Next Generation of Heart Stents

Reported December 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- A common heart problem may now have a magnetic solution. Researchers are using the laws of attraction to make heart stents that unclog blood vessels more safely.

A puppy named Cash is the newest member of Bob Stortron's family. At 68, Stortron says it's not too hard keeping up with him. A few years ago, it may have been more difficult. Stortron's heart was fading, and he had to have a stent put in. Stents reinforce blood vessel walls to keep vessels open and blood flowing.

"When you're talking about numbers of patients in the millions, 1 percent can add up to pretty large numbers," Gurpreet Sandhu, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told Ivanhoe of those who need heart stents.

Normally, it takes weeks for endothelial cells to coat stents and blood vessels to heal. Now, interventional cardiologists are testing magnetic stents that attract those cells faster. First, cells are taken from the blood and tagged with iron microspheres. Then, a magnetic stent is threaded through the blood vessel. At last, tagged cells are sent through the blood vessels to see if they are attracted to the stent.

"This will hopefully mean fewer repeat procedures on patients and better quality of life for our patients," Dr. Sandhu said.

Dr. Sandhu says the technology speeds up healing to just days, requires fewer blood thinners and lowers the risk of blood clots.

Stortron says he couldn't ask for a better life, and he's content spending the rest of it enjoying his family.

"I hope I'm around for a long time, but I don't have control over that button," Stortron said.

The American Physical Society and the Materials Research Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Traci Klein
News Bureau
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN
(507) 284-5005
klein.traci@mayo.edu

Materials Research Society
Warrendale, PA 15086-7573
(724) 779-3003
webmaster@mrs.org

James Riordon
Media Relations
American Physical Society
College Park, MD
(301) 209-3238
http://www.aps.org
Riordon@aps.org

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