Mark & Associates, P.C. Attorneys At Law

Heart Stents

Heart stents were developed to hold arteries open after angioplasty procedures clear blockage and to ultimately prevent angina and heart attack.  In angioplasty, a catheter with a deflated balloon at its tip is inserted into a blood vessel in the arm or groin, and advanced within the vessel, to the blocked section of the coronary artery. The balloon is inflated within the narrowed artery to open the artery by pushing the plaque against the artery wall.  After the balloon is removed, the stent is mounted on another deflated balloon catheter and is inserted to the now expanded coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated, allowing the stent to fill the larger opening and holding the artery open for blood to flow through. The balloon is deflated and removed.

In 1980, doctors started opening arteries that were clogged by inserting balloons through the blood vessel.  The problems associated with angioplasty included restenosis, or reclosure of the vessel.  The artery would close because it was attempting to heal itself by creating new cells, cells which could cause more blockage. 

In the 1990s, the use of stents came into play.  Stents were metal mesh cylindrical structures that held the arteries open after angioplasty and prevented restenosis.  But the vessel still tried to “heal” itself, growing new cells around the wire which could ultimately cause more blockage. Drug eluting stents came on the market in 2003 and 2004 to try to solve the restenosis problem.  The drug coated stents emit drugs that prevent the formation of scar tissue and further blockage.  Because the drugs were effective at preventing scar tissue formation around the stent, the device ended up protruding into the artery and facilitating the formation of a blood clot and ultimately a heart attack.  Some doctors estimate that the number of patients at risk for developing blood clots from drug coated stents is 500-2000 per year.  Because of the clotting risk, medical device manufacturers are working on stents that dissolve and balloons that emit drugs which are removed immediately.