Doctors at the Iowa Heart Center in Des Moines are working on a new technique called stenting that will be used to treat aneurysms and to open arteries in patients at risk for heart attacks.

Stenting is the insertion of tiny tubes into the arteries through angioplasty. The tubes are made of stainless steel and are the size of a spring in a pen, according to a press release.

In the past, aneurysms typically had to be treated with surgery.

Dr. Kevin Crowe of the Iowa Heart Center is one of the doctors who works with stents.

“You can put stents within the aneurysm itself and strengthen or bolster the aneurysm so that it has less of a chance to rupture,” Crowe said.

The stenting technique is an alternative to surgery. Crowe said having an alternative is important because some patients are unable to undergo surgery due to health conditions.

“In some patients, perhaps surgery is not an option,” Crowe said. “For example, if they have had such severe lung disease, the risk [of dying from surgery] would be too high.”

The Iowa Heart Center is one of only 20 centers in the nation to use this technique for fighting aneurysms.

“The reason we’re a center for aneurysms and so many other things that are experimental, is because we have such a large patient base and we’re such a large operation,” Crowe said.

As one of the nation’s premier cardiology groups, the Iowa Heart Center encompasses 40 physicians in 30 hospitals and clinics. The center was founded in 1970.

Dr. Alan Koslow said aneurysms are extremely dangerous conditions.

“When aneurysms burst, they kill,” Koslow said in a press release. “Aneurysms require aggressive treatment, and stenting appears to be a safe and effective way to alleviate the problem,” he said.