Hi,I am Dr. Joan F. Tryzelaar (Cardiac Surgeon). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
My husband had an MI on 7/17/12 due to a 100%blocked lad. he was given 3 stent implants, and an EF of 30 was reported. He also has 3 other 50-70% blockages in the RCA and Circumflex arteries. He is continuing to have bouts of CHF and his echo today shows his EF down to 20-25. His cardiologist is giving him an additional diuretic ti Lasix and is scheduling a stress test because my husband is experiencing chest discomfort daily, especially with exertion. he has prepared us for the. Possibility of more stents next month. I am wondering why the. Need for a month and not immediately if he thinks more stents are needed. Your thoughts?
Thank you for your question! Your husbant unfortunately seems to have suffered a complicated MI (now with CHF presence); it is very important to preserve his already lowered cardiac function. Another heart attack could be fatal for him. So the best thing to do is to be very aware and to protect the remaining (not infarcted) cardiac muscle from any ischemic event. It is reasonable to treat those 3 stenose in the RCA. Sometimes it is difficult to decide the borderline stenoses 50-75%, as they usually are considered not clinically significant. In order to rule out their innocence FFR (fractional flow reserve) measurement is performet in the cath lab; I don't know if it is available to your cardiac center. Nevertheless, as your husband has chest pain complains, a serious work-yp should be done; first to check for specific cardiac enzymes (CK-MB,Troponin I): sometimes CHF presence can influence the test results. After treating Congestive Heart Failure to a compensated state I recommend to angioplasty of RCA. I am not so optimistic for Stress testing at these moments and I am not sure for its value (CHF presence). Cardio-pulmonary stress test is performed to HF patients of that severity (EF 20-25%) only when is discuSsed for the possibility of a cardiac transplantation. Hope to have been helpful to you. Dr. Iliri
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Can Stents Be Given At Any Time?
Thank you for your question! Your husbant unfortunately seems to have suffered a complicated MI (now with CHF presence); it is very important to preserve his already lowered cardiac function. Another heart attack could be fatal for him. So the best thing to do is to be very aware and to protect the remaining (not infarcted) cardiac muscle from any ischemic event. It is reasonable to treat those 3 stenose in the RCA. Sometimes it is difficult to decide the borderline stenoses 50-75%, as they usually are considered not clinically significant. In order to rule out their innocence FFR (fractional flow reserve) measurement is performet in the cath lab; I don t know if it is available to your cardiac center. Nevertheless, as your husband has chest pain complains, a serious work-yp should be done; first to check for specific cardiac enzymes (CK-MB,Troponin I): sometimes CHF presence can influence the test results. After treating Congestive Heart Failure to a compensated state I recommend to angioplasty of RCA. I am not so optimistic for Stress testing at these moments and I am not sure for its value (CHF presence). Cardio-pulmonary stress test is performed to HF patients of that severity (EF 20-25%) only when is discuSsed for the possibility of a cardiac transplantation. Hope to have been helpful to you. Dr. Iliri