Stents As Good as Surgery at Preventing Stroke After the First 30 Days

Stents are placed in arteries to clear clots. The procedure is often used to replace bypass surgery. There has been some debate on whether the use of a stent is more effective than bypass surgery for preventing a clot in a brain, but it seems in many cases that the procedure is just as effective as surgery in preventing strokes, according to Web M.D.

A stent is a fabric mesh placed in a valve to clear a clot and allow the blood to flow normally. The procedure forces the vein to open wider and eventually clears plaque on the walls of the artery. How effective a stent can be in preventing a person who suffers a heart attack from suffering a stroke as an additional complication depends on the age of the patient. People who have a stent placed in them who are under 70 years of age seem to fare better than those who are over 70 years of age.

The stent procedure does increase the risk of the stroke within the first 30 days of the procedure, but the risk drops off to equal the risk of patients who had surgery after six months. Although surgery reduces the risk of stroke, it increases the risk that a patient might have another heart attack.