The longer a stent is in place, the more cells from the artery's inner lining will have grown over and around the metal struts of the stent, like ivy on a trellis. This tissue helps hold the stent in place. One implanted several years ago should be firmly anchored. Even so, check with your doctor.
Heart is located safely inside the chest cavity which looks like a cage bound by the ribs and breast bone (sternum). The chest cavity is also called as thoracic cavity and it lies between neck and abdomen. Heart lies slightly to the left in the chest cavity. [ 2 ].
The thoracic cavity contains three internal chambers: a single pericardial cavity and a pair of pleural cavities (Figure 1-11a). These cavities are lined by shiny, slippery serous membranes. The heart is surrounded by the pericardial cavity. The relationship between the heart and the cavity resembles that of a fist pushing into a balloon (Figure 1-11b). The wrist corresponds to the base (attached portion) of the heart, and the balloon corresponds to the serous membrane that lines the pericardial cavity. The serous membrane is called the pericardium. The layer covering the heart is the visceral pericardium, and the opposing surface is the parietal pericardium.