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Your doctor may recommend a stent to provide support inside an artery that has become narrowed by plaque buildup from atherosclerosis, or for lung airways that have narrowed due to other medical conditions. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure with you. Sometimes, a stenting procedure is not recommended or another procedure is recommended instead. Learn more about the use of stents in the following conditions.

Congenital heart defects happen because the heart does not develop normally while the baby is growing in the womb. Doctors often do not know why congenital heart defects occur. Researchers do know that genetics can sometimes play a role.

Long-term exposure to lung irritants—smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes, or dusts—that damage the lungs and the airways usually is the cause of COPD. A rare genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency can also cause the disease.

Age, race, gender, certain medical conditions—high blood pressure, diabetes, brain aneurysms, and heart diseases—smoking, and family history can raise your risk for a stroke.

La exposición prolongada a irritantes pulmonares (humo de cigarrillo, aire contaminado, la presencia de vapores químicos, o el polvo) que lesionan los pulmones y las vías respiratorias es la causa de la EPOC. Una rara alteración genética llamada deficiencia de alfa-1-antitripsina (AAT) puede también causar la enfermedad.

Having a stent placed is a minimally invasive procedure, meaning it is not a major surgery. Stents for coronary arteries and carotid arteries are placed in similar ways. A stent graft is placed to treat an aneurysm in a procedure called aortic aneurysm repair. Airway stents are placed in a procedure that helps open airways in the lung. For most stents, you will be given medicine to make you sleep during the procedure. The stent procedure may be planned ahead of time or it may be performed in an emergency situation.

The signs, symptoms, and complications of vasculitis vary depending on which type of vasculitis you have, the organs involved, and the severity of the condition. Some people may have few signs and symptoms. Other people may become very sick.

Marfan syndrome is a genetic condition caused by a mutation, or change, in one of your genes, called the fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene. The FBN1 gene makes fibrillin-1, which is a protein that forms elastic fibers within connective tissue. Fibrillin-1 also affects levels of another protein that helps control how you grow.

Your doctor will diagnose peripheral artery disease based on your medical and family histories, a physical exam, and results from one or more tests: ankle-brachial index, Doppler ultrasound, treadmill test, magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA), arteriogram, and blood tests.

Heart valve disease occurs if one or more of your heart valves don't work well. The heart has four valves—the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves—that make sure blood flows in the right direction through your heart’s four chambers and to the rest of your body.