Nature of improvement after a stent - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

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Nature of improvement after a stent

Cetus profile image
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After a STENT, do patients typically experience a functional improvement in energy/power when moving around .... or is the improvement typically in reduced angina chest pain?

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In my case, my coronary PDA artery (posterior descending artery) was 80% blocked. Google tells me this artery branches off the RCA, and it provides about a third of the coronary blood supply to the Left Ventricle of the heart. I have seen marked improvment in energy when walking -- and also in my clarity of thinking.

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Cetus
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mjames1 profile image
mjames1

With severe five vessel disease, I had six stents placed but noticed no real functional difference afterwards.

That said I was somewhat asymptomatic prior, other than some intermittent chest pains that may have been angina and/or gastro related.

Going into the procedure I thought I might feel 10 years younger after in terms of aerobic capacity, but being In my late 70's maybe expecting too much. At least my heart attack risk is greatly diminished so they tell me :)

What were your symptoms before and how old are you? Glad you're feeling a lot better.!

Jim

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply tomjames1

Thank you for the information. By the way, what is "five vessel disease"? Google isn't clear about it.

mjames1 profile image
mjames1 in reply toCetus

It means significant blockage in all five major coronary arteries.

Jim

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply tomjames1

That sounds like they would give quite some difficulty! However you sound lucid and coherent in your post. Did you say you were just as functional before having stents fitted?

I had only a single stent in my posterior descending artery (80 percent blocked) and it improved my foggy thinking a great deal. I am now wondering if something else unrelated to stenting occurred by co-incidence that improved my cognition. Do you have any thoughts about this?

mjames1 profile image
mjames1 in reply toCetus

You can be quite symptomatic and dysfunctional with single vessel disease and asymptomatic with five vessel disease. Therefore, the saying, " the first symptom of a heart attack is often sudden death".

Jim

my husband had a big increase in feeling more energetic, being able to walk further and faster.

MountainGoat52 profile image
MountainGoat52

I think the answer here is that we are all different and stents will make a difference to us in various ways. I had a heart attack due to a blood clot in a severely narrowed right coronary artery. The clot was removed and a double length tent put in. I felt fit and well before the heart attack and regularly walked the hills and mountains in Scotland, so I wasn't expecting the improvements that happened.

The improvement in my cardio-vascular system had several effects. I took off 7kg in the first week, I found I could stand and chat with someone without having back ache and perhaps least surprising was that I walked up hills quicker with fewer stops. I did have bypass surgery a year later and the change it made was minimal, but as my surgeon told me, the investment there was for the longer term.

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toMountainGoat52

Was that 7kg due to fluid retention caused by a heart condition that the stent remedied?

MountainGoat52 profile image
MountainGoat52 in reply toCetus

Maybe. I won't know by what process it reduced as none of the medical team ever commented. I didn't have a heart condition, just partially clogged arteries, hence the clot. I guess the increased blood flow just made everything work better.

pete109 profile image
pete109

In my case, I had no symptoms at all before the stents, they were from tests for a problem with intermittent Hypertension, it's the associated meds and their side effects that cause the problems for me, bear that in mind when looking for signs of instant improvement.

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