Balloon Angioplasty: Stretch and Cell Proliferation in the Aorta

Balloon angioplasty of occluded arteries is a common procedure; however, subsequently some arteries develop restenosis while others do not. The reasons for this remains unknown.Restenosis results mainly from proliferation of smooth muscle cells.

The goal of the project is to understand how a stretching of the artery wall during balloon angioplasty plays a role in the proliferation of smooth muscle cells.These studies will lead us to determine if balloon angioplasty can be performed with a "safe" stretch, which can avoid restenosis.