Heart attack - bypass?

[mumofjust1]

So I'm just back from the hospital.

My gran called me around 9pm as she was feeling unwell. Went straight there and it was clear she was having a heart attack. Called an ambulance and she was blue lighted to the nearest heart hospital.

As soon as we got there she was taken for an angioplasty with a view to putting stents in place. Unfortunately there were too many blockages for stents to be placed.

She was put on a ward and we have been told that she will need a heart bypass if she's deemed suitable.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience?

My gran is nearly 84 and has had a previous heart attack and stroke.

dont want to be ageist but its a big op for a frail old lady. what does gran want?

Agree it is a big operation so they will need to do assessments for suitability first.
What is she like normally? Independent ? Mobile without help? Any signs of dementia? Any other conditions?

The operation involves taking veins from your leg and using them to replace the blocked arteries around the heart
It is a long surgery and ALL surgery under anaesthetic has risk
The consultants are the best to advise you and it may be after assessment they advise medical management
Let me know if you want anything else
I am an ex cardiac nurse but haven't been in clinical practice for 10 years so can only give basic advice

Thanks MrsSnapLegs she's usually active and independent - looks after herself at home and is out and about every day. She also has COPD and is a bit breathless, but gets by. They have mentioned tablets if the bypass isn't possible - do you know what tablets they would be and hoe effective they would be?

Funny person you're absolutely right. As I said it's only an option if she's deemed suitable, and if she agrees. I have a feeling though that she may not.

Mumofjust1 not sure what specific medication they will use as long out of clinical but they will want to lower her blood pressure and reduce strain on her heart function
Some of the medication will be to reduce a high cholesterol if she has one, possibly something to thin the blood slightly to make it easier to pass through blood vessels, something to help if she gets pain - these are normally GTN based and help widen blood vessels
There are other drugs on the market now that also help improve the function of the heart
Take a pen and notebook with you to write things down that you want to ask before you go

Angioplasty / stents depend which artery (ies) are blocked and where / number of blackages and the same with bypass.

The simplest bypass is where a vein just under the collar bone is connected to a single coronary artery, but MrsSnaplegs is right it often involves 'harvesting' veins from the leg and using them to literally bypass the blockage, in the same way a road bypasses a town.

An echo will show how much heart muscle has died - that is what a heart attack is- a piece of heart muscle dies.

At 84 your gran may be as healthy as a 60 year old, or frail and in ill health so fon't let just age make your choices, there are lads of medications to do everything MrsSnaplegs says, but it can take time to get the right combination.

Good luck to you and your Nan

Any news today? Hope everything is ok

Thanks everyone

She's much better today, heart rate and blood pressure fine. We spoke to a registrar who explained that blood tests have shown a high level of something that indicates a heart attack but that the fast and irregular heart beat could also have caused the chest arm and back pain.

The doctors and my gran have decided that a bypass is not an option, so tomorrow they will decide if they should manage her condition with medication, or if they should perform a further angioplasty and put stents in one or two places - all 3 arteries are furred and narrowed.

She is on different medication and had an injection into her tummy of a blood thinner as a preventative measure.

It's lovely to see her back to her almost normal self and the ambulance and hospital staff have been absolutely amazing

Ok the high blood level is something called creatinine kinase which is released by the body when muscle is damaged there is a specific market for cardiac muscle which is called CK MB - cant remember what the MB bit stands for but it is specific to cardiac muscle
She may have had an irregular or fast heart beat as damage to the muscle can affect its "electrical wiring" which is what make it pump regularly - a bit like a short circuit - this can be corrected with medication or a pacemaker of it persists. This is a minor op under local.
I would follow the advice of the consultants they are the experts in this and if you ask will tell and show you what a stent is and how it works if the has an angioplasty and stent - its a good procedure - again not a proper Anaesthetic
Let us know how she gets on