A Des Moines hospital’s the first in Iowa to use a new treatment for people who get build-up around a “stent” that’s been placed in their arteries after a heart attack. Vice President Dick Cheney and former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad had “stents” placed in their heart arteries to keep ’em open. Mike Kinkade of Iowa Methodist Medical Center says the new procedure uses radiation to quickly treat tissue built-up around a “stent.”Doctors use a “balloon angioplasty” to get to the tissue build-up around the stent, then radiation is used to inhibit cell growth in the area. Kinkade says the treatment helps patients avoid more surgery. He says the stents will stay open much longer and patients won’t need a new stent or open heart surgery.Iowa Methodist participated in clinical trials of the new procedure. He says they anticipate 75 to 100 patients having the procedure. He says about 25-percent of people overall who have a stent need the procedure.Iowa Methodist used the procedure Tuesday for the first time as a regular treatment option.
