My hubby had stents put in his heart almost exactly 10 years ago. When they did the procedure, they sent his blood work to a study going on at the U of California, Berkley. They were trying to find how platelets in the blood formed in certain people. Most people have cholesterol that bounces through the arteries hitting the walls on all sides and passing through. They found out that his start bouncing through but are shaped like koosh balls and they stick instead of continuing their journey. They gave him 3 stents and told him they would see him again. Not "maybe" we will see you again, but "when" and they gave him ten years until he would need new ones. They asked him to have his brothers and sisters tested because of this odd genetic marker. He has 5 siblings and found his one sister has the same thing. (Lucky them)
He has never had a heart attack but is lucky that he hasn't. Instead of angina pains or pains in his arms or shoulders, he gets pain in his teeth. When he first had it he thought he must have a cavity. The dentist couldn't find anything and sent him to the GP. When he would shovel snow it would hurt his teeth and he thought it was just the cold. Now we know differently. He was having the same tooth pain again recently and after his exam last week, they got him in and "voila".... another stent was put in yesterday. No heart damage again thank goodness. The bad news is he has a valve that is not working correctly and 2 more stents that may collapse in 5 years. They said, "see you again in 5 years for open heart surgery".
Many good and different things have changed since the first procedure. It was much quicker, safer and easier for him to recover. Maybe in 5 years things will be better than it is now. It has only been 2 days and he is feeling almost great. I am so happy for the outcome. It was better than we anticipated. I love having my man around.
So this is a warning, if you feel strange sensations in your teeth get your heart checked.
