• Question: How do they place a heart stent into the body?

    Asked by LaurenShilton to Monica on 8 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Monica Rozeik

      Monica Rozeik answered on 8 Mar 2016:

      Hi Lauren, the stent is compressed into a small tube and passed through the blood vessels until it reaches one of the blood vessels in the heart. Then the tube covering the stent gets pulled away so the stent expands again in size and stays put. They use it to open up blocked blood vessels in the heart. They’re made from a special material called Nitinol which changes size when it’s in the body.

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