Anyone with Heart Stents?Just had 1st Stent Put in!

I have a "train" of stents in my right vertebral artery. That is in your neck and leads to your brain, so a bit different. You'll want to try to keep your cholesterol as low as possible. I believe the goal is under 75/day. The nature of the stents is such that even small chunks of plaque build-up will get stuck and it could cause another blockage. I'd say start there, for your diet. Keeping cholesterol low will make a huge difference for you.

No stents here, but a big part of my motivation comes from watching my father-in-law get a stent put in earlier this year. He has blockage all over his heart and was advised to make serious changes to his diet and lifestyle. Unfortunately, he hasn't. But it helped keep me on track and kicked my husband into gear because we don't want to end up in that situation.

His doctors advised him to go low-fat, low-sodium. He is also supposed to watch his carb intake because he has a thyroid condition. He is on a lot of meds, and I've noticed that when he goes too low on the sodium, he tends to bottom out pretty quickly - he gets dizzy and tired and has to eat something salty to feel better again.

Has your doctor set you up with a nutritionist? If not, maybe you can ask for a referral.

Got my stent late in July, also in the LAD following an attack (actually literally 20 minutes after the attack happened). So get your doc to get you a nutrition consultant. The doc will probably give you targets for fat and sodium, etc., but the nutritionist can give you practical advice on how to meet those targets. MFP is a great tool to help you with weight loss planning and tracking calories, but for the heart patient it's also great for watching your fat intake (my target is less than 60 grams a day, with as little of that being saturated and trans fat as possible) and sodium (try to limit to 2000 mg/day).

On cholesterol--I wasn't given any dietary targets (probably "as low as you can go"), but since cholesterol is manufactured by the body as well as absorbed from foods, the bottom line really is what's circulating around in your blood. And as a person with coronary artery disease they gave me the target of LDL level ("bad" cholesterol) below 70 and HDL ("good" cholesterol) above 45. Between my diet changes, exercise, and statins I was able to do that within 30 days after my attack.

On exercise, did they recommend you go through cardiac rehab? If you can, I highly recommend it. They'll be able to work with you to customize an exercise routine that will work for you and keep your heart healthy.

Got my stent late in July, also in the LAD following an attack (actually literally 20 minutes after the attack happened). So get your doc to get you a nutrition consultant. The doc will probably give you targets for fat and sodium, etc., but the nutritionist can give you practical advice on how to meet those targets. MFP is a great tool to help you with weight loss planning and tracking calories, but for the heart patient it's also great for watching your fat intake (my target is less than 60 grams a day, with as little of that being saturated and trans fat as possible) and sodium (try to limit to 2000 mg/day).

On cholesterol--I wasn't given any dietary targets (probably "as low as you can go"), but since cholesterol is manufactured by the body as well as absorbed from foods, the bottom line really is what's circulating around in your blood. And as a person with coronary artery disease they gave me the target of LDL level ("bad" cholesterol) below 70 and HDL ("good" cholesterol) above 45. Between my diet changes, exercise, and statins I was able to do that within 30 days after my attack.

On exercise, did they recommend you go through cardiac rehab? If you can, I highly recommend it. They'll be able to work with you to customize an exercise routine that will work for you and keep your heart healthy.

I don't go back to see my Heart Dr until Nov 16th for the 1st time since getting the Stent. I will ask about the Cardiac Rehab as well. I didn't sustain a Heart Attack or anything like it thank goodness but the Dr said i still could of died had they of waited on testing etc so I am very lucky.

How are you doing after your Stent ? I hope they last along time, My sister in law and father in law both have Stents so I have talked to them. Did you experience any strange pains in the chest area after having your Stent put in ? I am still feeling some small minor pains and hope its just my body adjusting to the Stent.

From what I've heard from the docs, the biggest worry with the stent is that it'll get clogged up and the biggest risk of that is in the first year. But the Plavix they put us on prevents that; if you got a drug-coated stent that helps as well. The feeling I got is if we take our Plavix religiously and get out of the first year without the stent being clogged up, the stent should be OK for a long, long time.

You know, I did have some minor little pains for the first couple of weeks afterwards. They weren't like angina/heart attack pain, but rather more localized and more like prickly stabs. They'd come and go pretty quickly and were never associated with exercise or anything in particular. But I haven't had those since after the first month or so. I wondered the same thing--is this just my heart reacting to the stent?

Now, 3 months and a lot of exercise later, I can honestly say I feel the best physically I've felt since I was in my 20's (I'm 56 now). With the combination of exercise and the help of MFP for my diet, I've lost about 1.4 lbs per week since my attack (I'm targeting a calorie deficit of 1 lb/week, but I don't eat back my exercise calories so it's going faster). I'm about a third of the way towards my weight goal, but I guess the diet changes given a heart attack are a lifetime deal. :-)

Hi Tizz,
My wife had two stents at 46 so know how you feel, it is very young.
She continued to have the odd chest twinge over the next two years and we even ended up back in the EU unit a couple of times where she was monitored for a couple days.
These have settled down now.
The best advice if you are having twinges is to go back to the hospital and get them to check you out, it may be nothing but it is always best to get them to check it out.
The doctor should have you on a cholesterol reducing medication if you are unable to control your cholesterol with diet or excercise.
My wife had bad reactions with standard statins so is now on a cholesterol reducing med called Crestor.

All the best

Hi , I have had 3 strokes and in 2007 had a stent placed in artery, I first of all quit smoking and later I lost 30 pounds still have 30 to go. Make sure to check with your doctor to see about exercise and food intake. I make sure also to do my exercise that keeps the blood circulating. I take Coumadin blood thinner simular to Plavix and I take that very seriously. To be honest with you I feel so so much better since I watch my food intake and do the exercise and have lost the weight. I had my first stroke at 48 they had me on Coumadin for a month , two years after had another and again only gave Coumadin for 3 months, when I had the last one my Cardiologist said I must take for life , I was seeing him every year for full check up for my arteries but a year ago seeing I was doing so great they say to see them every 2 years instead...Don't worry just get healthier see I said I had my first stroke at 48 I am now 65 and have not had any other since I have the stent and my Coumadin..I have no cholesterol.....so put it this way if you start to take care of yourself life will be good..take care Ok:flowerforyou: