1. Coronary Stents BY: COURTNEY MEDEIROS BME 281 11/30/11

2. Coronary Artery Disease • Leading cause of death in United States for men and women • Caused by buildup of plaque in arteries • Heart tissue is deprived of nutrients • Risk factors: • Age • Gender • Genes

3. Symptoms and Tests for Coronary Artery Disease • Symptoms: • Vary in strength • Chest pain • Fatigue • Shortness of breath • Weakness • Tests: • ECG • Exercise Stress Test • Nuclear Stress Test • CT Scan • Coronary Angiograph

4. Coronary Angioplasty with Stents • Common treatment for Coronary Artery Disease • Process: • Blockage is defined through coronary angiography • Incision is made • Cardiac catheter is guided to the heart through an artery of the groin or arm • Guide wire is manipulated to lie across the blockage • Heparin is a given to thin the blood and prevent clotting • Stent balloon catheter is transported along the guide wire and is positioned over the blockage • Saline is pumped into the balloon to inflate it • Balloon is inflated for 30 to 60 seconds to expand the stent

5. Stents • Expandable • Mesh-like tube • Invented to overcome short comings of regular coronary angioplasty • Stays in artery permanently

6. Kinds of Stents • Uncoated Stents • Bare metal • Drug-coated Stents • Coated with Sirolimus • Controlled release of medicine into tissue • Drug limits overgrowth of natural tissue • Anti-rejection-type medicine (10% vs 26%)

7. Pros & Cons • Pros • Less invasive than open heart surgery • Short procedure • Failure rate 1% • Cons • Not a cure • Aggravates kidney function • Stents can’t be used in every surgery • Can be rejected by body

8. Questions?

9. Sources • http://www.heartsite.com/html/stent.html#superior • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_stent • http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/angioplasty/MY00352/DSECTION=what%2Dyou%2Dcan%2Dexpect • http://www.cypherstent.com/cypher-stent/pages/index.aspx • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004449/