Stints: Heart Disease Treatment Without Surgery

A stint is a tube of metal mesh that is used to keep an artery opening during angioplasty. The stint is first put over a balloon catheter and moved into the area that is blocked. The balloon is then inflated while the stint expands and locks into places forming a temporary frame. This will stay in the artery permanently and hold it open. It will improve the flow of blood to the heart and relieve many symptoms that one is having like chest pain. Within weeks, the lining of the artery will begin to grow over the stint.

Stints are used patients and depend on the size of the artery and where the blockage is located. Inserting a stint is a very common procedure and over 70 percent of coronary angioplasty procedures include the placement of a stint. It is known that if a stint is placed into a blocked artery within 12 hours of a heart attack, it can potentially save a life.

In some patients, stints will reduce the renarrowing that might occur after balloon angioplasty or any other procedure that uses a catheter. A stint will also help with normal blow flow and keep the artery open if it has been injured.

After a stint has been placed there will be recovery time at home for the patient. Medications will be prescribed from the doctor for pain and to prevent unwanted blood clotting. Some minor chest pain is common. Bleeding and bruising near the catheter site is common but if does occur, the doctor should be called immediately. There is to be no ointments, dressings or lotions applied to the catheter site unless instructed by the doctor. A dose of aspirin will be given daily after the procedure and will continue after the patient goes home.
Once home, there will need to be lifestyle changes made.
• Quit smoking right away.
• Maintain a good weight for your body.
• Include a regular exercise routine.
• Take all required medications as prescribed.
• Follow up with doctors for all appointments.
• Make dietary changes necessary for a healthy heart.

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