While this might be John’s story, it is not everyone’s story. For example, CBS News reported about Pearl Sullivan, who visited a hospital in New Jersey complaining of shortness of breath. Doctors performed an angioplasty, during which Pearl died. Her family filed a lawsuit against the doctors and the hospital.
With so many competing stories about angioplasty, it might be hard to decide if you are a good candidate for the surgery. Educating yourself on the procedure and recovery involved in angioplasty is one strategy that may help you decide if it is right for you. Therefore, below is information about the procedure and recovery associated with angioplasty, along with the risks and benefits of surgery.
What is Angioplasty?
When you have an angioplasty, a vascular surgeon inserts and then inflates a small balloon inside a narrowed blood vessel. The balloon is there to widen your blood vessel and improve blood flow. Once the blood vessel is widened, your vascular surgeon may implant a stent or a tiny mesh metal tube that helps support your artery walls stay open, allowing blood to flow better through your blood vessels.
Often, angioplasty and stenting are performed through a small puncture or incision in the skin called an access site. Your vascular surgeon inserts a long tube called a catheter into the access site, then the surgeon directs the tube through blood vessels to the blocked artery with the aid of an X-ray. The end of the catheter is what carries the balloon or stent to the blocked artery, where the vascular surgeon inflates the balloon and implants the stent. The stent is only placed in the artery if the surgeon believes the artery walls have a chance of collapsing again.
What is Angioplasty Recovery Like?
In the first six hours after angioplasty, you may stay in the hospital bed where doctors and nurses can monitor you for complications. Depending on the access point location, like the groin or the arm, you may have to keep that area of your body still to minimize bleeding risk. Patients are usually advised to alert their doctors if they experience shortness of breath, worsening leg pain, fever and problems around the access site, such as bleeding, swelling, pain or numbness.
In the weeks and months following an angioplasty, your doctor may give you directives on what you can and cannot do. For example, you may be limited to how much weight you can lift, what kind of cardiovascular activities you can do and how much fluid you should be drinking daily to aid in recovery. Your doctor most likely will meet with you several times following an angioplasty to assess your current health and recovery process. Your doctor also may prescribe medications to encourage recovery.
What are the Risks and Benefits of Angioplasty?
The risks and benefits of angioplasty can differ from person to person depending on the severity of your pre-operation condition, your age, and your overall health. For instance, if you suffer from diabetes or kidney disease, your risk of kidney failure due to complications from the contrast dye used during angioplasty could increase. Additionally, people who have blood clotting disorders may have a higher chance of their artery closing up again, particularly if the plaque deposit in your artery is long. Some of the most common risks associated with angioplasty are reactions to the contact dye, weakening of the artery wall, bleeding in the vessel at the puncture site, re-blocking in the treated vessel, kidney complication and blockages forming downstream from the angioplasty site.
However, many people who have had angioplasty have made fruitful and speedy recoveries. Along with John from Georgia, many other angioplasty survivors have shared their success stories with Angioplasty.org, like Dave from Ontario, Canada, who had his surgery back in 1998, and Alan from Florida. Dave stated that after having an angioplasty at 42, he has had no pain or angina symptoms, regained full activity and has no scars from the surgery. Likewise, Alan wrote his story just one week after surgery and reported that he lay in the hospital for only two days, and when he left, he had no pain. Since them, Alan has switched his diet to include more vegetables and fruits but says he feels great and is grateful he underwent angioplasty.
Am I a Good Candidate for Angioplasty?
Many times patients with angina who do not respond well to medications or other treatments are advised to undergo angioplasty. Dr. Michael Cleman from the Yale School of Medicine has written that not all those types of patients are good candidates for angioplasty. Certain patients, like those with three or more arterial blockages, might be better candidates for bypass surgery, while patients who have blockages causing angina symptoms and restricting their daily activities might be the right candidates.
Cleman states that the most ideal -- although not the only -- patient for angioplasty could be someone with a single, well-defined blockage in “the left anterior descending, left circumflex, or right coronary artery.” Additionally, Cleman finds that ideal patients might have no conditions that could complicate the procedure. Although the ideal candidate could be someone with good overall heart function, Clemans also states that angioplasty could be considered if drug therapy has not worked and the angina is severe enough to impact the patient’s quality of life. As with any surgery, consulting with your physician at length may be the best way to determine your candidacy for angioplasty.