echo

[rosiejo56]

Today my Heart Drs office called , and on Friday i had a heart cath and very little info was given to me on results , only that i was to go to have a echo test done on the 21st , the nurse that called had called to check on my condition after heart cath and i told her all was going well and she ask if i had nay questions and i said yes i do , i ask why after a heart cath was done on friday why i needed a echo and she said it was because a heart cath does not show the chambers and he wanted to do a echo that is 3 D to see the chambers , she said the cath had showed a 50 % stenosis which i was already aware of. I just had a stent put in thru a cath that i had in march . My question is should i be concerned with the findings of the 50 % blockage from a stent that was just put in on march and the heart cath warrants further testing of a 3 D echo ? i have had 2 different open heart surgeries in the past and several stents since then.

[ed34]

facts about stents here

http://www.ptca.org/des.html

[kenkeith]

Drug eluding stents (DES) are at greater risk for restenosis within the first 12 months than bare metal stents.  Cardiologists usually prescribe dual therapy (aspirin and plavix) for the 1st. year and after that just aspirin.

The severity of the disease and the characteristics of the lesions, and finally the possibility and/or compliance to a prolonged antithrombotic treatment. What seem to be clear is that a longer period of dual anti-platelet therapy is needed for patients undergoing DES implantation than for those receiving a bare metal stent. However, at this point it is completely unknown how longer that period should be. Despite the current recommendations from the AHA/ACC suggest 12 months of dual antiplatelet therapy, some experts highly suggest a chronic dual antiplatelet therapy until new data with longer follow up periods is available.

Its not clear by your post what the underlying cause is for your frequent operations, but there should be some concern regarding the restenosis (narrowing) of the stent cite?  Several factors related with the stents are associated with an increased risk of thrombosis, including the procedure itself (stent malapposition and/or underexpansion, number of implanted stents, length, persistent slow coronary blood flow, and dissections) and stent design (materials, strut thickness and polymer type).

[ed34]

with a 50% occlusion you should notice no symptoms. The arteries are supplying
heart tissue are large enough to allow a reserve. Anything 70% and over is generally
classed as requiring a stent in the uk. If you require further stenting then ask for a
drug eluting one because these don't re-disease. An echo is very important for several
reasons. It enable the dimensions of the 4 chambers in the heart to be measured. It
enables the wall thicknesses to be measured and it enables the valve functions to be
monitored, to ensure they are opening/closing correctly. An echo scan is invaluable for
detecting any weaknesses in the structure of the heart and to see if the heart is enlarged. It can also detect if the chambers are working properly to pump blood around
the body.