what keeps the arteries open
New Drug Stents Help Keep Heart Artery Open. Aug. 11, 2004 -- A new study shows that drug-coated stents designed to prevent repeat blockage of heart arteries apparently do just that. But Canadian researchers say there is no evidence that they actually prevent heart attack or death. Stents are small, wire-mesh tubes placed in a heart artery after balloon angioplasty, a procedure to reopen the artery when it's blocked or narrowed.
Freezing Keeps Blocked Arteries Open. Jan. 28, 2002 -- Researchers have found that when it comes to opening blocked arteries -- and keeping them open -- freezing seems to be the way to go. Doctors use a procedure called balloon angioplasty to open blocked arteries in the heart and legs. But many of these arteries get clogged again within the next six to nine months -- even when using a metal cage called a stent to help keep the artery open.