When the heart becomes functionally or structurally abnormal, or blood vessels that supply the heart are impaired, the result is called heart disease or coronary artery disease (CAD).
Coronary artery disease is the most common kind of heart disease and is the leading cause of heart attacks. Coronary artery disease is caused by hardening or narrowing of the arteries which impedes the flow of the blood and restriction of oxygen carried in the blood.
Coronary artery disease can lead to angina. Angina is the discomfort that happens in one’s chest when the heart does not get enough oxygen rich blood. Angina may feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest, but can also be in your back, jaw, neck, arms, or shoulders. Sometimes angina can feel like indigestion (an upset stomach). Angina is not a heart attack but a warning that you may be on your way to a heart attack.
A heart attack occurs when a heart artery is severely or completely blocked. Heart stints are often one way that a physician may treat coronary artery disease.
You should be aware of your heart’s condition by being cognizant of some of the following things:
- The primary symptoms of when your heart may not be happy, like shortness of breath, swelling in feet, ankles, and legs, and extreme tiredness
- Your blood pressure
- The need to stop smoking
- Geting tested for diabetes
- Geting your cholesterol and triglyceride levels tested
- Maintaining a healthy weight
The number one cause of coronary artery disease (CAD) that can lead to a heart attack is blocked arteries. It is estimated that about 1.1 million Americans will have a new or a recurrent heart attack this year (2006). If blocked arteries are a causation then it becomes imperative that you understand what might cause a blocked artery, the symptoms that are associated with blocked arteries, and how you might reduce the possibility of a re-occurrence.
Fatty substances (such as cholesterol) buildup along the lining of the coronary arteries reducing blood flow which deprives the heart form oxygen. When the blood flow through an artery is reduced, the heart muscle may not be receiving enough oxygen. Results: chest pain (angina). When the artery becomes severely blocked a heart attack occurs.
Even after treatment such as a heart stint/heart stent or angioplasty takes place it is still possible for those arteries to re-narrow or even become blocked again at the same place where the treatment occurred. This is called restenosis.
Some heart stint/heart stent manufactures, like Cypher® Sirolimus-eluding Coronary Stent, have developed a stint with an anti-rejection type medication that may help in preventing blockage again in the treated area.
Heart stints are most commonly used after the procedure which is often called balloon angioplasty. Heart stints and angioplasty often work in tandem with in reducing the degree of blockage within one’s heart, often up to 90 percent. It is a boon for many heart patients because it reduces the number of bypass surgeries that take place.
Heart stints are often used to restore the normal blood flow within the heart’s artery system, thus preventing many heart attacks in those with complex coronary artery disease.
In the AMA (American Heart Association) and ACC (American College of Cardiology) guidelines from 2006, heart stints can considered for use in patients who have a significant amount of disease in their main and left anterior descending coronary arteries, which are the two biggest coronary arteries.
Some of the potential benefits of heart stints are:
- the reduction of angina, i.e., chest pain
- a lessening of being short of breath
- a lower risk of having a heart attack
- a lowering of the usage of addition medical treatment with drugs
- less risk of restenosis, i.e., artery closing
An often asked question is about how safe is it for men and women. Heart stints have been shown to be overall safe for both male and female after one year. There is a slightly higher risk involved in women within a month after the placement of a heart stint.
If you have diabetes, there is a benefit of a reduction of atherosclerosis (abnormal thickening of the walls of the arteries due to fatty deposits). Because up to two-thirds of diabetic individuals develop a heart or blood vessel disease, stinting often reduces the need for repeated artery-widening procedures.
