If coronary artery stenting is superior to angioplasty, why is it not used in every single case? Good question! If stents could be delivered to every lesion, and if it had the same good short and long term results in every case, it would be used in 100% cases of angioplasty. However, this is not the case. Stents are difficult to deliver across tight bends in blood vessels (particularly if they have a lot of calcium deposits in the wall) and are not usable in very small blood vessels. There are other types of technical considerations that also come into play. Today, it is estimated that stents are employed in nearly 50-75% of cases. Continue reading
Tag Archives: myocardial infarction
Referred Pain: Left Arm Pain During A Heart Attack
A heart attack, along with the many cardiovascular diseases, is one of the leading causes of death. The chest pain associated with a heart attack is due to myocardial ischemia, also known as the interrupted blood supply to the part of the heart. This interruption of blood supply causes the tissues of the heart to die, thus an injury. This takes place more commonly on the coronary arteries that supplies the heart with oxygenated blood. Without oxygen supply to the heart, an attack occurs. Continue reading
Symptoms of Angina
The symptoms of angina or chest pain can be very alarming to alarming and may cause people to panic. Rather than just plain panicking, a little bit of knowledge and careful assessment is needed to be able to receive appropriate treatment. Any chest pain should be addressed and should not be neglected. Continue reading