My mother is going for some kind of test next week. I can’t remember what it’s called. They will go in through the groin area with a wire/tube/something and it will go up into one of the 3 veins/arteries? on her heart, and they will be able to see if it is blocked.
So, it all looks good, but my question is: If the artery/vein is blocked, what *can *be done to remedy it? Stent/clearing? Meds? If surgery, can they do it immediately?
Thanks,
hh
It sounds like she might be having a coronary arteriogram/angiogram (cardiac catheterization) using the femoral artery as the approach.
Typically this is done to define any problems with the heart arteries, valves or chambers. What is done subsequent to that depends on what is found. Some blockages get stents; some just get opened up; sometimes nothing needs to be done.
As a rule of thumb preparation is made for emergency surgery in case something goes wrong, but if a decision is undertaken to use surgery as definitive treatment, it’s not typically done right away. More commonly there is a lag period of hours to days to do the surgery more electively and allow time to schedule and prepare.
Bolding added. If a blood vessel needs to be opened up, it’s usually done with a balloon on the end of a catheter. That’s called angioplasty, right? I had an angiogram done last September, and that’s what the doctor expected he’d have to do. He was going to install stents, too, and it would be done immediately, while the dye was still showing the blockages.
But it turned out that the radio scan that had been done previously was inaccurate, and the veins were all fine. So here’s hoping your Mother gets the same news.
However it comes out, she’s going to need someone else to drive her home. And she’s going to have to spend something like six hours in the hospital/clinic laying flat with a weight on the entry point. And I mean flat. She’ll be told not to even raise her head. It’s to make sure that the femoral artery seals up properly. You don’t want that big a blood vessel to leak. I was lucky - I slept through four of those hours. Still had to ring for a bed pan, though. Bed pans while laying flat are no fun, but the nurses understand.
Then there’s a ritual sequence of sitting up, standing up, walking around - all while strapped to monitors. They make you prove that you’re well enough to go home.
Almost forgot. I was awake for the procedure. I’m assuming that’s standard. Tell her from me, that the procedure didn’t hurt much at all. The table was hard and cold, and that was more unpleasant than the procedure. But they brought out warmed blankets, which helped a lot.
Thanks, guys!
hh