I. Why do I need stenting? Some blood vessels become thin because of atherosclerosis, making the blood flow not smooth, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain, and eventually may also be completely blocked because of atherosclerosis or thrombosis, and there are also some blood vessels with unstable atherosclerotic plaque, which will fall off into the blood and enter the brain with the blood flow to block the normal blood vessels in the brain, and these conditions eventually lead to cerebral infarction. In the case of severe atherosclerosis combined with stenosis, there is no drug that can remove the plaque, lift the stenosis and restore the normal structure of the blood vessel. This condition is very serious and must be treated, otherwise cerebral infarction is likely to occur. The treatment options available are intravascular placement of stent therapy or surgical opening of the brain for cerebrovascular bypass surgery. A permanent stent made of stainless steel or alloy resembles a net-like bucket, which is placed at the site of atherosclerosis and released into the open, immediately restoring the narrowed blood vessel to its normal diameter and restoring blood flow. The stent has very good elasticity and can play a supporting role after being placed into the blood vessel to prevent the blood vessel from collapsing. The grid of the stent also prevents atherosclerotic plaque from dislodging and causing cerebral embolism. This can prevent cerebral infarction by preventing the blockage of blood vessels. However, cerebrovascular stenting cannot bring back the necrotic brain cells caused by the occlusion, and has limited improvement on the symptoms such as paralysis that the patient has already developed. Second, which patients need stenting? Patients with atherosclerosis, or stenosis caused by myofibrillar dysplasia or aortitis should meet one of the following criteria: asymptomatic stenosis greater than 80%, symptomatic stenosis greater than 50% or ulcerative plaque formation despite stenosis less than 50%. Is cerebrovascular stenting dangerous? There are risks associated with cerebrovascular stenting because it is performed in the cerebral vasculature, but the overall incidence is low and the incidence of serious complications is only a few per 1,000, which is much less risky than open-heart surgery. Because the vessels requiring cerebrovascular stenting are severely sclerotic and stenosed, the likelihood of cerebral infarction is high, reaching several tens to several hundreds of parts per thousand, and some have even had cerebral infarction. Therefore, the risk of cerebrovascular stenting is much smaller than that without stenting for severely sclerotic vessels. Why do I need to take medication for a long time after cerebrovascular stent treatment? After the stent is placed in the diseased vessel, it will be covered by the endothelium of the vessel for a few months and become part of the vessel wall, so there is no need to replace it. Intensive antiplatelet aggregation therapy (aspirin + clopidogrel) should be administered during these months to prevent stent-induced thrombosis. After endothelial coverage, this risk is eliminated, but an antiplatelet aggregation agent should continue to be taken, mainly for the prevention of thrombosis in other vessels.