Any body have ongoing checks after heart attack and stent placed.

[marryzoomer]

I had a heart attack in Nov 2016. I had one stent and given usual medication for life. I must say the service was exceptional. The down side to this is I was told I have two other partially blocked veins between 60 and 40%. Unfortunately there is no further checks under the NHS in future years to monitor the offending veins. It is now a game of Russian Roulette until I have another attack which could tack my life, or leave me with heart failure and if I'm lucky angina would lead to further investigation. I hav lost two and a half stone, changed my diet and I'm on a treadmill every day. I have heart disease in both sides of the family, so not looking good. Does anybody with the same prognosis have ongoing checks.

[Ger57]

I think you are looking too pessimistic at the future.

Even without lifestyle changes, 40 and even 60% blockages are normally far from giving troubles.

Reliable checks of the blockages would only be possible with angiograms, which are expensive, not without risks of complications and exposing you to a lot of X-ray radiation.

Heart disease in the family is taken into account only if the family members were well below age of 60 when they got heart disease.

It is good that you changed your lifestyle.  
With the changed lifestyle and medication, it is very well possible that the blockages do not progress at all.

[marryzoomer]

Thanks Ger57. I had two family members one on each side, one aged 55 and 45 both past away due to a heart attack. I worry and stress a lot. The worrying thing is when I was in hospital for the four days most of the patients in the other beds were back having stents fitted and bypass due to second and there'd heart attacks. I'll try and stop worrying but I suppose it's still raw for me. Thanks again mate.

[Rosemary349]

Marryzoomer.  I just want to say that from my research, following my dad's heart attack, blockages are very common and most of us have them and don't know about them.  It's just unfortunate if someone has a heart attack, due to a clot forming, then they get the report on what's going on in their arteries, where most people don't know...yet the same thing is most likely in them.

Dr Esselstyn states that coronary disease can be found even in teenage girls in western countries.  It's not usually symptomatic, but it can be there.

So what I'm really saying is, I understand your concerns, but at the same time they don't necessarily mean what you  may think.  Those blockages may never progress.

It's great that you're making lifestyle changes.  I would really recommend the Esselstyn Nutrition Roundtable page on facebook if you want to do something to feel back in control.  It's the best resource I've found as it offers practical help.  Dr Esselstyn's approach has even been shown to reverse blockages in some small studies.  But I'll leave you to read and make up your own mind on it.

I hope you can find a lot to be hopeful for.  Of course it's all raw at the moment, remember that the people you saw in the hospital were there because it would have been a cardiac unit.  There will be many out in the community that will never have to go back, for the rest of their lives. x

[marryzoomer]

Thanks for your comments Rosemary very helpful.