ct scan after bypass surgury

[tcandel]

my husband is 41 years old and in March of this year had a heart attack. he had a triple bypass surgury. about two weeks ago the doctor ordered a ct scan to be done.  the test results have come in. and they say that he has blockage again in a already bypassed artery.  is the ct scan accurate in showing blockage?

[tcandel]

i really appricate your input. just when i think everything is going good they throw us another curve ball. we go to talk to his cardioligist next week to go over everything. i remember seeing the angiogram befor the first surgury, i'll ask to see it again. again thank you.

[ed34]

I know how he feels, I had a triple in 2007 and mine actually failed after three months. However, you will find that they tend not to do further bypass surgery unless all other avenues absolutely give no alternative. I think they will look at angioplasty first. At the end of the day, your husband is in charge, it's his body. If he doesn't want bypass surgery again, tell them from the start. Simply tell them he can't go through all that again and they will look stronger at alternatives. I assume they have an angiogram of the coronary arteries before the bypass surgery, to help them decide where to graft the vessels. I would ask to actually look at this and ask them to show you where the new blockage is. I wouldn't be shocked if it was there 'before' the bypass surgery and showing on the angiogram.

[tcandel]

he quit smoking after 20 years, they have him on meds( he has a high intolerence for statins, but he is taking a med called Welchol it is a powder he mixes in water and drinks everynight), he exercises everyday alternating with cardio and strength training, he did rehab for 4 months, i have completly changed how he and my whole family eats. his blood pressure is almost perfect averageing at 119/78 with a pulse rate of 82. his cholesterol levels are good except his trigliserides(spelling?) are hight at 500 +.
im scared that when we go in for the heart cath. they are going to tell us he needs open heart surgury again. the recovery process was really hard for him.

[ed34]

Has your husband looked at all the risk factors and made the necessary adjustments in his lifestyle? Does he smoke? is his blood pressure under control? are his cholesterol levels within guideline limits? is he avoiding stress? is he exercising? Is he eating a healthy diet? Is he on the right medication? Usually after bypass surgery you would attend rehab, where they hold education classes and run exercise groups. In these classes the patients are made fully aware of heart disease, causes and how to lower your risk factors.

[kenkeith]

"CT angiography was found to be as accurate but similar to conventional angiography (cath) in the ability to identify patients who underwent revascularization. Disease severity detected by both CT and conventional angiography was well correlated (the same)".

CT angiography is safe and highly sensitve and accurate modality for evaluation of vascular anatomy. imaging.onlinejacc.org

Thanks for your question.  Take care.