Is Angioplasty useful for a cardiac attack?

Question

My dad has had a severe Heart attack on 28-11-06. Doctors now suggest to go for angioplasty after doing the angiography. It costs about 2lacs. is there any other option?

My father had an attack on 28-11-06.Doctors say that there is 95% blockage in the main artery and there is urgent need of angioplasty.But the fact is that my dad is mostly veg. and is not suffering from diabeties. B.P.,over weight or something like that. He weighs 55Kg., and is 5'6" tall his age is 53 yrs. Our relatives say that u should not panic and hurry for angioplasty, but the doc. insists to go for i as soon as possible.(Pune) Please help us and pray to god!!!!!!

Answer 1

Angioplasty will open up the blocked artery that caused the heart attack in the first place. It would be very wise to go ahead with this procedure to help prevent another attack. The sooner the better. Of course there are medications but these should be taken as well as having surgery for best outcome.

Answer 2

People who have suffered a heart attack still must live with the underlying problems which led to the heart attack such as narrowing of the coronary arteries. There is little question that various medications are helpful and these are always an option. The value of angioplasty is that it improves circulation at least temporarily and I have never believed that everyone should undergo angioplasty. Today stent placement rather than angioplasty by itself is more common as the stent keeps the artery open for a longer term but certainly not forever. Coated stents and stents which release medications are in vogue and appear to be an improvement but questions of safety remain. So yes not everyone should have angioplasty and yes there are other options but I would need more specific information to give you more specific advice. What is your Father's triglycerides, LDL, and HDL. What is his age, height, and weight. What is his family history of cardiovascular disease. What other medical problems does he have. What medications does he take. What portion of the heart was damaged. Does he have heart failure. How many vessels were narrowed which ones and by how much. If the 'doctors' have not yet done angiography (cardiac catherization) that would be surprising and any discussion of angioplasty would be premature as not all lesions are receptive to angioplasty. Finally - some people will do better with bypass surgery than any other intervention - but again I am not able to say that he should have angioplasty and certainly not bypass surgery without more information. I wish that I could say that presented with the same information that physicians would reach the same conclusion but that is not true. Physicians tend to opt for technology and (sadly) for money and procedures generate much more money than a prescription. The very best of luck and health to your Father.

Answer 3

Angioplasty (in this case at least) is the re-opening of a blocked or partially blocked artery that supplies blood to the heart. While I am not sure of all the specific's of your father's case, angioplasty is one of the best procedures to correct this type of problem. Your father is now 6 days out from his heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, so his results may not be as dramatic as if this procedure had been done at the time of the heart attack, but here is the reason it may still be bennificial:

Heart attacks are basically heart tissue that dies from lack of oxygen. But they are not discreat, rather they happen in zones much like the rings of a dart board. The center section is most likely dead and unrecoverable. However, the zones surrounding this center section may or may not be still at risk. These outer zones could still be viable even this far out. The heart has the ability over time (many years) to build something called collateral circulation. These side branches may be supplying just enough blood to the outer zones to keep them alive and viable, but would not be able to supply enough blood in any stressful situation. Re-opening the larger blocked (or occluded) artery can re-establish the blood supply to the areas that are still viable. It will not restore the cetral zone that has already died though. Nothing can do that. The heart will replace that dead tissue with scar tissue. However, if the blood supply in not restored, that central zone could expand to inclue some of those outer rings. The larger that amount of tissue that dies, the worse the prognosis, both acutely and for the long term.

This procedure is not without it's risks, however, and they should be explained to your father prior to the procedure by the physician. It is still up to your father to weight the risks and benefits and make an informed descision.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

After an angiography the doctor has to decide whether angioplasty is suitable for the patient. There are many pros and cons as to whether angioplasty would work for a particular patient and a lay person would not be able decide about it. If the doctor advises angioplasty, then it is the best course for a patient. But more than anything else lifestyle change is very important. A vegetarian diet (cutting out saturated fat, meat, eggs, milk, fish, trans fats) helps a great deal. Also cut out smoking, alcohol, drugs. Reduce weight, exercise moderately, minimise stress.

I myself had a heart attack and similar problems as your dad's. Tell him to take 1 capsule of Vitamin E 400 mg per day after breakfast and one tablet of Vitamin C 500 mg. after dinner.
This I found from my own research and cured myself totally.

Answer 6

If doctors recommend it , probably your father needs it. An angioplasty (PTCA) procedure is a catheter incerted on the femoral artery to the heart, it opens up the coronary artery with an inflatedballoon so the artery exoands and blood circulates freely through the arteries. It is a very worthy procedure and the recovery is quick.

Answer 7

It actually depends on the number of blockages or percentage of the blockage.
Suppose if the main artery is having blockage then perhaps you will have to go for Angioplasty at the earliest.
And offcourse doctors are the best judge, but you can always have second opinion.
But sadly if there is a blockage then there arent alternative for this.

Answer 8

It depends on the gravity of the attack! The other option is a by-pass!