Stents . . AND medication ??

[WardijaWardija]

Long story short - I live in Malta and earlier this year I was told I needed quadruple bypass, however this was not possible so back in July I was given 3 stents, not 4 as I would have imagined as all 4 arteries were blocked. I was told that the 4th one "wasn't too bad" so it was left . . .

Recovery was good overall, although I did experience a few palpitations and mild discomfort, not pain as such in my chest but I thought it was par for the course as I had read on here that minor twinges were to be expected until everything settled down.

Just one month in, I unexpectedly found myself facing a set of extremely stressful events including having to take an emergency flight back to the UK only to find it was too late, and I was faced with arranging a funeral for a loved one.

Suffice to say, it was all too much for me and I wound up being blue-lighted to hospital with a suspected heart attack.

Thank God it wasn't - the Dr. treating me said, after all the monitoring and blood tests, that it was most likely Angina and put it down to the un-stented 4th artery. He couldn't understand why it hadn't been done at the same time as the other three.

I was given a prescription for the under the tongue spray.

I explained what I had been told and Dr. said that it might be able to be managed with medication opposed to having another stent put in. I have heard of this before but I don't know what the medication is called and how effective it is.

I am now back in Malta and I fortunately have not had to use my spray and my first post-stents follow-up appointment with my cardiac consultant is this Friday and would like to be more informed as to, what type of medication can be used in place of a stent or alongside existing stents, as I would prefer not to have to go through the stenting procedure again if at all possible.

Does anyone out there have their condition managed, at least in part, with meds. of this nature?

Any information would be very useful, thank you.

[benjijen]

I was told I had 3 blockages that needed stents - they only did 2. I still kept getting angina (unstable) and was put on 60mg Monomil which has now been reduced to 30mg. However, I was already on Bisoprolol, ramapril, aspirin and, of course. the statin. I'm assuming it's the monomil which is keeping things controlled but I'm afraid I don't know for sure.

[WardijaWardija in reply to benjijen]

Thanks for your reply and the information.

I will ask my consultant if this medication might be an option for me. Thanks again.

[Calliope153 in reply to WardijaWardija]

I had one stent and was sent back to the cath lab for a second. Unfortunately the cardiologist deemed it too risky to try to do the stent so I am "controlled by medication". I take aspirin, bisoporol, Ramipril and Atorvastatin daily and I have the spray. 18 months on I am fine but you have to make the diet and lifestyle changes too. Good luck.

[WardijaWardija in reply to Calliope153]

Thanks for your reply. I am on the exact same medications as yourself. I will discuss with my consultant.

[shopman]

The problem is that there is a great raft of different medications and not all may be suitable for you. Rather than ask for specifics you should may be discuss with your Consultant what may work for you because don't forget there are are side effects etc to take into consideration, some may leave you feeling tired and/or lethargic & so the list goes on.

[WardijaWardija in reply to shopman]

Thank you, I will.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

After I developed angina I was referred to the Urgent Chest Pain Clinic. It was a staggering six weeks before I saw someone. It was decided I needed an angiogram but was told there was a four month waiting list so I decided to have a private consultation and angiogram. At the time I was on Lisinopril, Atorvastatin and Aspirin because of PAD but nothing for angina. The consultant prescribed Diltiazem, an anti-anginal, which was highly effective. This was subsequently changed to Isosorbide Mononitrate that was slightly less effective but free from side effects.

These drugs may well suit you but need to run past your cardiolgist to see if they might be appropriate. But do follow their advice!

[WardijaWardija in reply to MichaelJH]

Thank you Michael. I will discuss with my consultant.

[Khonkaen]

I almost said "snap", I had 4 stenoses 90%, 90% 75% and 50-60%, the stented the highest 3 in two sperate procedues, They don't consider 50% a risk, I have been told by two cardigans.

I now take aspirin, another blood thinned, anti acid, a statin tablet and something to help me sleep. I saw a cardigan yesterday who said he wanted to increase the antiacid slightly due to my regular acid reflux heart pain. We was worried I could being bleeding from the stomach, which I hadn't so far.

I had my HA in Thailand and 3 weeks later flew to my second home in Portugal and things were okay at the start, slowly got worse and now are alittle better.

By brain is a little screwed up at times and I have lost 20kg which I hope has stabiliesed.

But we are all different, some actually put weight on, but I think most have some sort of anxiety, muddled brain, fear problems that come and go.

With regards stress, that is soemthing you have to control more easily said than done in your case. There is a thread I started on that subject which you should read.

Good luck.