Heart Beat: 07/07

Patients with refractory or intractable angina may be able to find relief from their acute heart pain with the development of a different kind of stent, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. A standard stent is a flexible tube inserted into an artery to help keep it open, but this new design is more hour-glass shaped and actually blocks part of the artery to direct blood flow to the part of the heart that is in pain due to insufficient blood supply.