chest pain during and after angioplasty

  Is it unusual to experience chest/heart pain during the angioplasty procedure?
  Is chest pain in the first few hours after angioplasty of great concern?

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

Dear Bill,
Chest pain immediately following an angioplasty with or without stent placement can
be perfectly normal (i.e. related to the work just done on the heart, like being sore),
however it should be investigated with an ecg to make sure that it is nothing to
worry about.  Chest pain at any time needs investigation, but especially that pain
that recurs after the discharge, as it could represent nothing and it could represent
failure of the procedure.  Please discuss the symptoms with your physician.  If the
chest pain sounds odd, i.e. unlike the pain that brought you to have an angioplasty in
the first place, the doctor will most likely just check a stress test as opposed to
going directly back to the cath lab.  Good Luck.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general medical informational purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnosis and therapies.  
Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your problem.