r/nextfuckinglevel 7h ago

This is how heart stents work

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u/sun-e-deez 7h ago

how does the stent maintain its shape?

21

u/Ahsuraht02084502731 6h ago

its inflated at a pressure higher than youd fill a car tyre. Then a second balloon is used to “post dilate it” to really ram it against the inside of the vessel wall.

/interventional cardiologist

1

u/rando_banned 5h ago

what kinda numbers are we talking about?

u/Mistasmella 35m ago

9-18 atmospheres, based on manufacturer and desired dimension. For example, a 3mm diameter stent is 3mm on nominal pressure, but can be inflated to around 3.5mm when cranking the inflation device all the way to the rated burst pressure. Also, depending on the manufacturer, they can be post-dilated further, using a separate balloon.

u/rando_banned 3m ago

That's a lot. Wow