Arterial Vascular Engineering

Arterial Vascular Engineering wants to be close to your heart--literally.

The Santa Rosa company makes products for use in coronary balloon angioplasty operations. Arterial Vascular also makes stents, which are wire mesh devices that hold open a blood vessel after an angioplasty or other minimally invasive treatment of arteriosclerosis.

Angioplasty, cheaper and less intrusive than traditional heart surgery, has steadily grown in popularity. In a sense, its main competition comes from new kinds of heart surgery technology from Heartport and CardioThoracic Systems, companies also on the Great Expectations list.

Arterial Vascular markets its products in 30 foreign countries and is seeking approval to sell them in the United States. The company said it is a leader in most major European markets.

The company topped the sales growth list, managing an 842% growth in sales over the last five years. For the fiscal year ended last June, Arterial Vascular earned $20 million on sales of $55 million.

The firm went public at $21 a share a year ago. The stock zoomed to $49.50 but now trades at about $15 on Nasdaq.

In March, the company received a U.S. patent for a stent with smooth edges. Stents improve blood flow and reduce the risk of stroke after an angioplasty, but they have sharp edges that can tear blood vessels.

More than half a million angioplasties and other catheter-based procedures are performed each year in the United States, and 325,000 more are performed internationally.