Stents placed unnecessarily can sometimes lead to scarring at the site of stent placement; There is also a high chance of re-clotting in the inner part of the stent.
Even when a heart attack occurs unexpectedly, if there is more than 70 percent blockage in the coronary artery, stenting is necessary to save life. If there is less than 50% occlusion, stenting is of no benefit. Medicines alone are enough. Many modern medical technologies have come in recent years to determine whether a person with a blocked artery needs a stent, a ‘by-pass’ operation or can be fixed with drugs. One of them is FFR, Fractional Flow Reserve.
An angiogram is done to find out where the blockage is in the coronary artery. With the help of sensor-equipped FFR, blood pressure can be determined above and below the area of blockage in the blood vessel and decide whether a stent is necessary.
Apart from this, modern technologies like IFR, RFR, DFR, IVUS, OCT help to accurately image the inner part of the heart. They are helpful in determining whether a stent is needed. New technology has replaced stents with drug-coated balloons.
A study in the US found that one in five people with blocked coronary arteries had an unnecessary stent. In the results published in 2021, more than 2 lakh people were unnecessarily stented. Although there are no studies on this in our country, there are widespread complaints of unnecessary use of stents.