A stent and method for making the stent are provided. The stent comprises regions
of differing numbers of braided filaments to provide a stent with different dimensions
and/or properties in different regions along the stent length. A preferred stent
comprises a first and second plurality of braided filaments each braided together.
The second plurality of braided filaments is braided into the first plurality of
braided filaments to form a region of different properties than the first. A preferred
embodiment is a stent having a narrower diameter along a more flexible region and
a broader diameter along a more rigid region. Also included is a method of constructing
a braided stent in accordance with the above. The method comprises the steps of
braiding a first plurality of filaments to form the flexible portion, combining
a second plurality of filaments to the first plurality of filaments, and then braiding
the second plurality of filaments with the first plurality of filaments to form
the more rigid region from the combination of the first and second plurality of
filaments, wherein the second plurality of filaments are braided only in the rigid region.