Hi
My husband has been told that the artery, which is blocked solid is not worth putting a stent in as the part of the heart muscle is too badly damaged to make it worthwhile doing. However, the cardiologist has said that sometimes after a year or so the outer area of the muscle may self repair and then it is worthwhile trying a stent then. Has anyone experienced this happening? It would be nice to feel that it would be possible.
Thanks everyone.
Dear HALFP
hello to you and your husband, I am a bit confused with your post, first you have to remember that I am not medically trained, but how is the heart going to repair itself if there is no blood {blocked artery} getting to it?
I can understand {like me}that stenting was not suitable, but what was said about a bypass?
Maybe I am wrong and there is some form of medication that can do this and someone will be along to put me right, but I certainly was not offered any {for that reason} and had a triple bypass performed.
I think there has been a mis-communication somewhere and you need to find out more facts, something that the cardiology dept can tell you, or your Gp.
You will of course receive a letter with all the Cardiologists finding and why he/she has come to the decision he/she has.
Take care and try not to worry until you have all the details.
You are not alone and we are here to help you.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I will wait for the letter with the review on it. His analogy, was that the if that part of the heart was a garden where all the flowers had died and the artery was a hose that was blocked you wouldn't bother to unblock it as nothing is going to grow there anyway! We'll wait to see what the letter says and go from there.Thanks for being there.
Dear Both
I must admit to you that I am not a fan of your Cardiologist or the way he has explained a complex diagnosis to you, know wonder you have worries, so would I.
Take care
My understanding that the arteries in the heart are absolutely unique in that they have the ability to grow a fresh network of additional tiny capillaries which can mitigate some of the symptoms of angina. Unfortunately dead muscle tissue within the heart will never experience a Lazarus like recovery, but it's rarely that black and white, there is often some damaged areas which can bounce back if and when these fresh capillaries can deliver a regular supply of oxygenated blood.
It sounds like this may be the process to which your cardiologist is referring.
Good luck!
Yes, that is how he described it but with the answers here to my question it's all beginning to make sense. Thanks again.
My RCA is blocked forever but nothing else will be done except a CRT device and meds. they may mean the blood vessels reroute the blood supply, but damage stays in my case anyway. I am sure heart muscle cannot self repair to that extent. Yes wait for the letter then question uit as they are the ones qualified. Good luck (I edited this 4 times 
)
I have got a 100% RCA blockage that nothing has been done about as the heart has self 'repaired' itself by growing collaterals (new blood supply) to bypass the blockage, this happens over time and be.fore I knew of the blockage.
Here's an article that discusses how the heart grows new blood vessels,
voanews.com/a/scientists-ds...
I understand that one of the research projects the BHF (the sponsors of this forum) is funding is to discover how to stimulate this process. An article in the British Medical Journal discussed if a medication might be one day discovered which stimulated the process of forming new cardiac arteries, but I believe that currently the only known method of stimulating new growth is via exercise.
One final point, some people apparently grow quite a few new arteries and the process can be detected just a couple of weeks following a blockage. But other people won't ever grow any fresh arteries, even after years elapsing. However, it's still a mystery why this difference occurs.
Fingers crossed that your husband is in the first group!
Very interesting thank you
Thank you, that is very interesting and gives some hope.
I've been very puzzled this week by an article on one of the workmen's magazines about a man who had stem cells injected into his heart t o improve his heart failure. The article says it gave him an extra 3 years but the heart damage was too bad to give him longer. I've hesitated to post it s there's too much to type out. Has anyone here heard of stem cell treatment on hearts?
Prof Anthony Mathur at Barts hospital/ Queen Mary University London is researching into using stem cells to treat heart failure.
heartcellsfoundation.com/ad...
Maybe t hat's who it was. I'll dig the article out later and try to precis it. It was 2 pages long.
Here's a brief précis of a long article that appeared in Woan's Weekly, May 10th entitled "Leaving a Legacy".
In 2003 after years of cardiac problems in his family, Ian Rosenberg was diagnosed with heart failure and given only 2 months to live. As the chance of a transplant was remote, his cardiologist told Ian about Dr Anthony Mathur, a specialist at St Bartholomews Hospital, who had written a paper on the use of stem cells to repair damaged hearts. Dr Mathur directed them to a groundbreaking programme in Germany. Ian met all the criteria so, at a cost of £5000, surgeons extracted his own stem cells from his bone marrow and injected them into his heart. When he came home, he was able to walk upstairs, walk much further and there were no problems breathing at night. Sadly his heart was too badly damaged to recover fully but the treatment gave him an extra 3 years before complications and an irregular heartbeat caused him to pass away in 2006 aged 70. However during those 3 years, he and his wife were able to raise £6 million; held three gold standard trials, ( the results were amazing) treated 300 patients and set up a charity .In 2016, “ heartcellsfoundation.com”; a revolutionary Compassionate Treatment Unit for heart failure; the first of its kind in Europe opened at St Barts. Funded by the charity, it’s the only centre in the country to treat patients with heart failure, based on compassionate grounds using their own stem cells. If successful it could see the treatment rolled out across the NHS.
Pulled muscle treatment for those on multiple heart meds.
Left chest muscle twitching quite alot. Is this a symptom of the heart failure?
December Mitral Valve repair
Mitral valve repair experiences please?
Minimally invasive mitral valve repair
