A stent (1) for deployment in a blood vessel which is movable between an unloaded straight cylindrical state and a loaded curved state. The stent (1) is bendable between a first loaded configuration when the blood vessel is in the unloaded state, and a second loaded configuration when the blood vessel is in the loaded state. The stent (1) has an unloaded configuration which is intermediate the first loaded configuration and the second loaded configuration. Because of the unloaded configuration of the stent (1), the degrees of deformation which the stent (1) undergoes are minimized leading to minimized strains, increased fatigue life, and reduced risk of fracture.