Stents Move Up to the Carotid

Just as drug-eluting stents prevent heart attacks by maintaining the patency of coronary arteries, so do carotid artery stents prevent strokes by keeping carotid arteries open. Carotid artery stenting, like coronary stenting, is a minimally invasive, percutaneous procedure and both procedures use similar kinds of devices. The large cardiovascular device companies are all in clinical trials with carotid artery stents, but none is expected on the US market before 2005. Still, the market for carotids isn't likely to be nearly as big as that of coronary stents.