Stents Failed in 2 months, CABG failed in two months too?

[JamAlaska]

53 y.o male.  In January of this year (2010), I had 4 drug eluting stents placed in the LAD.  A week later two more stents, one in the RCA, one in the Ramus.  On May 19, after a MRI stress test was abnormal and an angiogram showed diffuse restonosis of the LAD stents, I underwent CABG (4X).  Now, 10 weeks later, another abnormal MRI stress test and tomorrow another angiogram to see what's up.  What IS up, I wonder?  Since Jan, I quit smoking, lost 40 lbs, lowered LDL by 300 points and raised HDL by 35 pts.  I guess I don't really have a question, after looking at what I wrote.  I guess I am just a little worried.

[JamAlaska]

Thanks David.  We have a "top 5%" heart center here in Alaska but not much else and it' very far to anywhere else.  The angiogram showed my grafts are open, the stents are completely blocked but the open grafts have some floe issues due to mismatch in artery/graft size.  5 days after that angiogram I has a small stroke so we are now trying to sort that out.  No hole in heart and the cateroids looked fine, no visualization of what caused the stroke so some fear for th future.  Fingers crossed though that it was an annomoly.

[davidvd59]

I hope your Doctors are jumping on top of your issue, and if necessary and your insurance allows you to seek a major ranking medical facility including a teaching facility near your area. The medical care is of a higher quality at a teaching facility than a regular hospital.

[JamAlaska]

hope your surgery went well.

[davidvd59]

I can understand your worry. I have 5 stents (drug eluting) right coronary artery, after losing 30 pounds I have my blood work close to cardiac limits. Now my stents plugged and will have to go through open heart also in two days. I think I was better before my diet!