Approved by the FDA in 1994, stenting is a catheter-based interventional procedure in which a small, expandable wire mesh tube (stent) is implated into a diseased artery as a scaffold to hold it open.

A less traumatic alternative to coronary bypass surgery, coronary artery stents are designed to be placed into the coronary arteries that lie on the surface of the heart and supply it with oxygen-fresh blood. Moved into place by a balloon catheter, the stent locks into place when the balloon is inflated and remains in the artery permanently. Coronary artery stenting is almost always performed in conjunction with other catheter-based procedures, such as balloon angioplasty or atherectomy.

For more information on stenting, visit the American Heart Association’s Website.