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Very Concerned
I am posting this beacause I am very concerned about my father...he has diabetes and is on medicine for it. (pills) for years now. He had triple bypass surgery in October 31st of 2009 (there was 85 % chance he was going to have a stent but he had triple bypass instead which really honestly shocked us.) he seemed to be doing well after and dieting and working out and losing weight as he was supposed to..Now about a month and a half ago he had a stress test which says an artery (vein) is blocked again in the heart. They don't know which one yet and doctors were going back and forth to see if they should even go through with doing an angiogram. He finally has one scheduled for this Wednesday in Columbia hospital in the city. One of our main concerns is that it could be the vein they replaced with his leg to his heart which might not be pumping right due to his diabetes or just cause its from the leg moved to the heart now. I have no idea. It has been very stressful for all of us since right now there are no answers. Has anyone here had to go through this again as my dad does now? This soon? Its very scary and hes been very upset and emotional about it...please help. Thank you..
update: My father had his angiogram yesterday and they tried for 2 and a half hours to put in a stent on the clogged artery. It was one of the small ones and they couldn't do it. They said he needs to just workout and continue to eat healthy. It might unblock itself in time. Of course it would have been better if they could have done a stent but they just couldn't but they said the major arteries are still clear which are the ones they would be most worried about...
wow it seems like you really know your information... thank you for telling me and I will inform everyone on what happens wed! you guys have been a great help. This subject has so many different approaches it seems.
The veins which were removed from my leg and grafted to my heart are still closed up and will always be that way. The veins were healthy and in good condition when used, but in some people they simply don't hold up to the job. They started to get break down when I started cardiac rehabilitation classes, where my heart was reaching 186 beats per min during exercises. I just don't think the veins could handle it. With my left artery being held open by 5 long stents, the veins are no longer needed anyway.
werent you scared about all that was going on? how come you voted no for them not to intervene again? the doctors are so wishy washy this time most of them don't give a straight answer but this one says to do it and then see what happens from there I assume.Last time he had concrete symptome but this time he had none. Which is wierd and I guess is another reason why they are not sure what to do. but why wait for symptoms? thank you for your support and advice and story. Its appreciated! I will keep you guys informed! :)
that makes sense that bypass is less risky the way you had just shown me in your explination but before I didn't think it would have been...how were the veins that were used in your leg? are they still good now? Thank you for your shared experiences and advice! I really appreciate it.
QUOTE: "October 31st of 2009 (there was 85 % chance he was going to have a stent but he had triple bypass instead which really honestly shocked us.) he seemed to be doing well after and dieting and working out and losing weight as he was supposed to..Now about a month and a half ago he had a stress test which says an artery (vein) is blocked again in the heart...
...I'm sorry to hear the outcome of your father's CABG, and you seem to imply that a stent implant was being considered. I was almost i n the situation 6 years ago. I had a totally blocked artery (collateral vessels provide a natural bypass), another vessel was stented, and there remains a 72% blockage of another vessel. A couple of months after that procedure, the doctor wanted to do anagioplasty on the 72% blocked artery. I was feeling healthy and didn't want any further interention at that time and still feel will 6 years later...no further intervention necessary. I don't have diabetes, and that can change the dynamics of a decision for which therapy would be the most effective weighing the benefits against risk.
I hope it goes well with your father on Wednesday...keep us informed, and thanks for sharing your father's dilemma. I'm sure your support helps.
...I'm sorry to hear the outcome of your father's CABG, and you seem to imply that a stent implant was being considered. I was almost i n the situation 6 years ago. I had a totally blocked artery (collateral vessels provide a natural bypass), another vessel was stented, and there remains a 72% blockage of another vessel. A couple of months after that procedure, the doctor wanted to do anagioplasty on the 72% blocked artery. I was feeling healthy and didn't want any further interention at that time and still feel will 6 years later...no further intervention necessary. I don't have diabetes, and that can change the dynamics of a decision for which therapy would be the most effective weighing the benefits against risk.
I hope it goes well with your father on Wednesday...keep us informed, and thanks for sharing your father's dilemma. I'm sure your support helps.
The reason they didn't stent me in the first place is because it was less risky to have a bypass. The blockage in my main left artery was huge and no cardiologist seemed to want dare attempt the removal. There are two arteries in the chest which are usually used in bypass surgery these days. The main reason is that the arteries are much stronger than veins and tend to form blockages less. One end is removed from the chest area, and this is then pulled down and grafted to the heart. The left chest artery is called the Lima and the right is the Rima. I had my Lima used, but the silly surgeon grafted it directly over the blockage, making it useless to begin with. They used 2 veins from my leg in addition.
An echo can indicate which area of the heart is having Ischaemia (shortage of oxygen), but it cannot say to what degree, how big the blockage is or the exact location. This is why an angiogram is such a useful tool. I think to see exactly what is going on and evaluate possible intervention options, an angiogram will be a valuable test.
In the last 3 years I have seen numerous Cardiologists and they all have different opinions. I have noticed those decisions appear to be based on their own experience and confidence
An echo can indicate which area of the heart is having Ischaemia (shortage of oxygen), but it cannot say to what degree, how big the blockage is or the exact location. This is why an angiogram is such a useful tool. I think to see exactly what is going on and evaluate possible intervention options, an angiogram will be a valuable test.
In the last 3 years I have seen numerous Cardiologists and they all have different opinions. I have noticed those decisions appear to be based on their own experience and confidence
Thank you for sharing your story with me. It was very helpful. He is very afraid his veins are too weak because of his diabetes alone and that that could be a problem all in itself. But it seems as you were saying that they were weaker to begin with. Why didnt they do stenting on you in the first place? what was their resoning for that? I feel like they just don't know because a few cardiologists said dont even get the angiogram as there could be problems arising is that all in itself. But when he went to colombia (this doctor was the originator of the stent) said he should do the angiogram to see what is going on. Its very confusing as there is no black and white answer. Which is frustrating. I am so sorry to hear about your experience. It gets very very scary. which hospital did you go to?
Veins do not last as long as Arteries, they are much weaker vessels. I had a triple bypass at the age of 47 and it only lasted three months, where the average is 10-15 years. This forced the Cardiologists to look at alternatives, which turned out to be stenting. Angiograms only show up vessels which have blood flowing through them, the contrast is in the blood itself. It took a different type of scan to find my collapsed veins. I just wish they had done stenting first to save all that recovery from a bypass operation. My stents are still fine and I have never had problems with them. I'm not sure if they can stent veins? I know the vessels are certainly weaker and Cardiologists prefer not to. I think they will try to establish a way to remove the blockages to get blood through the normal native coronary artery. I had a blockage which was at the top of my left artery, it was very long, very hard and on a curve. Twelve cardiologists from three hospitals said it was too risky and impossible to remove. A research hospital had a cardiologist with 30 years experience with angioplasty who took on my case and he used several techniques to remove the blockage, including laser and rotablation. I'm sure they will find a solution.
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