Having heart stents placed is a usual process in cases when a physician feels it can be a better solution for weak, narrowing or block cardiac arteries than the more invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), also referred to as heart bypass surgery. Arteries are large blood veins which take blood with oxygen away from the heart to all various parts of the body.
Aging and heart related illnesses can cause these arteries to become weak, which can cause a heart stroke or death; narrowed from a build-up of plaque are arteriosclerosis, or blocked completely by the same plaque that can lead to a heart attack or possibly, death. Plaque is a waxy substance which accumulates inside coronary arteries and sticks to the walls of the artery as well as itself. The necessity for this process, and also the success of the procedure once it is completed, can be determined through a cardiac stress test. Probably the most commonly performed version of this test is the exercise stress test. In this test, you walk on a treadmill while your physician or his staff closely monitors all of your heart and breathing functions. The intensity of the exercise increases in intervals by the technician carrying out the test, once you attain the maximum heart rate, and blood pressure your physician has identified, the test stops.
Stents are small mesh tubes placed inside a cardiac artery through a procedure called angioplasty. One or more stents are placed in one or multiple arteries, depending upon the severity and nature of the problem requiring surgical intervention. The angioplasty process consists of a thin, flexible tube with a small balloon and metal or fabric stent on the end, placed via a large blood vessel, generally in the groin, arm or neck. After the balloon is in place, it is inflated pressing the stent against the wall of the artery and widening it, restoring blood flow and solving any heart related symptoms. Fabric heart stents, also called stent grafts, are for larger arteries, while metal stents are the mostly used.
No matter which type is used, they are available with a coating of medicine that gradually releases into the artery to decrease the chance of another blockage forming. A stent supports the inner wall for several weeks to years after placed during angioplasty. Even after stent placement, there is still a 10-20 % chance of the artery becoming narrow or clogged in a year after angioplasty. If no treatment takes place with stent placement, the risk doubles.
Just like any type of surgery, there is a recovery period and this is no different for heart stent recovery. After the treatment and the catheter removed, the nurse and other staff will bandage the insertion point. After bandaging, a small sandbag or other similar type of weight is placed on the place to apply pressure preventing any bleeding. You will recover in a place where you are closely supervised and your movement limited. When the staff feels you have successfully recovered from the process, you are discharged. You are not allowed to drive, climb steps or do any lifting for several days, but next, your activity can return to normal if you do not encounter any complications and your physician feels you fit to return to regular activity. Problems such as a huge amount of bleeding or strange pain, inflammation or other signs of infection at the insertion site.
Aging and heart related illnesses can cause these arteries to become weak, which can cause a heart stroke or death; narrowed from a build-up of plaque are arteriosclerosis, or blocked completely by the same plaque that can lead to a heart attack or possibly, death. Plaque is a waxy substance which accumulates inside coronary arteries and sticks to the walls of the artery as well as itself. The necessity for this process, and also the success of the procedure once it is completed, can be determined through a cardiac stress test. Probably the most commonly performed version of this test is the exercise stress test. In this test, you walk on a treadmill while your physician or his staff closely monitors all of your heart and breathing functions. The intensity of the exercise increases in intervals by the technician carrying out the test, once you attain the maximum heart rate, and blood pressure your physician has identified, the test stops.
Stents are small mesh tubes placed inside a cardiac artery through a procedure called angioplasty. One or more stents are placed in one or multiple arteries, depending upon the severity and nature of the problem requiring surgical intervention. The angioplasty process consists of a thin, flexible tube with a small balloon and metal or fabric stent on the end, placed via a large blood vessel, generally in the groin, arm or neck. After the balloon is in place, it is inflated pressing the stent against the wall of the artery and widening it, restoring blood flow and solving any heart related symptoms. Fabric heart stents, also called stent grafts, are for larger arteries, while metal stents are the mostly used.
No matter which type is used, they are available with a coating of medicine that gradually releases into the artery to decrease the chance of another blockage forming. A stent supports the inner wall for several weeks to years after placed during angioplasty. Even after stent placement, there is still a 10-20 % chance of the artery becoming narrow or clogged in a year after angioplasty. If no treatment takes place with stent placement, the risk doubles.
Just like any type of surgery, there is a recovery period and this is no different for heart stent recovery. After the treatment and the catheter removed, the nurse and other staff will bandage the insertion point. After bandaging, a small sandbag or other similar type of weight is placed on the place to apply pressure preventing any bleeding. You will recover in a place where you are closely supervised and your movement limited. When the staff feels you have successfully recovered from the process, you are discharged. You are not allowed to drive, climb steps or do any lifting for several days, but next, your activity can return to normal if you do not encounter any complications and your physician feels you fit to return to regular activity. Problems such as a huge amount of bleeding or strange pain, inflammation or other signs of infection at the insertion site.
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