A small, expandable tube called a stent is often permanently inserted into the artery during angioplasty. A very then guide wire is inside the catheter. The guide wire is used to move a balloon and the stent into the coronary artery. A balloon is placed inside the stent and inflated, which opens the stent and pushes it into place against the artery wall. The balloon is then deflated and removed, leaving the stent in place. Because the stent is mesh-like, the cells lining the blood vessel grow through and around the stent to help secure it. Stenting should:

• Open up the artery and press the plaque against the artery walls, thereby improving blood flow.
• Keep the artery open after the balloon is deflated and removed.
• Seal any tears in the artery wall.
• Prevent the artery wall from collapsing or closing off again (restenosis)
• Prevent small pieces of plaque from breaking off, which might cause a heart attack.

Stent placement is standard during most angioplasty procedures. Your doctor may us a bare metal stent or a drug-eluting stent. Drug-eluting stents are coated with medicine that helps keep the artery open after angioplasty.