Did the operation fail? Why did the chest pain become worse after the heart stent was placed?

Did the operation fail? Why did the chest pain become worse after the heart stent was placed?

The results of this patient's surgery made his family full of "doubts":

The older brother is in his 50s and has had intermittent chest pain for a month. The doctor suspected coronary heart disease and recommended cardiac angiography and stent implantation if necessary.

The angiography results showed that the main vascular lesions were diffuse, with the heaviest stenosis being 90%! Three stents needed to be implanted. Due to the large number of stents implanted, the operation became complicated. The patient experienced chest pain symptoms similar to a seizure during the operation, which gradually disappeared half a day after the operation.

The family members were nervous and confused: "Why did the chest pain get worse after the heart stent was placed? Was it a failure of the operation or something else?"

This type of chest pain is normal

This is because during the stent implantation process, the balloon needs to be expanded multiple times at the location of the stenosis of the blood vessel, relying on the squeezing effect of the balloon expansion to expand the narrow lumen. This process can cause temporary blockage of the blood vessel and symptoms of myocardial ischemia. The thicker the blood vessel, the longer the lesion, and the more operations are performed, the more obvious this reaction is.

With the successful implantation of the stent, the blood supply to the myocardium returns to normal, and the chest pain symptoms will disappear quickly, but may last for about a day. This is a normal surgical phenomenon and there is no need to worry.

In addition, some surgical complications can also cause chest pain, such as:

1. Branch vessel blockage

Due to the squeezing effect when expanding the stent and balloon, the stenotic plaque may move or break, which may damage or even block the opening of the branch blood vessels and cause severe myocardial ischemia.

At this time, doctors will often implant stents in the damaged branch blood vessels to restore blood supply, but the difficulty and cost of the operation will also increase accordingly.

2. No improvement in coronary blood flow

Although stents can solve the problem of stenosis of main blood vessels, microcirculation such as tiny blood vessels and even capillaries may still be damaged. Especially for patients with acute myocardial infarction, microcirculation disorders may occur after stent implantation, leading to slow coronary blood flow, which is the "no reflow" phenomenon.

This phenomenon will not only aggravate myocardial ischemia and induce severe ischemic symptoms, but also increase the risk of recurrent myocardial infarction and even death. Doctors will use drugs to improve microcirculation during and after surgery to treat it.

I am Dr. Zhang from the Department of Cardiology. If you like my popular science articles, please like them! You can also share them with friends in need! Follow me to see more health knowledge about heart disease!

<<:  Four Seasons Pharmacist says: To stay healthy in summer, you need to know your family's "medicine"

>>:  How to eat quail eggs? Homemade spiced quail eggs, simple and easy to learn, the first choice for breakfast!

Recommend

Will girls still grow taller at the age of sixteen?

Will girls continue to grow taller at the age of ...

How to take a bath regularly for women

After a tiring day, taking a bath is one of the t...

Symptoms of chronic salpingitis

The fallopian tube is an important part of female...

Removal of the uterus and ovaries is worse than death

The ovaries are important reproductive organs for...

What to do if a 12-year-old girl has acne on her face

Many people will go through puberty. People's...

I feel short of breath and lack of oxygen less than 40 days into my pregnancy.

Important reminder: Some pregnant women find that...

What is the diet for lactation during confinement?

Many pregnant women want to breastfeed after givi...

Can I drink barley tea during my period?

For a woman, the most painful moment in her life ...

Pregnant woman with yellow urine will give birth to a boy or a girl

The color of a pregnant woman's urine can det...

What should a woman do if she has a headache after washing her head?

Hair should not be cleaned too frequently, otherw...