As the coronary stent market gets more crowded, stent-makers are looking for new places in the body, anywhere other than the heart, where the small tubes might prove beneficial. Physicians experienced with the devices are on the lookout too. The hot spot of the moment is the carotid artery, which leads to the brain and is, like coronary and other arteries, subject to arteriosclerosis. Clogging in a carotid artery can lead to a stroke in much the same way that an occlusion in the coronary artery can cause a heart attack. Now stent-makers and clinicians alike are wondering whether stents could help keep the carotid artery clear, and so lower the risk of stroke. The currently preferred way to diminish this risk of stroke entails surgical removal of fatty deposits in the coronary. More than 150,000 such procedures, known as endarterectomies, are performed each year in the US, generally on people who have had a stroke or symptoms of stroke. Endarterectomies are effective but expensive and hard on the patient.
Carotid artery stenting may be an alternative to artery-clearing surgery, but the topic is stirring controversy, because many experts believe it is unsafe. Major surgery and general anesthesia are necessary...
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