What happens when the stent in the back of heart cannot be reopened?
Patient: My husband has had open heart surgery about 6 yrs ago and the doctor was only able to do 2 bypasses even though he wanted to do 4. He used the artery from his arm for the bypass instead of the leg where the vein is usually taken and used for a bypass surgery. The bypass colapsed in the back of the heart where one of the bypasses was done, the other bypass was an artery connected at  the front from his lung. He has now had 5 stents in the back part of the heart where the bypass colasped and was told he was not a candidate for open heart again. What will happen when they can't reopen the stent in the back of his heart. Is there anything that  can be done? Doctor: If the stent becomes occluded then he will have a heart attack. Heart attacks are caused by ischemia to the heart muscle. The goal is to prevent the ischemia to the heart muscle. You need to optimize your medical treatment now before the ischemia becomes worse. He should take aspirin daily and all of the medications that have been prescribed by the cardiologist and or cardiovascular surgeon.  he should also exercise daily and eat a diet that is high and fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega fatty acids. He should avoid red meats and foods that are high in cholesterol. You should also try to avoid fatty foods. He should not eat any fast food at all. He should also avoid alcohol and tobacco.