Like angioplasty, coronary stents (a stainless steel mesh tube) physically open the channel of diseased arterial segments, relieve the recurrence of chest pain, increase the quality of life, and reduce other complications of heart disease.

Coronary stenting opens up the diseased segment into a rounder, bigger and smoother opening compared to angioplasty, producing a more predictable and satisfactory result. Stents can also keep an artery open that was torn or injured during angioplasty, and decreases the chance of recurrence of the blockage (restenosis) by nearly 50 percent.

Since it is performed through a needle-sized hole in the groin or the arm, (called a “percutaneous procedure”) it is much less invasive than surgery, and can be repeated should the patient develop disease in the same, or another, artery in the future.