Bilhar……..restenosis is caused by many things

Most frequently, occurs in smaller vessels than the larger ones. Women in particular  are prone to have occlussions of the smaller vessels. Women may  manifest symptoms of angina and never have the problem diagnosed for  that reason. Most smaller vessels can not be stented but those that  are tend to occlude faster. Stats that I have read seem to indicate  that blockerage has been reduced to around 17% of patients receiving  medicate compared to the 33-45% with bare metal stents. Usually the  occlusion is caused by scar tissue as the vessel immediately starts  trying to heal itself which is the benefit of medicated stents. They  tend to prevent that from occuring.    Many things complicate the picture of stenosis besides diet. I am  primarily a vegetarian. I do take fish oil capsules and occassionally  eat cheese. My total cholestrol is 115, my HDL is 45, my LDL is 57,  and my triglycerides are 135. Go figure that. Both of my parents had  CAD and one had CHF. Grand parents, aunts, uncles and brothers also  had or have it. Could it not be hereditary as they have stated many  times? People with normal or low cholestrol also have heart attacks.  My cardiologists are at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. One is  head of cardiology and one is a research cardiologists. My internists  is head of internal medicine there. All have told me they do not know  what causes restenosis though there are theories on why it happens and  they are still researching it. I figure if they do not know, no one  else does either.    Certainly a doctor will stent if possible…but with the old bare  metal stents, restenosis was a frequent problem which returned them to  the cath lab for restenting. They are less traumatic to the body, but  also less expensive. Numerous articles have been publish on insurance  companies preferring stents if possible because of the expense  involved in by pass surgery. Robotic by pass is fast opening another  options as the pts. down time is considerably less, it is less  traumatic to the body, the patients heart is not stopped,  complications are few, and the expense is not as great. Two small  incisions are made in the side of the chest cavity though which the  robotic instruments are fed. A section of the mammilary artery is  taken and graphed in place of the diseased artery to the heart.