a stent formed from cannula and having flexible segments and high hoop strength segments alternating therealong . axial tie bars interconnect the segments ; minimal length reduction would occur upon expansion . in the high hoop strength segment , struts are initially parallel in the unexpanded strut condition , while in the flexible segment , struts extend from a respective bight to converge at distal ends when unexpanded . in one embodiment , certain adjacent struts of the hoop segment are spaced apart by a large gap while others are spaced apart by a small gap . in another embodiment all the struts of the hoop segment are spaced apart uniformly from each other by a small gap , resulting in minimizing the occurrence of fatigue of high - stress sites upon expansion / contraction cycles from continuous pulsatile events .