A stent is a tiny tube placed into an artery or blood vessel to hold the structure open.  It improves the blood flow to the heart muscle and relieves chest pain (angina).

When a stent is placed into the body, the procedure is called stenting.  There are different kinds of stents.  Most are made of metal or plastic mesh-like material.  However, stent graphs are made of fabric.  They are used in larger arteries.  The stent stays in the artery permanently.

Various types of stents

An intraluminal coronary artery stent is a small, self-expanding, metal mesh tube that is placed inside a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty to prevent the artery from re-closing.

A drug-eluting stent is coated with a medicine that helps further prevent the arteries from re-closing.  Like other coronary stents, it is left permanently in the artery.

Indications

Stents are commonly used to treat coronary heart disease (CHD).  Coronary artery disease that does not cause symptoms can be treated either with medicine or angioplasty with stenting.