Heart stints/stents have become almost routine to the angioplasty procedure. Heart stints have made angioplasty more successful and allowed the heart patient to cut down on his or her hospitalization time. Each time out of the four stints that I have had implanted I was released the next day. In addition, the use of heart stints have shown to have a decrease in the frequency of restenosis which is the closure of the artery after it had been opened by angioplasty.

Heart stints are made of stainless-steel. There are two kinds: bare metal and drug coated. The latter are suppose to keep clotting from occurring around the implanted stint. There are really small, but are different in size so they can be used in different sized arteries. The size ranges from 8-38 millimeters in length and 2.5-4 millimeters in diameter. They are flexible.

Stints are permanent. If restenosis occurs around an implanted stint another stint may be inserted inside of the original one. They last varying amounts of time according to other issues in the patient.

The number one cause of coronary artery disease (CAD) that can lead to a heart attack is blocked arteries. It is estimated that about 1.1 million Americans will have a new or a recurrent heart attack this year (2006). If blocked arteries are a causation then it becomes imperative that you understand what might cause a blocked artery, the symptoms that are associated with blocked arteries, and how you might reduce the possibility of a re-occurrence.

Fatty substances (such as cholesterol) buildup along the lining of the coronary arteries reducing blood flow which deprives the heart form oxygen. When the blood flow through an artery is reduced, the heart muscle may not be receiving enough oxygen. Results: chest pain (angina). When the artery becomes severely blocked a heart attack occurs.

Even after treatment such as a heart stint/heart stent or angioplasty takes place it is still possible for those arteries to re-narrow or even become blocked again at the same place where the treatment occurred. This is called restenosis.

Some heart stint/heart stent manufactures, like Cypher® Sirolimus-eluding Coronary Stent, have developed a stint with an anti-rejection type medication that may help in preventing blockage again in the treated area.

ROCHESTER, Minn. Former President Ford underwent an angioplasty procedure at the Mayo Clinic, his spokeswoman said Friday.

Stents were placed in two of his coronary arteries to increase blood flow during the procedure performed Thursday, according to the statement from Penny Circle, Ford’s spokeswoman.

She said Ford, 93, was resting comfortably in his hospital room.

Mayo Clinic spokesman John Murphy confirmed the procedure, but would not comment further.

Ford was admitted to the clinic Aug. 15 for tests and evaluation. He was fitted with an implantable cardiac pacemaker on Monday.

Ford spent a few days in Colorado’s Vail Valley Medical Center in July because of shortness of breath. In January, he was hospitalized for 12 days in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to treat pneumonia. Five years ago, Ford suffered two small strokes and spent about a week in a hospital.

Ford became the nation’s oldest living former president after the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.

Ford was House minority leader when President Richard Nixon chose him to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned, as vice president in 1973.

Ford became president on Aug. 9, 1974, when Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal.

Source: Detroit Free Press