Patients requiring a potentially life-saving coronary stent are being forced to wait because of a shortage of the devices which open clogged heart arteries.

The shortage, confirmed by the health authorities, is being compounded by a lack of nurses and technicians to operate Mater Dei Hospital's second angiosuite, meaning around 300 patients are waiting for the insertion of the small wire mesh tube.

"The available stents are currently being reserved for urgent cases only," a Health Ministry spokesman told The Sunday Times when asked how many stents were currently available.

Patients with clogged arteries tend to suffer from chest pains and shortness of breath, which has an impact on their quality of life. Informed sources said attempts were made to accommodate patients who suffered from chest pains because of clogged arteries.

The spokesman said the authorities were as a matter of priority trying to procure the necessary stents as well as engage the necessary staff.

Stents are small wire mesh tubes that are inserted in narrowed arteries after they are opened through an angioplasty, where a catheter is inserted into the main artery through a small incision in the groin.

X-ray images are used by the cardiologist to guide the catheter through the artery to the narrowed area, which is identified after injecting dye. A balloon at the end of the catheter is then inflated to open the blocked vessel, restoring proper blood flow to the heart.

Although the procedure is considered safe, a theatre and a surgical team are normally on standby in case of complications.

More than 200 stent procedures, known as percutaneous coronary interventions, were carried out between June and September last year. Five of these patients required as many as four stents.

The ministry spokesman said the price of stents varied according to the supplier and the date of purchase. Former Health Minister Louis Deguara had said in 2007 that a stent cost between €1,160 and €1,600.

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