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Statistics for drug eluting stents ??

Whre can I find current statsitics on side effects and long term survival related use of drug eluting stents?

I had a cardiac event thursday night, was up all night in the ER, and by Friday morning was consenting to Cardiac cath but have no clear recollection fo alternatives to stents being discussed and why stents should be done.   I had two DESs put in my RCA during cath.   Now I am finding out that there a quite a few down sides to stents and that maybe enough time was not taken to discuss options such as drugs..

I am 58 with no other disease issues.   three other cardiac arteries show blockage up to 30%.   The stented artery was 95% closed.

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976897 tn?1379167602
I can fully relate to you. My Wife struggled with Anal cancer for 9 years and finally passed away this April, aged just 44. The stress seeing them suffer with treatment, looking after them and I had 3 children to handle too is very high. Life really ***** at times.
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Avatar universal
stress?  yes.   My wife died on sept 6th after nearly a year of fighting her stage IV colon cancer.   And there were other things before that.  I was to go to her cremation last Friday, the day after my cardiac event.  Postponed now.   I know stress  has played a part.   I put off all care for myself during that year as well - plus poor sleep and backslding on my diet.   A mistake I now  know, as the chest tightness I attributed to stress was probably also warning signs for my heart disease.  
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976897 tn?1379167602
You had a cardiac event and there was no time to discuss anything really. The Cardiologist wanted to basically save your heart muscle from death. Your decision with diet change and exercise is wise and will go a long way to slow or stop progression of your disease. Another wise move would be to have a blood cholesterol test. Even if your results say you are the national average, I would discuss the option of having statins. Your cholesterol needs to be lower than the national average because your arteries are probably inflamed regularly and statins reduce inflammation in the arteries. Do you have a fair amount of stress in your life?
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Avatar universal
thanks...I guess what bothered me was that it happened so fast and I had been up all night and fuzzy headed the next morning, that it seemed to me on reflection that I really never had a clear deliberate discussion about options, or that there are no options.   I thought maybe drugs could have been a very short term opton to allow at least time for the discussion after the angiogram.    From what I gather strict adherance to the drug regime for stents, especially Plavix, is critical to prevent stent blockage.  So I will be doing that and looking at radical diet changes and going back to exercise soon.   I had been exercisiing the last two years and eating fairly well already, but now will look at what I can do to improve that as clearly something is wrong with my habits and possibly my genetics.
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63984 tn?1385437939
I mostly agree with ed34.  One almost never gets single vessel bypass surgery, but it does happen if the blockage is at a place where a stent can't be inserted.
I accumulated eight stents before I had bypass surgery.  I had both DES and bare-metal stents, I think four of each.  Two bare metal stents were inserted before DES stents were available, and two bare metal stents were inserted when DES stents couldn't be inserted because of the size of my arteries.  I've had no trouble with restinosis (stents becoming plugged up).
You have to be careful when trying to research effectiveness, etc. of different type of stents, as you will read horror stories that make the problems seem like mainstream.  
In my case, I simply had/have aggressive Cardiac Artery Disease, and a combination of surgery, changing diet, increasing exercise, controlling diabetes, and losing weight have kept me on the sunny side of the planet for thirteen years since my first heart angiogram (at your age).  
Certainly, you have at least one risk factor, those 30% blockages.  Stents or bypass wouldn't be recommended unless they become 70% or greater and presented symptoms, but remember, a dirty pipe plugs up much faster than a clean one... I'd recommend good medications, exercise, diet, etc to slow the process. However, like Ed34 suggested, I have never heard of drugs alone clearing a 95% blockage.  I'd rest easy, the right decision in my opinion was made, and be sure and thank your doctor for finding and fixing a literally heart-stopping problem.  Keep us informed.
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976897 tn?1379167602
I don't think there are any good accurate statistics available. Stent implantation and design are continually changing. I don't believe that any medication exists which would help to reduce a 95% blockage, or millions of people in different countries would be using them.
I think they were wise to use stents in your circumstance, it was a single vessel issue, not multiple vessels. I always think it's best to have the least risk procedure first, then bypass at a later date if required. There are no guarantees with any procedure, even bypass surgery. I had a triple bypass which lasted 3 months, some only last days or weeks, nobody knows what the outcome will be. I was told that statistics show my bypass will last the rest of my life (I was 47) and I was an ideal candidate for surgery. The vessels failed before I had even recovered. I've had 10 stents in total now, and have much more success with them over conventional surgery.
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