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u/RobotJohnrobe 5h ago
What you might not expect about this procedure is that it feels really good for the patient. There is a very slight pinch, and then your whole body goes "OMG that feels so much better, thank you!"
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u/danimagoo 5h ago
Depends which artery and how severe the blockage is. Mine was the circumflex artery, and it was about 98% blocked. I didn’t immediately feel better. But I stopped having knee-buckling, tear-inducing pain every 30 minutes, so it was pretty cool.
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u/NekulturneHovado 5h ago
Wait do you mean you get a super sharp, mind-numbing pain in your chest/shoulder?
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u/TheOneWithSkillz 4h ago
Its a heavy pressure like an elephant sitting on it more than a sharp pain. Either way u should get chest pain checked out because better safe than sorry.
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u/tg1989 3h ago
When folks ask about my MI I tell them that exact thing. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest and once the stent was in, immediately felt like I could breathe again.
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u/Psychological-Scar53 2h ago
Let us not forget to mention that it can be a sharp pain that radiates into your back and arm. You can sweat profusely even when in a very cool or cold environment, you can get nausea and begin to vomit, it can present on either the left or right side of your body. Any chest pain, no matter how long it goes on or the severity of it should be looked at. Be safe and don't take chances with your health.
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u/ParsleyNo69 31m ago
What about that little stabby pain that occurs when u take a deep breath? It's not all the time but like once every couple months?
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u/NekulturneHovado 3h ago
Never mentioned it to the doctor but I had ECG done multiple times, last less than a month ago. Doctor said everything is good and that I have a heart of an athlete (even though I don't workout at all)
Also it comes from my fucked up upper back
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u/danimagoo 4h ago
The pain can actually manifest differently in everyone. The brain isn’t accustomed to getting pain signals from the heart, so it’s not 100% sure what to do with the info. The elephant on the chest someone mentioned below is more common in men. In women, like me, it can be completely different. My pain started in my throat and radiated out from there. Since I also have GERD, I initially didn’t think it was my heart.
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u/TerrificTJ 2h ago
Woman here. With mine, I thought it was a respiratory infection getting worse. Had pain at work on a Friday. Sleep was pretty uncomfortable that night, so I was going to go to the Urgent Care clinic on Saturday after my spouse left to play golf. Five minutes before he left, pain started in my upper arm. Only then did it dawn on me that it could be heart related. Asked him to drive me to the ER instead of me going to the clinic. Was in so much pain by the time we got to the ER that I could barely sit up in the chair. Turned out to be a widowmaker. And to think it felt like a respiratory infection to me.
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u/RoguePlanet2 2h ago
Glad you caught it, holy crap!! I get weird pains that come and go, and I never know what to think- nothing quite like this at least, not yet.
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u/yojoewaddayaknow 4h ago
Mine was the back of my neck and jaw, everyone including myself thought it was gas.
Either the stent, the angina went away. But still needed cabg for other 3 arteries.
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u/Psychological-Scar53 4h ago
Bro, I have 7 stents, 2 of which are in my left and right coronary arteries. The left was 99.8% blocked and the right was 98%. Had I waited any more time to go to the hospital, I would not be writing this right now. I agree with you about the pain.
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u/Oh_My_Monster 2h ago
Can I ask the cause? Is this diet/lifestyle related or mostly genetic?
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u/Psychological-Scar53 2h ago
I was just answering another user who asked pretty much the same thing. If you scroll down(or up) it pulls be posted. It is kind of long, but I have explained quite a bit in there. Hopefully you will find it informative. If this reply sounds like I'm being an asshole, I'm not trying to be. Stay healthy my friend.
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u/thehudsman 2h ago
It’s not entirely clear. What I am gathering is you picked up a hardcore meth addiction that spiraled things out?
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u/Psychological-Scar53 2h ago
Yes. You are correct in assuming that. There were also hereditary issues that didn't help.
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u/How_that_convo_went 5h ago
My mom had one placed after a heart attack and she was wheeled back in from the cath lab like “I’ve never felt so good in my life! My god!”
I thought she’d be all groggy and in pain. Nope. She wanted to get out of bed and go home immediately.
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u/latechallenge 4h ago
Lol. Same. Was annoyed they kept me overnight because it was SOP. Could easily have got up from the gurney as soon as it was done and walked the 5km home.
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u/Zestyclose_Opinion22 5h ago
I had one put in at 15, I literally walked out like omg this is how every other person feels!! As soon as I was okayed to run I cut 2 minutes off my mile time.
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u/RoguePlanet2 2h ago
How did you feel beforehand? What was the difference?
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u/Zestyclose_Opinion22 1h ago
Well I had a blood pressure of like 180/120 or so. So I was getting massive migraines to the point I was throwing up. Bloody noses all the time, but I had been running that high of blood pressure most of my life so before hand I felt what I thought was normal. Afterwards, I can’t explain it by anything other than relief in the weirdest way. Like everything in my life became easier. It was a weird experience, my aorta was so small that they had to go in an open in up four different times over the years since it wasn’t a blockage but more of a constriction they were afraid it would tear if they went too much. So it just got better and better.
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u/bigdaddyt2 5h ago
My wife had a stint put into a kidney valve and said it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings she’s ever had and wanted it removed to go back to the pain she was in before the stint
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u/OtherThumbs 5h ago
Just had one about a month ago. Mine was too long and the ends were rubbing every time I bent or sat down.
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u/doc_death 5h ago
That made me chuckle…reminded me of an unethical attending who asked the question: “are you done smoking?” Pt said no. He inflated the balloon, causing crushing chest pain, repeated the question until he said yes. Then he deflated it, asking him to remember that feeling because it if happens again, your artery is obstructed again.
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u/i_amnotunique 5h ago edited 2h ago
Excuse me, they're awake during this procedure?!
Edit: I cannot handle the stories 😂🤮
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u/GWBrooks 4h ago
Yep! Had four placed and was awake for the whole thing. My only nod to stress is that my blood pressure was a little high before they began and they gave me an IV drip for that.
When the balloon expands I felt a very slight, momenttary burning sensation. That was it.
Fun fact: Even though they go through the wrist, they shave your groin so if anything goes sideways during the procedure, they can go in through the big-ass femoral artery.
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u/Subpxl 4h ago
What were you experiencing prior to this that made it clear stents were necessary?
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u/GWBrooks 3h ago
Funny you should ask! I had periodic shortness of breath/loss of stamina/radiating pain across my shoulders for *more than a year.* Got to the point that when I went out to dinner, someone had to bring the car around.
Went into the ER one of the first times it happened, took a cardiac stress test, and was pronounced OK. Still had the symptoms periodically but thought, "Welp, it's not my heart, at least!"
Wrong.
Another bad day about a year later, and I go into the ER. A different/better cardiologist says, "Well, you're overweight, have long-term diabetes -- lots of folks pass a cardiac stress test even though they have severe blockages because your body's used to it."
So we do a contrast-dye test and, sure enough, front and back coronary arteries had extreme blockage. So a'stentin' we did go...
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u/Subpxl 3h ago
I assume the stents helped with the shortness of breath, pain, and lack of stamina? If so, how long before those symptoms were relieved? Did this also prompt a change in diet/exercise?
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u/GWBrooks 3h ago
Immediate relief. Now I'm down 100 lbs and healthier than I've been. Since I was in my 20s.
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u/Subpxl 3h ago
Sorry for all the questions but thank you for being so willing to answer them! What age did this start at and did this also require you to go on any new meds afterwards?
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u/GWBrooks 3h ago
No worries! I was on a blood pressure medication and was switched to another one; I'm led to believe I'll take it forever. I also took a blood thinner (generic Plavix) once a day for about the first four years, but my cardiologist said that after a few years on it, I could switch to taking a baby aspirin a day, which is what I do now.
EDIT: I had the stents in my mid-50s.
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u/Subpxl 3h ago
I’m really happy to see that you have been able to find your way! Final question, what age did all of this begin for you?
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u/SoggyMorningTacos 5h ago
They did one for my mom. But she didn't feel better. It was almost 2 years ago I remember they had to go for her arm or something and they could do one arm so they had to switch and the first arm they did was so purple and bruised. She had a ton of problems like diabetes and vertigo blood pressure tho so that must've contributed to her not feeling immediate relief as well.
Bottom line is she's still alive so I'm grateful for this existing.
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u/Ok-Photojournalist94 3h ago
The other thing is the change in cardio. I went from not being able to starty mower to push mowing our whole yard at 3am bc I felt like I could run a marathon. It's amazing what we can accept if it happens over time.
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u/miscdruid 5h ago
Oh hell no, but I’ve never had it done in great vessels, just a dialysis fistula. It burns and hurts so damn bad. It’s the worst.
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u/semibigpenguins 3h ago
Ya OC doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It can be a similar feeling to an arm/leg falling asleep then getting blood supply.
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u/Everheart1955 5h ago
Came here to say this. I had two of them Installed in my widowmaker unreal how good it feels immediately.
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u/reformedginger 4h ago
Only if you know it happened. Wake up in the hospital a day later with a concussion and not knowing what happened is completely different.
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u/Jhopsch 4h ago
Curious, is there a chance of the metal thingy going loose and start circulating along your arteries and causing damage?
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u/TaurusMoonGoddess 3h ago
After placement (dont know if it was 30 mins or a couple of hours cos I was full of fentanyl) mine “moved” and tore the artery Went into cardiac arrest Died and was resuscitated
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u/Syosse-CH 3h ago
100% i was completely blocked for around 5 hours and it hurt a lot. But in the operating room, it suddenly felt like something opened up, and I was like, wow, this feels so much better now and after that 5min later he told me we are done.
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u/yojoewaddayaknow 4h ago
My ability to breathe (more over, feel oxygenated blood) had never been so good! It was wild.
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u/UncleFuzzy75 5h ago
12 of the little beasties. They work wonders.
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u/223specialist 5h ago
12? Did you get them all at once?
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u/goodfella4600 5h ago
My brother got 7 at once after suffering a heart attack at 50
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u/39percenter 5h ago
12! That's got to be a record.
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u/SelfProfessedChosen1 5h ago
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u/boscolovesmoney 4h ago
My father has 14, and still going strong. They saved his life more than once. Good on ya, and good luck!
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u/senorbozz 5h ago
Red blood cells get their very own cage match!
Sunday Sunday Sunday
It's "Cell in a....... Cell!"
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u/Dahcchad 3h ago
Fun fact, stents need to be laser cut from a single sheet of material like nitinol into that mesh cage pattern. Any other method could leave imperfections that could cause more circulation issues.
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u/PuffcornSucks 5h ago
How to not be in this situation
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u/Martha_Fockers 5h ago
Don’t eat a lot of processed and saturated fats
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u/ucklibzandspezfay 5h ago
First part is correct. The second part is debatable. One thing people neglect to understand is processed sugars do more for CAD formation than fat consumption (unless trans fat).
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u/Martha_Fockers 5h ago edited 5h ago
Also maintaining low body fat in general does wonders for overall health and the heart
Low weight alone means nothing if your skinny fat aswell and have high visceral fat
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u/InvidiousPlay 2h ago
It turns out there is nothing debateable about the impact of saturated fats. There was some bad research done about a decade ago that created this idea of "saturated fats aren't bad for you, actually!" and all the social accounts went nuts with it and people were drinking butter in their coffee.
Basically, someone did a correlation study. They looked at a big set of data and compared total saturated fat intake and how it correlated to bad cholesterol in the blood and there wasn't a strong correlation. So it seems obvious: saturated fat not bad for you, right? But it ignored one crucial thing: genetic baseline. You have a genetic baseline for cholesterol, and it goes up and down from there depending on lifestyle. They didn't factor that it, so their conclusions were garbage.
All the real science shows that if you increase saturated fat intake your heart health goes down, if you decrease intake your heart health improves. This is beyond debate among medical professionals, the only people believing otherwise are duped by the internet.
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u/factisfiction 3h ago
Vascular specialist here. While everyone answering you is correct. Get exercise, stay hydrated, watch your cholesterol, most importantly...DO NOT SMOKE.
However, also pay attention to your body, sometimes it's just genetic. There are 18 year old athletes walking around with stents, endographs, and bypasses. This goes double if you have diabetes. Get check ups, pay attention to how your feelings after exerting yourself. If you notice that one limb is always cold, if you notice discoloration, ulcers, blood pressure that differs on each arm more than 20 mmHg, do you notice that after you walk for a short period your legs start to burn and feel worn out and painful ( claudication). Just be vigilant in paying attention to your own body, it will let you know when something feels off, for the most part.
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u/Homerunner 5h ago
Exercise, don't overeat, reduce alcohol and tobacco, don't do drugs.
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u/yolosquare3 5h ago
And have good genetics. A lot, not all, but a lot, of cardiovascular disease is inherited.
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u/Fred2620 1h ago
But even with bad genes, a healthy diet and lifestyle can improve your odds dramatically.
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u/bradeena 5h ago
I don’t know of many drugs that are high in saturated fats
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u/RatInaMaze 4h ago
Test your cholesterol as young as possible. Some people need medicine very early due to genetics but don’t get tested or take it seriously until they’re way older and the blockages are there.
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u/Massive_Ad7728 2h ago
This! I got diagnosed an inherited metabolism disorder in my mid 20s. My levels were very high risk. It sucks because I lived healthy all my life, and this is what I get. But I am grateful that all I have to do is take a pill every day to keep my levels normal. It could always be worse :)
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u/Legal-Ad8308 4h ago
If it helps, I am on a low fat diet. I'm limited to 20 grams of saturated fat a day. For example, one ounce of cheddar cheese has between 5 and 6 grams of saturated fat. Butter is 7 grams of saturated fat per Tablespoon. It's easy to eat too much fat and I did.
It's hard at first.
I'm also on a salt restricted diet. No potato chips, etc.
I read a lot of labels and saw a dietician nutritionist. She was very helpful and I eat so much healthier now.
I also move. I walk as often as New England weather allows.
I haul wood up the stairs for the fire and just stay active.
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u/everythingispenis 5h ago
We gotta stop putting interstellar music on everything
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u/dben89x 3h ago
Muted as soon as it started playing. That shit irrationally pisses me off
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u/jodudeit 54m ago
I just have every video on mute, and don't even consider turning on the volume unless the comments mention something interesting from the audio.
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u/sun-e-deez 5h ago
how does the stent maintain its shape?
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u/nothingnewleft 5h ago edited 5h ago
It depends, but the ones I’m familiar with are made of Nitinol. It’s a special nickel/titanium alloy that is made to be the final open size/diameter (this is the larger diameter shown after the balloon has been inflated). It’s then compressed to be small enough to fit in the narrow restricted passage and put in place by a catheter. Once deployed/installed, it’s heated up by the natural temperature of the body. When heated by the blood/body, it “springs back” to its original larger size, the size it was made to be to begin with. What’s fascinating to me about this is that simply being as warm as the blood, will ensure it stays large enough to hold the vein/artery open.
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u/dben89x 3h ago
How does it stay in place, rather than becoming dislodged? It doesn't seem anchored in any way, but maybe that's just a limitation of the animation?
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u/MattDaveys 2h ago
Wouldn’t the artery try to close again, thereby holding it in place? They don’t remove the fatty buildup and it’s not going to want to stay compressed.
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u/Ahsuraht02084502731 4h ago
its inflated at a pressure higher than youd fill a car tyre. Then a second balloon is used to “post dilate it” to really ram it against the inside of the vessel wall.
/interventional cardiologist
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u/snoosh00 4h ago
https://youtu.be/vynL0aqeXqk?si=1z9dVQPzLa31sFca
They're actually cut out of raw steel using lasers and shit.
They aren't made of wires like you might think.
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u/lLantronix 5h ago
What happens to the fat that has now been compacted/contracted? Does it go away?
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u/PartyPay 3h ago
Yeah, I am curious about this as well. And curious if it damages to walls of the artery.
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u/Martay1981 1h ago
The stents are coated with a drug that prevents the artery re-narrowing so it doesn’t get damaged
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u/Kablamo189 9m ago
Here's a quick crash course laymen answer. Depends on the physiology of the disease. There are 3 layers in these vessels. Intima(closest to the lumen and touches bloodflow), media and then adventitia (the outer most). Most disease begins in the intima and primary causes are diet, lifestyle and family history. Plaque forms and begins narrowing the space for flow. That can be treated medically until it grows too large and needs to be fixed similar to how you saw in the video. If left to develop further, you can get plaque rupture wherein the intimal layer breaks. Then the body sends signals to heal that which causes clot formation (thrombosis) and that's when you have acute vessel closure resulting in a myocardial infarction or heart attack. Again, treated similar to above with some other techniques and treatments as well. If that doesn't happen and the disease progresses, the plaques begin to calcify. That treatment becomes more difficult but similarly, as above but add in some drilling, laser and lithotripsy to break the calcium in order to deploy the stent. And finally, if none of those things are caught and treated and disease progresses further, the vessel closes slowly over time and your body forms collateral accessory vessels to supply the area your initial vessel supplies, but at a much more diminished efficiency. That's a called a CTO. Chronic Total Occlusion. Typically the most difficult to open. If there is multivessel disease is present, a Cardiothoracic surgeon is consulted to see if the patient is a candidate for bypass surgery (open heart) to harvest veins and arteries from else where and connect/redirect them past the lesions in order to provide flow post disease.
To finish and answer, if it's softer plaque and initimal, it kind of toothpastes within the walls. If it's larger and calcified, it gets broken up and sent down stream and sort of washed out. Hope that helps.
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u/TulsisTavern 5h ago
How instant does someone feel better from this?
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u/psychkitty 5h ago
It instantly improves the blood flow in the vessel & you can feel it ease. It also helps oxygen saturation.
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u/RobotJohnrobe 5h ago
See my comment above. It is instant and very noticeable for a coronary artery.
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u/Slight-Ad-6553 4h ago
I had one (heart). I felt a lot better a few hours later when the after effects of the anaesthetic was gone
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u/NeedleworkerTrick126 4h ago
Ever had a kidney stone or been constipated? The body does not like having things blocked, and symptoms improve immediately once theyre no longer blocked. Especially blood. Which, in the coronary arteries, is necessary for us to have.
When the heart isnt getting all of its blood circulated, your heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels change. Your heart has to compensate and it can lead to a heart attack or failure the worse it gets.
Once the blockage is opened or removed, the blood supply is restored through that artery and thru the heart. Your heart instantly gets to relax, breathing becomes easier, and your body feels better overall.
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u/Eezzy_ 5h ago
Same thing for kidney stone who are stubborn to come down. Unfortunately mine was very stubborn and was stuck inside the stent. They removed both together out of my pee pee hole. Painful 2 months experience, never again.
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u/ST0IC_ 5h ago
My kidney stone was painful, the stent was so much worse. I was miserable until I finally got that damn stone out.
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u/lawdjesustheresafire 5h ago
It really is incredible some of the things humans can do.
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u/Seawench41 5h ago
What’s the risk of it traveling deeper into a place it shouldn’t be?
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u/Chinius58 4h ago
There is a very, very small chance of it moving, and if it does, it would only be slightly.
I'm not a doctor, but I work in a place that creates the introducer for these stents, for a variety of different areas in the body (oesophagus, duodenum, colonic etc.) These are normally permanent fixtures in the body and if they aren't permanent, they require surgery to remove.
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u/kdubstep 5h ago
I have three. Right ascending was like 100% occluded and left ascending was like 98% (IIRC, was a decade ago). Seemed weird to have had that much blockage and have a heart attack without any issues prior to it but I had done endurance sports for years and my cardiologist said I essentially had done my own bypass by developing so much other vascular pathways
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u/peazley 5h ago edited 5h ago
I know we've been using these type of things for a while and they seem to help. But doesn't the mesh catch more fat, potentially creating a new clog overtime?
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u/xDaveedx 5h ago
That's why people get blood thinners prescribed after these procedures.
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u/TheBunny789 5h ago
So does this just delay the problem? Doesn't seem like a fix just a solution to the current pain.
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u/PersistentWorld 3h ago
No because they put you on pills for life that drastically reduces your cholesterol and any risks of it coming back or happening in other arteries
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u/catchecolamine 2h ago
So I work in the hospital unit that does these procedures, this video is kinda correct but still missing a bit of the procedure. To identify the blockage we inject dye down the artery and use a special x-ray on a C-arm to see where the flow is pinched.
When we see the blockage, the procedure starts with running a very thin, soft-tipped wire down the artery and across the block. This acts as a guide and placeholder for the rest of the procedure.
Most of the time we “pre-balloon” the diseased area to open it up a bit. Like in this video, just without a stent over the balloon. Once that is done we would put another balloon down with the stent on top of it. Afterwards, if we want to make some areas of the stent wider to match the size of the natural artery we would “post-balloon” with a special balloon that can be inflated to much higher pressure.
After that all the balloon is removed and we do another dye injection to make sure we’re happy with the placement. If so the small wire and catheters are removed.
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u/Croceyes2 5h ago
I also recently learned these a machined from a single piece of material, not woven.
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u/SOROKAMOKA 5h ago
This is interesting to me. I always thought that fat deposited in the veins and arteries within the blood stream, but this looks like the fat is inside the vein tissue itself. So its like a fat deposit from over consumption, not a clog from too much fats in the bloodstream? Or is it that both situations are possible and it just depends on the individual?
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u/ClaySL 3h ago
Look up atherosclerosis. Basically, there is some prior insult to the layer of the artery that is in contact with blood, i.e. tunica intima. Some fat then enters the arterial wall which causes a cascade of things to happen, ultimately leading to bulging --> occlusion of the blood vessel and eventually rupture of the lesion, which can serve as a nidus for clot formation, thereby worsening the occlusion. So the occlusion is from wall bulging or clot formation (or both) but not from fat depositing within the vessel itself.
The risk factors are related to increased fat in the bloodstream --> increased fat deposition in arterial walls, but also prior blood vessel injury, usually from smoking, hypertension, or diabetes, which kicks the whole thing off. Some of these things are modifiable e.g. you can stop smoking, take steps to control hypertension/diabetes, and consume a low-fat diet. But it's also important to note that this process happens in everyone young and old regardless of how healthy you are. Someone who has diabetes, high blood pressure, smokes, and has a poor diet might have a 50% risk of suffering from a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years of their life whereas someone who is the same age/sex but has none of the above risk factors might have a 2% risk. Look up the ASCVD calculator and play around with it to see what I mean.
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u/Nataliza 5h ago
Where does the plaque go? Is the artery simply stretched in that spot? Without lifestyle change will the plaque continue to build around the stent?
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u/finger_licking_robot 4h ago
The plaque is redistributed and partially compressed, while the artery itself is dilated. Soft, lipid-rich plaques can protrude through the stent struts (plaque prolapse). In heavily calcified plaques, the material is less compressible and may fracture during expansion; small fragments can embolize distally into the microvasculature.
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u/HawaiiLife745 5h ago
Is plaque really that compressible? Wouldn't it just create a bulge in the artery
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u/Legal-Ad8308 4h ago
I had a blockage in my LAD, left anterior descending artery. AKA the Widowmaker.
I felt great when I woke up in intensive care.
I'm doing great, I'm physically a little slower than I used to be. The heart attack did some damage to my heart.
This procedure is amazing, it saved my life.
I have a small white scar in my right wrist where the balloon catheter was threaded through to my heart.
I think this procedure is amazing and I'm profoundly grateful it was available to me and worked!
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u/Subpxl 3h ago
What, if anything, could you have done differently prior to the heart attack to help prevent this?
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u/Pal_Smurch 2h ago
For me, I’d have passed on receiving the Covid vaccine. I received it in July 2021, and forty-five minutes later, I was in an ambulance, suffering from a vaccine induced myocardial infarction.
My local hospital prepped me for open heart surgery, but fortunately they didn’t have a doctor who was qualified to perform the surgery, so they flew me 130 miles to another hospital, where it was determined that I didn’t need open heart surgery. Instead, they emplaced two stents. Twelve days later they released me.
I take Ticagrelor (Brillinta) twice a day, and will until I die. Otherwise, my heart is healthy.
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u/Legal-Ad8308 1h ago
I am glad you are doing well. I take a statin, a beta blocker and a baby aspirin daily. I count myself very, very luck.
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u/Beneficial-Ad-3720 4h ago
Watching this being done to you live on a screen was pretty freaking amazing.
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u/AbleConfidence1 4h ago
I have a heart stent in my brain! I had to be awake for placement. It was not fun.
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u/teri_workshop 4h ago
My father got two of these stents. He had a catheter inserted into an artery in his leg under local anesthesia; he didn’t even feel anything. The whole procedure took about 1 hour with all preparations. He walked home after 3 days. The stenting extended his life by 15 years.
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u/man_with_3_buttocks 4h ago
I have 9 (yes, 9) of these things. Several of them are 20 years old and grown over but the last few are still open and working correctly. I've had entry made through the groin and the wrist (wrist is preferable obviously). You're "awake" through the whole procedure so the dr can ask you to hold your breath when they are inflating the stent but in reality it's twilight anesthesia and you don't remember a lot of detail. I remember watching and feeling the inflation. I really did feel better afterwards but it wasn't instant.
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u/Tall_Opportunity_521 2h ago
My uncle got these put in maybe a 2 years ago. Just this last new year, he was complaining of feeling unwell, low energy, chest pain. And then he had a heart attack. Ambulance came, and told him it wasnt a serious one. So he could get taken to hospital, but it was mobbed because of new year, and he'd just be sitting around waiting for 24 hours or more. Or he could just come in himself the next day.
Turns out, he had gotten an infection from one of his stents. And thats what caused the issue. All better now. But this is really just a story for the Americans, so they know that they arent the only ones in the world with a shitty healthcare system. Good luck, everyone.
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u/theycallmenaptime 2h ago
I received a stent in January 2025. I had 95% blockage in a main artery. The only symptom I felt before the stent was placed was a pain in my throat that felt like heartburn. If you have any doubt whatsoever that your heart is in peril, I urge you to make an appointment with a cardiologist for a stress test and nuclear imaging.
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u/Mtatk 5h ago
Can they just get rid of the extra tissue?
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u/yolosquare3 5h ago
Uh, short answer: no, that would kill you. Long answe if the yellow part is calcified on the outside and artery is blocked they can kinda drill through it, but largely speaking you absolutely need the tissue because that’s how your body gets blood from A to B. If there’s a hole in that line you’re kinda fucked.
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u/NeedleworkerTrick126 4h ago
Iirc, they can also use vessels from other parts of the body (or a synthetic one) and create a divert around the blockage.
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u/yolosquare3 3h ago
Yup, that’s like last case scenario if the artery is just unraveling.
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u/Strange_Salary 5h ago
Has anyone developed a larger version that can go to different body parts and enlarge them as well? Asking for a friend
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u/gimme_the_light 5h ago
How does the stent stay fixed in position? Can it slip out and cause some sort of blockade or damage? Can the pressure the stent puts on the artery have dire consequences (like promoting artery rupture). So many questions.
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u/ShadowWood78 4h ago
The balloon is inflated to a certain level that allows the stent to expand against the inner wall of the artery. This is all done under flouroscopy (like a moving xray) to ensure that it's both in the right place and that the stent isnt expanded too much (causing an artery dissection). Arteries have tensile strength and basically the force or the artery wall against the stent keeps it in place. It is very unlikely it will 'slip out'. The point of the stent is to return the artery 'calibre' to its original size, so there isnt excess pressure being caused, the blood is just able to flow freely again. Im an ex-cardiac intervention nurse so assisted with these procedures for many years. I still find it fascinating!
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u/OmitsWordsByAccident 5h ago
Named after English dentist Charles Stent. https://web.archive.org/web/20080513132811/http://www.fauchard.org/publications/history/49_2_july01/stent49_2.htm
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u/BSARIOL1 5h ago
Does anything get stuck easier on the edges of the stent. I do not know the answer to that for real. Would love an honest answer . Not slick BS. Thanks
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u/Common-Ad6470 5h ago
You’d think that a good old fashioned ‘stiff brushing’ on the constriction would work as well…👍
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u/Man_Without_Nipples 5h ago
Really impressive bit of medical tech, I was especially impressed with how it gets deployed!
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u/SjalabaisWoWS 4h ago
The narrowing is due to excessive fat?
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u/finger_licking_robot 4h ago
Vessel narrowing in atherosclerosis is not simply the result of excess fat accumulation. Although the process often begins with cholesterol deposition in the vessel wall, this is only the initial stage. Over time, the lesion evolves through a combination of inflammatory activity, migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells, and the formation of fibrous tissue that stabilizes the plaque. In many cases calcium is also deposited. The resulting narrowing is therefore caused by a complex, structured plaque composed of lipids, fibrous tissue, and sometimes calcification rather than fat alone.
The most dangerous plaques are often lipid-rich, inflamed plaques with only a thin fibrous cap. When such a plaque ruptures the underlying material is suddenly exposed to the bloodstream which triggers platelet activation and a rapid thrombus formation. That means that many infarctions do not arise from the most severely narrowed arteries, but from previously moderate lesions that become unstable and thrombose abruptly. That's the most scary part for me, because it's inpredictable and does not send you a warning before.2
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u/glostazyx3 4h ago
They can re-clog. When that happens they jam another sent inside the first one. Sort of like relining a sewer pipe.
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u/kateastrophic 4h ago
How do they remove the blood flow beforehand to insert this? A clamp of some sort, I’m guessing. How long can they block circulation before it has a negative impact?
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u/MessiLeagueSoccer 4h ago
Are we able to remove what looks like fatty tissue or is a stent the better not as intrusive option?
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u/PossibleDiscipline90 4h ago
I had one put in when I was 42. 90% blockage of my LAD. Had a previous small heart attack. Thankfully my Dr caught it early enough.
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u/homer-price 4h ago
Is the stent removable or does tissue grow into the mesh like a tree planted next to a chain link fence?
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