heart stents

Can heart stents plug up while taking plavix?  If so, can they be replaced?

[Flycaster305]

Yes, they can, a blood clot can block a stent.  Stents can't be replaced, but they can be cleared.  What is your situation?  Keep up informed.  Best wishes.  

[kindergal1]

My husband's 9 month old stent is blocked vja heart cath on 1/23/2009.  No mention was made to clear the stent; I was in the shock mode and didn't ask many questions.  His heart cath "pictures" are being sent to another heart specialist in another town.  Our heart doctor didn't think anything could be done.  I'm not ready to quit.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.  kindergal1  

[Jo846]

I had a blockage caused by a stent.  Over 90%.  It was cleared out December 12, 2008.  No stents were used.

[bram63]

i have  had 4 stents put in last week, although the pain is not as bad as it was, i am out of breath very easily, after very little movement, like walking to the toilet for example,  is this normal. is this part of what happens before it gets good please help

[ed34]

As strange as it may seem, some people continue to suffer angina symtoms (symptoms) even when their coronary arteries have been fully opened. I believe the term is refractory angina and in the UK trials have just started to give rehab to patients in this condition to see if it helps.

[kenkeith]

I hadn't heard of refractory angina.  I thought it may be spasms, but apparently not.

U.K. :We have a growing problem and, at the moment, no clear strategy to address it.
As Baroness Hayman predicted, the number of sufferers has increased. That is partly because when the number of revascularisation procedures rises, so does the number of patients whose symptoms return after a period of post-procedural remission, often within three years of the operation. Another reason is that we have an ageing (aging) population, and the elderly tend to want to avoid invasive procedures if possible. That is certainly understandable in the case of invasive coronary interventions such as percutaneous coronary intervention, which is also known as stents, for stable angina, because even small risks of a heart attack, stroke or death increase in significance when such procedures are performed only to relieve symptoms.

>>>>"Refractory angina is characterised by disabling symptoms of chest pain, breathlessness, significantly impaired function and, additionally, poor quality of life for sufferers. Often, sufferers have misconceptions about the causes and implications of their chest pains, and many believe that the symptoms are warning signs of imminent heart attack or death, so their ability to manage their condition and lead healthy lives is unnecessarily affected. Many sufferers dramatically reduce their levels of activity in the mistaken belief that that will reduce their risk of heart attack. In fact, on the contrary, in doing that, they increase the risk and, at the same time, their quality of life diminishes. People with refractory angina become frequent attendees at GP surgeries, undergo multiple emergency admissions to hospital and suffer exacerbated chest pain. Many patients and careers live in an unfounded perpetual fear of sudden death".