You will need to take antiplatelet medicines, or blood thinners, to prevent blood clots from forming in the stents in your arteries. Your provider may prescribe these medicines for 1 year or more after getting a coronary stent. For carotid or peripheral artery stents, it may be 1 month or more.
The highest risk of clotting comes within the first month after stenting, where stopping even one of those drugs is associated with a very high risk of sudden clotting of the stent and a subsequent heart attack. With longer time elapsed since the placement, the risk of stent closure decreases.
Medication and further treatment
Most people need to take blood-thinning medications for up to 1 year after having an angioplasty. This is usually a combination of low-dose aspirin and one of the following medications: clopidogrel. prasugrel.
It has been common practice for patients who have had a stent placed to clear a blocked artery to take an anti-clotting drug (such as Plavix, Effient, or Brilinta) plus aspirin for 12 months after the procedure. Taking these two medications, called dual anti-platelet therapy, reduces the risk of forming blood clots.
Dairy - preferably low fat. Healthy fats - a small amount of healthy fats and oils from nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish. Water - avoid sugary soft drinks and drink alcohol only in moderation.
Stent length/multiple stents
analyzed the CAPTURE trial data and demonstrated that the use of multiple carotid stents was associated with a higher 30-day stroke rate of 9.7%, compared with a stroke rate of 4.5% in patients that required only one stent placement.
After the stent insertion procedure, it takes up to two weeks for the stent to settle into place. As a foreign body in the artery, the settling stent can cause some discomfort. Some individuals experience short, sharp pains in their chest, similar to pinpricks.
Stents can also be used to keep the blood vessel open. But research shows that they often cause intracranial hemorrhages (bleeding in the brain) when they are put in, which can in turn also cause a stroke. Strokes occur when part of the brain doesn't receive any blood, or not enough.
It's important to go to all follow-up appointments with your healthcare team, even if you're feeling well. The first visit is usually two to four weeks after your stent is implanted, with follow-up appointments every six months for the first year.
A stent can cause blood clotting, which may increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute state that about 1 to 2 percent of people who have stented arteries develop a blood clot at the site of the stent. Doctors will usually prescribe one or more drugs to prevent clotting.
It's a card that you carry in your wallet that tells the location of the stent in your body, the date of your procedure when you received the stent and your doctor's name and contact information.
As a result, even after implanting stents in three major coronary arteries, if correctly controlled, you can live a long life.
One can go back to their normal routine within 2 to 3 days after undergoing the procedure, depending on the doctors' recommendations. However, patients who undergo this procedure must ensure they follow the above-mentioned lifestyle changes to lead a long and healthy life after stent placement.
Sometimes heart problems return after a stent procedure. If that happens, you usually have symptoms—like chest pain, fatigue, or shortness of breath. If you do have symptoms, a stress test can help your doctor see what's going on. It can show if a blockage has returned or if there's a new blockage.
Myth: The angioplasty procedure and stent fixed my heart problems. Fact: You should feel better immediately after your angioplasty because it opened your blocked blood vessel and blood started to flow freely.
Foods to avoid, or keep to a minimum:
Pithy fruit e.g. oranges, nectarines, grapefruit, pineapple. Dried fruit, nuts, and seeds, popcorn. Fish with bones e.g. anchovies, tinned sardines. Tough or gristly meat.
Rates of serious complications, including stroke, myocardial infarction, and death, are less than 1% for most catheterization procedures.
The two antioxidant compounds are resveratrol and quercetin. “By delivering red wine antioxidants during conventional angioplasty, it may be possible to prevent excess tissue from building up and the blood vessel from narrowing again as it heals,” Dr. Dugas said.
The Benefits of Stenting
By keeping an artery open, stents lower your risk of chest pain. They can also treat a heart attack in progress and reduce the chance of a future heart attack.