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Front heart damage?
I'm a Female who's 52 with maligant HBP, high cholestrol,& extensive CAD with multiple stent placement in LAD, distal lad and cx, ramus,ost rca, a total of 12. Had a stress test to give me cardic clearance for surgery, went in to get the results my cardioloist told me that there is damage to the front of the heart but was not clear what that meant, She just scheduled me for another heart cath. Was wondering what damage to the front of the heart could mean. Thanks for any insight that can be given.
Great question. To be honest, without seeing the test results, I cannot give a definitive answer either. However, here are some thoughts.
The stress test can show normal blood flow, blood flow that is impaired/absent with stress but was normal with rest (ischemia), or blood flow that is absent at rest and with stress (infarct). Normal is normal. Ischemia reflects tissue that is supplied by a blood vessel that has a severe blockage in it, and when the demand of the tissue increases with stress for oxygen and blood, it is not able to get enough blood because the artery can't get more blood past the tight spot. This is a situation where a cath is useful to go in, see the blockage, and if possible, fix it by opening it with a stent. Then the blood flow is improved, so when stressed more blood can get past the previously tight spot.
The final result of a stress is the infarct. This is tissue that has been damaged by a heart attack in simple terms. When the tissue has been infarcted, it is dead, and cannot be repaired or saved. We do not yet have the ability to regenerate dead tissue (stem cell therapy is under trial). There is no purpose to performing a cath if there is only dead tissue, because opening an artery would not make the tissue work better again.
Therefore, you should speak with your physician about what exactly the test stated, but I imaging that based on the fact that they are pushing you to cath, it showed ischemia (decreased blood flow with stress so that the tissue is starved, but not dead), because there would be no reason to do it if the tissue was all normal or was dead.
The stress test can show normal blood flow, blood flow that is impaired/absent with stress but was normal with rest (ischemia), or blood flow that is absent at rest and with stress (infarct). Normal is normal. Ischemia reflects tissue that is supplied by a blood vessel that has a severe blockage in it, and when the demand of the tissue increases with stress for oxygen and blood, it is not able to get enough blood because the artery can't get more blood past the tight spot. This is a situation where a cath is useful to go in, see the blockage, and if possible, fix it by opening it with a stent. Then the blood flow is improved, so when stressed more blood can get past the previously tight spot.
The final result of a stress is the infarct. This is tissue that has been damaged by a heart attack in simple terms. When the tissue has been infarcted, it is dead, and cannot be repaired or saved. We do not yet have the ability to regenerate dead tissue (stem cell therapy is under trial). There is no purpose to performing a cath if there is only dead tissue, because opening an artery would not make the tissue work better again.
Therefore, you should speak with your physician about what exactly the test stated, but I imaging that based on the fact that they are pushing you to cath, it showed ischemia (decreased blood flow with stress so that the tissue is starved, but not dead), because there would be no reason to do it if the tissue was all normal or was dead.
Thanks so much I appreciate your response it was extremely helpful.
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