How do catheter stents restore blood flow by supporting a blood vessel or lumen?

A catheter stent is a medical device widely used in vascular interventional treatment. It is mainly used to support blood vessels or lumen to ensure that blood flow returns to normal. It is usually used to treat vascular stenosis or blockage caused by atherosclerosis, thrombosis or other factors. By providing mechanical support, the catheter stent can keep the blood vessels open, thereby ensuring that blood flow is not hindered.
The working principle of the catheter stent is simple and effective. When a blood vessel is narrowed or blocked, blood flow is hindered, which may cause organ hypoxia or tissue damage. The catheter stent supports the blood vessel wall to keep the blood vessel open to a certain extent, preventing the blood vessel from collapsing or narrowing again. The stent is usually a small mesh device, usually made of metal or other biocompatible materials, which can be deployed inside the blood vessel and fixed to the narrowed area to maintain the patency of the blood vessel.
During the implantation process, the doctor delivers the stent into the patient's blood vessel through a catheter, usually through the femoral artery or radial artery. The stent is delivered through the catheter in a compressed form. Once it reaches the narrowed or blocked area, the doctor will expand the stent by inflating the balloon until it is fully deployed and firmly supports the blood vessel wall. The mesh structure of the stent can effectively open the blood vessels, keep them open, and promote free blood flow.
The design of catheter stents usually takes into account the shape and size of the blood vessels to ensure that the stent can fully adapt to the patient's blood vessels. As the stent expands, the inner diameter of the blood vessels is restored, and blood flow is improved, reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and other diseases. The material of the stent is usually metal, such as stainless steel, cobalt-chromium alloy, or some special coating materials, which helps to reduce the risk of thrombosis.
Some catheter stents are also equipped with drug coatings to help reduce the risk of postoperative restenosis. Drug-coated stents inhibit the proliferation of blood vessel wall cells and reduce tissue overgrowth by slowly releasing drugs, thereby reducing the possibility of restenosis in the stented blood vessels. The emergence of drug-coated stents has further improved the treatment effect, especially for those high-risk patients, which can significantly improve the long-term treatment effect and blood vessel stability.
Although catheter stents play an important role in restoring blood flow, their implantation is not a universal solution. Stents do not cure the underlying vascular problems, such as atherosclerosis. It just supports the blood vessels to ensure blood flow is restored and avoid acute symptoms. Therefore, after receiving stent treatment, patients still need to make long-term lifestyle adjustments, drug treatment, and regular check-ups to maintain vascular health and prevent recurrence of vascular stenosis or blockage.