After placing carotid stent, surgeons suggest skipping the balloon

Johns Hopkins surgeons say skipping one commonly taken step during a routine procedure to insert a wire mesh stent into a partially blocked carotid artery appears to prevent patients from developing dangerously low blood pressure, an extremely slow heart rate or even a stroke or heart attack.Reporting on results of a small study described online in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, the surgeons say inflating a balloon inside the artery after placing the stent greatly increases patients' risk of serious complications.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiovascular / Cardiology Source Type: news