Things Just Mesh
Making stents even better at keeping arteries open
Fatty deposits on the insides of blood vessels pile up less obviously than in a bulging belly or widening hips, yet in some ways they carry as much weight. These tiny products of the process called atherosclerosis can block blood flow and oxygen to the heart, the brain, or other parts of the body.
After using a variety of techniques to clear blocked arteries, physicians now commonly insert metal-mesh tubes called stents into arteries to hold them open and prevent loose bits of the fatty plaque from closing the vessel again or getting swept into the bloodstream, where they can obstruct other blood vessels.