What is a Stent? History, Types, and stent comparison – Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a heart disease caused by narrowing of the heart arteries that are more commonly called coronary arteries. In this case, the coronary artery that provides blood supply to the heart muscle narrows or hardens due to the crust, so the blood flow to the heart becomes reduced.
CHD risk factors include; High Total Cholestroller or LDL levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, smo**king, diabetes, obesity, lack of exercise, heredity, age, and stress.
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One of the most beneficial treatments of CHD is the Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In PCI used catheter and through a catheter inserted various tools to perform plaque engineering that causes the narrowing to be open and normal again.
The tools used include balloons, stents, or other tools, such as drills, veins, filters and other tools. Compared to bypass surgery, the advantages of PCI do not require special preparations, no need for total anesthesia, no need of chest drilling (incisions only 1-2 mm), generally only need one day of treatment, painless, the day of treatment is not required for rehabilitation, sufferers can do activities and exercises after the return and almost no side effects are the advantage of this technology.
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What is a Stent?
Stent, or often called a ring, is a small cylinder of metal or plastic inserted into the vessel, forcing it to remain open.
There are many different types of stents that function, ranging from coronary vessels, vascular and biliary, to simple stent to maintain the flow of urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
In the treatment of cardiac arrest, stents mean the action of inserting the ring into a blocked blood vessels so that the blood can flow back without having to do bypass surgery. The stent is often felt as a more comfortable solution by patients as it does not involve open surgery.
History and types of Stent.
In the late 1970s, cardiologists began using balloon angioplasty actions to treat the narrowing of coronary arteries. At that time it was used to open the obstruction of the flow and restore the blood flow was only a balloon, where then the balloon will be deflated and will be removed along with the catheter.
After the action, there was a small percentage in the case where the coronary arteries returned to the original form even the collapse after the balloon was deflated. In addition, there are 30% of cases where coronary blood vessels that have been administered by balloon angioplasty undergo restenosis.
To solve this problem, then developed a small stent. When the procedure is performed, the stent will expand when the balloon expands, locked in place, and serve as a coronary vascular holder to remain open, even when the balloon is deflated and ejected.
In 1986, researchers from France, implanted the first stents in human coronary vessels. In 1994, the FDA approved the first stent use in the United States.
The first generation stent is made of bare metal material. Although bare-metal stents are able to eliminate the risk of coronary blood vessel collapse, but are less able to prevent restenosis. Approximately 25% of the coronary veins treated with bare-metal stents are re-narrowed, usually within 6 months.
Therefore, it was starting to develop a stent that is coated with drugs that are able to inhibit the restenosis process. This type of stent is referred to as drug-eluting stents. Drug-eluting stents proved to dramatically reduce the incidence of restenosis to below 10%.
Drug-eluting stents Vs Bare-metal stent (regular stent), which are the best?
After knowing what is a stent, history, and the types, then which are the best?
Research shows the patients with drug-coated stent is more at risk of heart attacks than patients with regular stents.
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Studies have shown that with such stents, some patients are still experiencing cardiac arrest. Preliminary studies conclude that the drug-coated stent may increase the risk of heart attack.
Dr. Stephan Windecker is leading the Interventional cardiology program at the Bern University Hospital in Switzerland. He conducted research on the new generation of drug-coated stents and compared them to ordinary stents.
Windecker and other researchers examined more than a thousand cardiac patients undergoing emergency cardiac surgery. About half of them are fitted with a regular metal stent and the rest are fitted with drug-eluting stent. The prescribed medication is made from a naturally degradable ingredient.
A year later, researchers found that those with drug-coated stents experienced fewer heart problems than regular metal stents.
The results of this study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
DES (Drug-Eluting Stent)
Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) is an intervention procedure to the heart with the installation of a drug-coated Stent. It only takes one day of treatment, without total anesthesia, painless, and barely side effects are the hallmarks of this technology.
Prognosis
In most patients, the action of angioplasty and stent installation can provide good results to restore blood flow in the blood vessels of the coronary arteries. The patient also avoids the possibility of bypass surgery.
But keep in mind that the action of angioplasty and stent installation does not improve the cause of obstruction. Coronary artery vessels may still be clogged elsewhere.
Therefore, improving the life patterns should be make to prevent re-obstruction elsewhere. Some of the steps that can be taken include: eating healthy foods for the heart, avoiding high cholesterol foods, exercising, quitting smo**king, and avoiding stress.
Thank you very much for reading What is a Stent? History, Types, and stent comparison, hopefully useful.
