When should i have heart stent replaced?

Coronary stent: Coronary stents can not be "replaced" as such. However, they can be re-opened or restented if they renarrow , or restenose. The injury or trauma to the vessel wall during the initial stent placement results in a healing response with scar tissue growth. With current drug-eluting stents, scar tissue growth is inhibited and renarrowing occurs in only approximately 5%.

Never: Once a stent is placed in the coronary artery, it can never be removed. If the stent re narrows, which sometimes happens, a second stent can be placed inside the first which we call a "stent sandwich". Some cases of renarrowing cannot be stented and require bypass surgery.