Tag Archives: coronary artery disease

Is My Stent Open?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Eric Van De Graaff, M.D.

Here’s a scenario that we cardiologists occasionally see.  A patient comes into the hospital with chest pain. He goes to the cath lab where he’s seen to have 90% narrowing of one of his critical vessels, which his cardiologist opens with a small metal coil called a stent (see previous post for more information on how this is done). Several months later, the man begins having discomfort that is similar to his previous episode.  He immediately wonders about his stent and heads straight to the ER.  Another angiogram follows and … Continue reading →

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Sometimes Less is More

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Eric Van De Graaff, M.D.

I saw a patient in my office this week who had received a stent from one of my partners last month.  The man was highly satisfied with his experience—the procedure was tolerable, the recovery short, and the nurses were pretty (he specifically made a point of this, presumably because the post-hospitalization customer surveys don’t include what seemed to him to be the most important feedback metric)—but his wife had a different opinion.  She was upset (and not about the nurses). “Why did he get only one stent?” The cardiac catheterization … Continue reading →

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Can’t Win For Losing

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Eric Van De Graaff, M.D.

This morning while eating breakfast I came across a story in the newspaper announcing that an occasional glass of wine can increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by 15%. I immediately rushed across the room to where my wife was standing and swatted the Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2007 out of her hand before she had a chance to take her first deadly sip. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes gleamed with what I’m sure was gratitude for my quick thinking and decisive action. The next moment, … Continue reading →

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Bypass Surgery vs Stents: The Rematch

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Eric Van De Graaff, M.D.

There’s been a lot in the news lately about the relative benefits of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and angioplasty/stenting (for the purpose of this blog post I’ll use the abbreviation PCI for percutaneous coronary intervention, the term we use to encompass all the fancy plumbing procedures my interventional colleagues perform).  I say “a lot in the news” with the acknowledgment that any story about cardiac health represents no more than a blip on the radar of the overall news cycle—on the same day that two articles about the heart … Continue reading →

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Heart Attacks

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Eric Van De Graaff, M.D.

There’s a point of confusion I often encounter that I’d like to clarify.  It’s not uncommon for patients conclude a lengthy hospital stay for a cardiac condition in utter confusion about whether they had a heart attack or not.  We have changed the definition of heart attack so dramatically over the years that doctors and nurses are just as confused as the patient. A few years ago this was all very simple.  A heart attack meant only one thing—your uncle Herb is out shoveling the snow one winter morning when … Continue reading →

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