Stent

I am a 65 year old woman.  I do not smoke, but am overweight.  I had a stent 5 years ago and have been on plavix ever since.  For about two months I had been expriencing shortness of breath, especially climbing steps.  At times I felt heaviness in my chest; no pain, but heaviness.  My doctor did an EKG...no problem.  About a week ago, I wore a heart monitor for a week and saw no major concerns..  On Wed. eve, the heaviness in my chest came back...went to the ER, was admitted and ended up with an angiogram.  It was found that the first stent was not working...another had to be added at the same spot (the artery at that point was not 90% blocked) and a second stent, in the same artery (75% blocked) was also done.

My question is how do I know that the second stent will hold?   What signs do I look for that would indicate a problem with the stent?  I am finding that I am constantly "listening to my heart--worrying that every pain is another sign that the problem is still there.

[CCF HeartMD6]

Unfortunately, there is no way to absolutely predict what you are asking. However, the signs you should pay particular attention to are those similar to what you were experiencing during this past event -- shortness of breath, decreased exercise capacity, chest discomfort, arm/jaw/neck pain, nausea/vomiting or sweating. Other problems might include fluid retention or difficulty laying flat at night while sleeping (problems with breathing) as these could be signs of heart failure.

Otherwise, you should make sure you are compliant with all your medications (especially Plavix, as you were doing) to avoid stent thrombosis. In the absence of any of these symptoms, you should continue you with your daily activities and do what you can to try and decrease the amount of worrying you are doing.