Side effects and risks of a stent | Implantation of a stent after a heart attack

Side effects and risks of a stent

Since the stent is a foreign body in the vessel, a blood clot can form there at any time. This thrombus may block downstream vessels, which would lead to the formation of a new infarction. To prevent this complication, the patient is administered highly effective anticoagulants during the intervention to prevent the formation of a blood clot.

However, these drugs also have side effects, such as an increased risk of bleeding due to poor coagulation and intolerance reactions. After stent implantation, clopidogrel, an anticoagulant drug, must be taken for a few weeks. The use of ASA is usually required for life in patients with a stent. However, this medication may overlap with the medication that would be indicated anyway due to myocardial infarction, so that the patient often does not have to swallow additional tablets compared to other therapies.

Alternatives

In the treatment of myocardial infarction, there are other options besides the stent. First of all, there is the possibility of dissolving the blood clot with the help of medication. This method is used especially in regions where a cardiac catheter laboratory cannot be visited promptly.

However, therapy with a stent as part of a percutaneous coronary intervention in a cardiac catheterization laboratory should be preferred if it can be reached within 90 minutes. In some severe cases it is also necessary to perform an emergency bypass surgery.In this procedure, the constriction in the affected coronary vessel is bridged with a healthy vessel that was freely prepared from another part of the body. The bypass operation becomes necessary, for example, if heart failure already exists and, in the course of this, stent implantation cannot guarantee an adequate blood supply. A bypass may still be necessary after stent implantation if, for example, the stent slowly closes due to scarring or if angina pectoris occurs, which is a sign of insufficient blood supply to the heart muscles.

How can I prevent a new heart attack?

To prevent a new heart attack, the disease causing it should be treated. This is usually a heart disease, it can also be high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus (“diabetes”) or an imbalance in blood lipid levels. All these diseases should be treated with medication.

During rehabilitation, one can learn which types of movement and which physical activity are helpful. A balanced diet also has a positive effect. Ideally, you should stop smoking after a heart attack at the latest.

Too much alcohol is also harmful. In addition, losing weight helps to prevent another heart attack. Altogether all these risk factors should be minimized. It is also helpful to visit a heart specialist regularly to carry out competent preventive measures.