Current Postings:

• Vanesa -- Does his cardiologist think he may have other blockages or that the stented areas have restenosed (reclosed)? The risks of a major adverse event with an angiogram are pretty low, and coronary patients often have a number of them. Have other causes for shortness of breath (pulmonary or lung problems) been ruled out? As for heart muscle dying, unfortunately not everyone can get identified or treated quickly enough to save the whole muscle. We can't comment on transplant criteria (that would be something you need to discuss with your physician) but medications can help, and in the future there may be genetic cures, stem cell therapy, etc.
Angioplasty.Org Staff, Angioplasty.Org, July 21, 2006

• My Dad had 2 stents placed 3 months ago. He was 90% blocked. He suffered a previous MI and was told that since some of his heart muscles have "died" it makes no sense doing a bypass. He has been experiencing shortness of breath when walking even for 1 min. He is not in the best of health he was a 2 pack smoker for almost 20 years but had quit about 2 years ago. What are the risks of doing another angiogram the second time. Also what are the criteria to qualify for a heart transplant?
Vanesa Rampersad, Nursing, Maryland, USA, July 20, 2006

• J. -- so much about prognosis has to do with each individual patient. For example, the first patient ever to have an angioplasty (back in 1977) did not even need a repeat procedure -- he was studied ten years after and showed no ill effects. We don't understand the comment you report about "the rate of recurrent MI" being at its peak. You should discuss your father's prognosis with your father's doctor more and discuss why your father should be feeling this way.
Angioplasty.Org Staff, Angioplasty.Org, July 18, 2006

• I would like to know the long-term prognosis too as my father had angioplasty with stents and PTCA about ten years ago. He follows up regularly and recently, his doctor told him that the rate of recurrent MI is increasing and now is at the peak. Today, my mother told me that my father said that "he will die soon", this make all of us feel stress and worry. Therefore, I would like to know that as soon as possible. Many thanks!
J., Hong Kong, July 16, 2006

• I had an event (heart attack) on April 15th. I had a stent put in my LAD that had a 99.99% blockage, the doctor used TAXUS which is a coated Stent. I returned to work yesterday April 26th. I also would like to hear from others. Thanks
Joe, Mission, Texas USA, April 27, 2006

• The New England Journal of Medicine reported (in May, 2005) results of a large-scale comparison of PTCA and CABG based on data gathered in New York.
Dan Gemoll, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI (USA), January 23, 2006

• I would like to see the statistics on prognosis as well. Could you direct me to the research? Thank you
Barbara Blatchley, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA USA, June 30, 2005

• Failure stats for uncoated stents?
Brian Digby, Western Australia, January 05, 2005

• I just had two stents in LAD for 99.9% blockage. This was done on 2-26-04.I have been told that there does not appear to be significant difference in outcomes between the procedures. Im taking this with a grain of salt,as I do not believe that there is enough history considering all varibles. My symptoms are gone,Im still taking it easy,using light treadmill (12-15 min) day and fully expect to use cardio-rehab plan 6-8 weeks. The 26th was my lucky day, as it was done as a scheduled procedure as opposed to the usual "ER" route.
Wayne Yerkes, Parsippany,NJ, 02 Mar 2004

• I am also interested in finding out the long term prognosis. My husband just had angioplasty with 3 stents placed 2 weeks ago. I'd like to hear how others who had the procedures are doing too.
June, Wisconsin, 25 Feb 2004

• I would like to know the results as soon as possible. would you send me soon? Many thanks!
Xiong Fangli, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 07 Nov 2002

• What is the long-term prognosis of coronary stent vs PTCA and CABG?
Ralf, Leuven, Belgium, 29 Nov 2001

add your response
Please keep your posting concise. For readability we  limit responses to 1,200 characters.
Also note that The Forum is not an "ask-a-doctor" service; we do not dispense medical
advice about a patient's specific situation. Read our disclaimer and note that no information
on this Forum should be viewed as a substitute for medical advice or as a consultation
with a medical doctor: 

 characters left

Forum name -- how do you want to be identified on your post (Required)


your email address (Required):
email address must be current and valid; if email sent to the address
below is returned, your comments will not be posted; your email address
will not be displayed on the Forum unless you specifically request it:


please enter your email address again (for verification)


geographic location (city, state, province and/or country -- Required):        



REQUIRED -- Check the box below to let us know you are a "real human being" and not a spambot.
You must check this box for your posting to be submitted:
 I am a real person and not a spambot

The following information is optional. 

your name:



your organization:




Check the box below if you wish Angioplasty.Org to "anonymize" your posting (for example,
John Doe, Baltimore, Maryland, USA  would become John D., Maryland, USA):
 please anonymize me

To submit your post, please click the button below once and wait for a confirmation.
Clicking more than once will result in multiple submissions.

Please note the following disclaimer: The information contained in this web site is accurate to the best of the knowledge of Angioplasty.Org. None of this information should be viewed as a substitute for medical advice or as a consultation with a medical doctor. It is highly recommended that readers discuss any advice with a medical doctor before deciding on a course of action. Angioplasty.Org or its producers assume no liability for any actions taken as a result of information contained on this site, whether implied or expressed. Opinions and recommendations expressed on the FORUM are solely those of their authors. All submissions are reviewed and posted at the editors' discretion. FORUM submissions that are primarily commercial in nature, advertising services or products, are not posted. Any medical advice expressed on the FORUM does not necessarily represent the views of Angioplasty.Org, its producers, or of anyone associated with it, or of others appearing on this web site. Please note that this is a moderated discussion, so your response will appear after a short review.