My 82 year old Nannan has just been discharged from hospital following a heart attack.
Her discharge papers report that when they did the angiogram and attempted to inflate the balloon; it failed.
Has anyone heard of this happening and why would they discharge someone if normal blood flow hasn’t been fully restored to the artery? It feels really scary that they have left of this way.
I am very anxious about this, having recently lost my Dad and just want to make sure we cover all bases and ask the right questions. We haven’t had chance to speak to the consultant due to Covid restrictions on visiting etc.
Thanks in advance ☺️
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Psychcloud
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Yes brilliant response, I don't think I realised that they actually stretch the artery like that, I guess that is why it is regarding as being potentially dangerous if things go wrong. I suppose that is why they used to just open it up with a balloon before stents were invented?
Hi psychcloud ny husband has had a recent angiogram and had stents put in. I have been reading up and I could be wrong in your mum's case as I am no expert but if the narrowing of the artery or stenosis is less than 70% they do not do anything such as stenting or angioplasty. This is because they can control it with drugs. Hope that your mum is ok take care.
I’m not sure the extent of the blockage. We have had no information from the consultant so feeling in the dark with it all.
With my Nannan being 82, obviously it is a worry and after having only lost my Dad in January this year (he was 56) I just couldn’t bear to lose my Nan as well.
Hopefully will get chance to speak to the doctors to find out more information.
The 70% narrowing is a very simple basic rule but often not totally appropriate. The decision between conservative treatment/stents/bypass involves:
i) Severity of the CVD
ii) How many vessels affected
III) Presence/history of other illnesses (such as diabetes, arrhythmias, or previous heart attacks)
iv) And as the years pass age/fraility
So whilst one vessel at 50% - 70% might be treated conservatively they would usually intervene with three vessels near or at 70%. Nothing in life is simple!
Thanks so much for your thoughts and information really appreciate it.
I guess I am looking for some reassurance that my Nannan is going to be ok, as I feel I just couldn’t cope with another loss this year. I guess we will have to see what the treatment plan is moving forward.
Hidden has given you an excellent answer. I will tell you about a friend's mother. She had a heart attack in the seventies and is doing well at, I think, 95. At that time bypass surgery was not that common and to my knowledge stents were in their infancy. She has basically followed the rules (she was diagnosed Type II diabetic at the same time) and taken her medication. I imagine your grandmother has a fair raft of tablets.
Yes she has been given a very large bag of medications to take! So hopefully they will help.
I think it just terrifies me that she has some sort of narrowing of her artery which can’t be opened so I am convinced that means she’s going to die. Sounds ridiculous I know. I guess it’s because I’m still traumatised from seeing my Dad trying to be resuscitated after he had another cardiac arrest at home in January.
I sort of know how you feel. My father died in front of me in 1980. The same happened to his brother a few years later and in the early 2000's I found out that their father (my grandfather) had died the same way when they were small boys. This made me concerned and I raised my concerns with my GP around a decade ago who I felt did not take it seriously. In 2017 I developed angina and in 2018 had a quadruple bypass.
I have learned that throwing in my family history is essential as they seem more likely to take action. My father's father was 47 and died of a heart attack, my father was 52 when he died and his brother had a quadruple by pass and luckily lived into his 60's!! When I was admitted a few weeks ago with angina pain, they took into account my past surgery (4 years ago) and my family history and decided to keep me in until the angiogram (angioplasty) had been carried out. Heart problems are/can be hereditary. While I don't want to know everything in small detail (I probably won't understand) I do like to be told in general details what is going on.
Psychcloud may benefit with having a conversation (by phone) with the GP as long as the nan has given consent.
I have spoken to my GP and am seeing the cardiac nurse next Tuesday.
Hopefully knowing why certain decisions were made will help understand how to deal with things in the future.
Thanks for your reply Heather. I do agree I think as a family we need to find out exactly what has happened with regards my Nan’s treatment. Hopefully will get some answers. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Hi - the BHF have excellent volunteer nurses on their helpline who can answer questions & “translate” her discharge papers. It’s open Monday to Friday 9-5: 0300 330 3322
Something similar happened to me. I had a STEMI and they were unable to unblock the Right coronary artery when they did the angioplasty. Some parts of the vessel were much wider than others. As a result they could not insert a stent. Overnight they used a anti clotting infusion, but it was not successful. The following day they tries again to clear the clot, and succeeded in getting a sluggish blood flow. They discharged me after 5 days, and prescribed triple therapy (Rivaroxaban, clopidogrel and aspirin to ensure the artery is clear.
As others have pointed out, by the time the STEMI had happened, the heart muscle fed by the RCA had dies, and scar tissue had formed.
I had an angiogram recently, and it showed that there is no occlusion in the artery.
My fiancé had a failed stent placement (not sure why it failed, just that they tried to place it and couldn’t.)
He went onto need a triple bypass, but that didn’t happen for another 4 months after the failed stent and during that time he was at home and “ok” (he was pretty poorly but “ok”)
I’m sure the hospital has a follow up plan for your Nan and will be planning the next step.
Thanks for your reply Chickenlou and sorry to hear about your fiancé- hope he is doing better now?I’m hoping so. Have spoken to the BHF nurse today who has explained a lot so we plan to speak to the doctors next to see what the plan is ☺️
Just wanted to let you all know that I spoke to a cardiac nurse at BHF and wow - what an amazing service! Wish I known about this when my Dad was poorly too. Thanks to you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences ❤️
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really appreciate it. 
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