by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

A clinical review paper published in the European Heart Journal, under the intriguing section called “Controversies in Cardiovascular Medicine”, revealed a controversy that I’ve written about (and experienced in real life):  post-stent chest pain.¹

This clinical review started with a polite acknowledgement that “procedural success is routinely achieved”  in heart patients when blocked coronary arteries are treated with an implanted stent. But immediately following the niceties about the success of the procedure, review authors threw in this zinger:

“Persistence or recurrence of angina after a stent is well-recognized and may affect 20–40 per cent of patients during short to medium-term follow-up.” 

Whaaaaat?!    That’s like the old hospital joke: “The operation was successful – but the patient died!”  And how can a stent procedure be dubbed a success if up to 40 per cent of patients suffer persistent or recurring chest pain afterwards? Continue reading “Post-stent chest pain, revisited” →