Key Stage 4
Meaning
A stent is a tube which can be placed in a blood vessel to widen it for blood to pass through.
About Stents
- A stent is used when a blood vessel becomes blocked.
- A surgery can be performed to put the stent into a narrow blood vessel and expand the diameter of the stent to widen the passage for blood.
- Stents are usually used for people with Coronary Heart Disease where there Coronary Arteries have become blocked by Cholesterol Plaques.
- If a stent is not used when it is needed then a Coronary Artery can become blocked and starve the heart muscles of oxygen, causing a heart attack.