� l'Italia fuori dalla tempesta�: Il presiden... http://t.co/0iDiHJsc

2012-02-10T06:12:56Z - Reply - View Tweet
Italia_Notizie : News Corriere : Obama: �Italia partita a razzo. Piena fiducia in Monti, porter� l'Italia fuori dalla tempes... http://t.co/7hwdJzUA

2012-02-10T06:12:54Z - Reply - View Tweet
RandDIreland : RT @MargaretMolloy: Thanks President Clinton, Taoiseach, Tainiste & Minister Bruton for delivering strong, credible msg on #Ireland in #NYC today #IRLBiz

2012-02-10T06:12:10Z - Reply - View Tweet
ThickCulture : What if the Young Bill Clinton had a Facebook Account? http://t.co/7nZmtZlO

2012-02-10T06:10:50Z - Reply - View Tweet
OHAMalulani : In 1997 under the Clinton administration, an Air Force chaplain (Fr. Vincent Rigdon) successfully sued the... http://t.co/H8GNjFBq

2012-02-10T06:10:21Z - Reply - View Tweet

Employers Stand to Win Concession With Health Bill
Despite concerns of a stiff insurance requirement, the business sector appears to have won a key concession in a version of the health-reform bill moving through the Senate. But WSJ’S Janet Adamy says it remains to be seen whether the provision survives the final draft. ..
Health Blog Q&A: ‘White Coat, Black Hat’ Author Carl Elliott
Physician/philosopher/journalist Carl Elliott’s latest book takes a tour of the seamier problems that he says spring from the pervasive influence of money in medicine. ..
Primary Care Update: House Health Bill On Medical Homes
Tucked into the depths of the 1,018 pages of the House health care bill is $125 million to fund a program that looks at the medical home . In a medical home, a primary care provider (such as a family doctor, internist, pediatrician or nurse practitioner) gets paid to serve as the main point of..
Primary Care is ‘Jewel’ in the Crown of British Health Care
Socialized health care in the U.K. isn’t so bad, write two U.K. academics in a piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine ..
Health Blog Video: Is it True Giving is Good For Your Health?
‘Tis the season to give. But can generous acts benefit your health ..
Vioxx Lawsuits: What’s Been Settled, What’s Still Going?
Merck says it reached a proposed settlement on some Vioxx-related shareholder litigation. This isn’t to be confused with the $4.85 billion megasettlement with people who claimed that they or their family members suffered after taking Vioxx. It’s also separate from the $80 million Vioxx deal Merck cut with unions and insurers. ..

Orshe