someone i know is having an angiogram this coming week. If the arteries are clogged, they will put drug-coated stents in. Has anyone had good outcome
w/ this?
thanks :)

The drug coated stents seem to work better in that restenosis doesn't occur as often. I had an uncoated stent that failed. It might not have made a difference in my case. Stents generally do a good job and the patient doesn't have to undergo heart bypass. It leaves more options open for the patient as well.

I had 3 drug-coated stents put in the LAD 9/15/04. And no problems so far, stress test was normal last month. Don't be surprized if they put your friend on a blood pressure med. (even if it's not high now, they want to keep it that way) along with Toporl (it slows the heart down so it doesn't get over worked), Plavix (it helps keep the blood from forming clots, could be from 3 mo. to ?) and finally an aspirin a day 81mg. up to 325 mg. depending. So don't let these things scare you, they are preventive measures and seems to be common practice. Hope this helps.

Vinny :)

Knock on wood...medicated one put in over a year ago and AOK!

I think the Plavix is useful WITH aspirin for the first 60 days and then the Plavix confers no risk reduction over and above the aspirin alone. That's what the CURE study clearly showed. It is a God awful, dangerous drug that I was HAPPY to be rid of ASAP.
Continue the aspirin forever...my gut says that 325 mg is better than the kiddie dose...but that's only a gut feeling.

Good Luck with your test Hazel, I hope you need NOTHING!

Hazel,

Information I received prior to my procedure: With just ballon angioplasty renarrowing of the artery is between 30 to 50% within the first 6 months. Cause can be a combination of factors including vessel rcoil (spring back to abnormal size) and formatioin of tissue ingrowth in the treated area.

A stent prevents the stretched vessel from recoiling to pre-procedure size. The drug-eluting stent (bare metal coated with a drug) are designed to deliver a drug locally over a period of time to reduce tissue ingrowth. Over time tissue ingrowth may present a problem to some people, but the recoil issue is prevented.

I had a drug coated stent put in my LAd after finding a 85% blockage in September. just this
Feb 26th I had to have bypass surgery as it had already started to close up ...... I was on plavix and asprin also. I am slowly recovering...

jpreiser,
SO sorry to hear about your experience...It's just SAD:(.

Was there no way that they could have reopened the blockage in the stent? I would think another angioplasty inside the stent should do SOME good! Or an atherectomy (the roto-rooter thing.)

jpreiser
Same thing happened to me only I had my stent the last of Oct and had bypass the first of Feb. How long after your stent did you start having symptoms returning?

I started haveing chest pains off and on and getting winded in late December...... I also started with this horrible depressed feeling ad anxiety..??? Not sure if the two are related... I am only 35 .. THey said they could not to another angioplast or stent since it closed up so fst bypass was my opthion they used my mammory artery whic thye said will last longer then if they had taken the vain from my leg.? I wll start Cardic Rehab in about 3 weeks.. so hopefully i will get back on track....

Our stories are quite similiar. I actually started having a return of symptoms about 6 weeks following the stent. Had two caths within a few weeks of each other and each time the area had narrowed a bit more. Finally on a third cath the artery had narrowed to 97% causing me to need emergency heart bypass. They also used the mammary artery for my graft. I was 41 at the time. It's been 3 years as of Feb. 4th and I feel very good these days, but it did take quite awhile. The cardiac rehab should help you quite a bit. It kind of helps with the anxiety of starting to exercise again after what you've been through. Good luck!