RICK GEOFFRION and ANDREA VENTURELLI address the question: “Can drug eluting balloons (DEBs) become the next successful and sustainable device platform for treatment of atherosclerosis?”
Cardiovascular disease stemming from atherosclerosis is a condition mainly associated with a thickening of the artery wall and the eventual blockage of blood flow in an artery due to fatty deposits and plaque formation. Although there is a tendency to associate cardiovascular disease with the heart, the same condition can also affect blood flow to the kidneys, the brain and the legs. It is easily the number one cause of death in the modern world.
The heart: cardiovascular arterial disease (CAD)
Advanced cases of cardiovascular disease associated with atherosclerosis may be connected to chest pain on exertion that settles within a few minutes of rest (angina). However, if any of the arteries supplying the heart (coronary arteries) become completely blocked, the portion of the heart muscle that is deprived of blood may die, causing a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Small heart attacks, where a small portion of heart tissue is denied blood flow, can cause permanent impairment of the performance of the heart, ultimately affecting lifestyle and lifespan. Large heart attacks can obviously cause immediate death.
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