collapsed artery

[holly321]

I am a 49 yr old female. 3 years ago I had a heart attack with no heart damage and had a quadruple bypass with several blockages in each artery some at 90+%. Two weeks after the surgery one of my arteries collapsed and they had to put 2 stents in one of my original arteries. What would cause an artery to collapse so quickly after surgery? They also told me I would feel so much better after the surgery but I don't. I am more short of breath now than I ever was before the surgery and less energy. They do not know why. Every stress test I have ever had either before or after the bypass has always come back excellent and I had one 6 mos before my bypass. I just want to be normal again.

[ed34]

I've not had an iron test, but wouldn't my iron level have returned to normal after 2 years?
I know after surgery I received two bags of blood to boost my blood count.
It's hard to explain really, but my chest just feels different since the surgery, like it doesnt expand half as much as it used to. I wonder if other bypass patients feel the same way?

[PikaPika88]

I'm just guessing.  Would the operation loose too much blood?  You're becoming anemia.  Sometime heamoglobin shows normal at FBE/FBC but the iron level drop too low?  It can find out from iron studies (different test from FBE/FBC).  Probably your diet have been changed a bit after the operation.  Food contains iron (eg. red meat) didn't eat enough or the body didn't absorb iron properly.  

I also suffer SOB, low energy and chest pain.  Went through many tests, all showed "normal" except iron level drop too low.  The doctors all blamed on "low iron".

[ed34]

I can't believe how similar our circumstances are. I was 47 when I was told a triple bypass would be ideal and return me to a perfect quality of life. My bypass vessels lasted all of three months and I felt worse then than I did before surgery. The strange thing is, I had never suffered SOB until my bypass failed and have had that problem ever since. That was two years ago and since then Ive had 5 stents. Like you, they are totally clueless as to why I should feel so terrible. My nuclear scan shows very good supply to all tissue. My EKG looks spot on. Echocardiogram shows perfect valves/chambers and EF of 70%. In January 2010 I will be having a lung function test and next week another echocardiogram but this time under stress. I have always had a feeling that something happened during the bypass operation which caused me to feel worse and yet no test is able to find it. I do remember that my lungs didn't feel the same, it felt like I could only inhale about half the usual volume of air, even months after surgery but xrays showed no problem. I hope they find the problem eventually cause like you, it's driving me nuts. All tests show I should be very fit but my body just doesnt seem to want to believe that.