Coronary angioplasty is the most common treatment for a damaged heart. Complications occur few and far between. Some complications occur no matter how trained and qualified your heart surgeon is. Some of the common complications include:

• Blood vessel bleeding at the point of insertion of catheters
• Damage to blood vessels from use of catheters
• Developing an allergic reaction to the dye that is being used
• Irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia
• The need for performing an emergency coronary-artery, bypass grafting during the standard procedure. This occurs in 2 to 4 percent of the patients. This may result due to the closing of an artery instead of opening.
• Kidney damage due to the dye used
• Heart attacks (3 to 5 percent of patients)
• Strokes (Nearly 1 percent of patients)

Angioplasty may also cause chest pain. This is because the balloon used may block blood supply to the heart for a short time. These complications may be serious, but they seldom result in death. The complications can occur with any procedure that involves the heart. Another shocking statistic is that nearly 2 percent of patients lose their lives while angioplasty is performed. The chances of Coronary Angioplasty complications are greater in:

• Individuals aged 75 and more
• Patients with kidney failure and diabetes
• Women
• Individuals having inferior pumping of the heart
• Individuals having extensive heart damage and coronary artery blockages

There is continuous research undertaken to make angioplasty more safe and effective. It is important that treated arteries do not close. The procedure should become an option for most heart patients.

Complications Arising from Use of Stents

Restenosis After undergoing angioplasty, patients may feel that their arteries are getting narrowed or blocked all over again. This may happen within 6 months of the procedure. This condition is known as restenosis. If a stent is not used while performing angioplasty, the chances for restenosis increase. This occurs in nearly 4 out of 10 patients. Stents are available that are coated with drugs. These stents reduce the chances of growth of scar tissue around it. This lowers the occurrence of restenosis. The number of patients suffering from restenosis reduced to one in every 10. Other treatment options, such as radiation therapy, can reduce the occurrence of tissue growth inside a given stent. To achieve this, a wire is used through the catheter in order to reach the stent. The wire transmits radiation that can stop any growth of tissues, which may eventually block the arteries. Clotting of Blood Research has proven that there is increased chance of blood clots due to the use drug-coated stents in comparison with the use of metallic stents. However, there is no clear evidence that can prove that these stents are associated with a greater risk for heart attacks and subsequent death. Patients suffering from coronary heart disease are at a higher risk for blood clots, heart attacks, and even death, through the use of drug-coated stents. Studies are on to know the possible benefits of drug-coated stents. Blood clots can be prevented by consuming appropriate drugs prescribed by your cardiologist. Individuals with drug-coated stents are usually prescribed anti-clotting medications, such as aspirin and clopidogrel. These medications may continue for years. As is the case with all procedures, it is necessary to consult your cardiologist, who can properly advise effective treatments, risks and benefits.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a common type of heart disease that’s becoming the main cause of death in America. This happens when small blood vessels that provides oxygen and blood to the heart is compressed by the cholesterol and plaque buildup. These buildups are also known as atherosclerosis. Thus, causing coronary heart disease. There is no cure for this chronic disease. The only way you can fight against chronic disease is taking good care of your heart. You can go for surgery or interventional procedure to meliorate blood flow of your heart. But with same eating habits and at-ease lifestyle, you will be prone to it again. It’s difficult to get cured, but not impossible. Just by following some steps, your heart will be healthy again to pump life inside you. How to reduce risk factor: Foremost thing you should do is making some changes in your lifestyle. It won’t be easy, but not difficult too.  [...]

One of the scariest experiences a person can have is chest pain. The reason for this is because the first thing a person thinks of as the cause of sharp chest pain is a heart attack. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are many things other than this that can cause a person to feel pain in their chest. Because of the way nerves are spread throughout the body it is even possible that chest pain is actually being caused in some other part of the body. Although heart issues are not always the cause of sharp pains in the chest there are times when these pains are cardiac related such as heart attack, angina, aortic dissection, spasm of the coronary arteries and pericarditis or inflammation around the heart. These issues can cause serious problems if not treated promptly however they are not the only things to think of in regards to chest pain. In some cases there may be other issues to consider when looking for a cause of sharp chest pain  [...]