Angina treatment: Stents.
You may have several options for your angina treatment: angioplasty and stenting, medications, or lifestyle changes.

Your doctor says your chest pain (angina) is caused by blockages in your heart arteries and that you need to get those blockages taken care of. What are your options?

First, it’s important to determine what type of angina you have.
There are two main types of angina — chronic stable angina and unstable angina.

Unstable angina is a serious situation and requires emergency treatment. Treatment for unstable angina involves hospitalization with medications to stabilize your condition. Many people with unstable angina will require a procedure called angioplasty (also known as percutaneous coronary intervention), usually combined with the placement of a small metal tube called a stent. In some cases of unstable angina, heart surgery (coronary artery bypass) is needed.

But doctors have been debating which treatment for chronic stable angina works best. Some doctors think angioplasty is the best treatment option. Others believe taking medications for angina may be just as effective for some people as undergoing angioplasty.

Making a decision on how to treat your angina can be difficult, but knowing the benefits and risks of stents and medications may help you decide.

Why are there different treatments for each type of angina?

Angina is pain, discomfort or pressure in the chest, and doctors usually describe it as chronic stable angina or unstable angina.

Chronic stable angina is a form of chest discomfort that happens when your heart is working hard and needs more oxygen, such as during exercise. The pain goes away when you rest.
In chronic stable angina, the pattern of chest discomfort is consistent (thus, the term “stable”) as far as how much physical exertion will trigger it. Your narrowed arteries can be the cause of this form of angina. If you have chronic stable angina, you may need to decide whether to use angioplasty with stenting or medications as treatment.
If the blockage causing chronic stable angina is severe, it’s possible your doctor may recommend coronary bypass surgery, in which the blocked arteries are replaced with blood vessels grafted from another part of your body.

Unstable angina is either the new onset of angina or a change in your usual pattern of chest pain or discomfort (getting worse, lasting longer, or not being relieved with rest or use of medications).
Unstable angina is dangerous and a warning sign of a heart attack. If your angina is unstable, seek urgent medical care. You may need hospitalization, adjustment of medications and angioplasty with stents, even if your doctors find that you’re not having a heart attack.

What are treatment options for chronic stable angina?

Angioplasty and stenting
During an angioplasty (AN-jee-o-plas-tee), your doctor inserts a tiny balloon in your narrowed artery through a catheter that’s placed in an artery, typically in your groin. The balloon is inflated to widen the artery, and then a small wire mesh coil (stent) is usually inserted to keep the artery open. Some stents are bare metal, while others are coated with medications to help keep your artery open (drug-eluting stents).