Stent procedure common, effective, Boston cardiologist says

More than 1 million Americans have a stent procedure each year, a surgery that is a common way of relieving a blocked artery, according to Dr. Navin Kapur, cardiologist at Tufts Medical Center.

A stent is a small tube that props open a blocked artery, inserted during a procedure that presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday he had to undergo following chest discomfort.

The procedure is common and takes about an hour or two, said Kapur, with the tube inserted through an artery in the wrist or groin.

The vast majority of patients feel relief from a stent procedure and move on to have a good prognosis and return to a normal life, said Kapur.

“Those patients usually go home the next day and in some cases if it’s very straightforward they go home the same day,” said Kapur, though more complex patients may need a few days longer in the hospital.

Blockages in an artery happen due to a gradual buildup of cholesterol, which can be caused by several factors like a family history, smoking or high blood pressure.

“We try to encourage people not to limit their general activities beyond a recovery period of a couple of days,” said Kapur.

Other lifestyle motivations like losing weight, exercising more, changing diet or quitting smoking are important recovery elements.

“A lot of these patients are actually up and walking around within a period of hours after the sedation wears off,” said Kapur.

Kapur advises patients to not ignore symptoms, especially chest pains, and to check in with a physician if they are feeling unwell.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger underwent a similar procedure in April, as previously reported in the Herald, and the Stones had announced the postponement of their June 8 concert at Gillette Stadium due to Jagger’s illness.

According to a report from Billboard, the tour restarted in July.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2n85I8I