CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE QUOTE ON YOUR ANGIOPLASTY SURGERY COSTS

My Overseas Doctor is able to offer you the same exact care (in most cases at a level that even exceeds) you are used to at much cheaper prices abroad due to 2 major factors:

• The value of US/UK currency is higher overseas - a higher exchange rate will get more value for your money in most of the countries we work with
• Operating costs for Doctors and Hospitals in our network are 10x lower than those in US/UK

These Overseas Doctors are often American or British trained and the hospitals they operate in are internationally accredited - clean, well equipped, even luxurious by American standards. An increasing number of these hospitals have entire wings set up just to cater to International patients.

Same USA/UK trained Doctors, Different countries, Lower costs. Tens of thousands of Americans are traveling abroad to places like Brazil, Thailand, India, Singapore, etc to undergo angioplasty surgery and medical procedures at prices that are a fraction of the costs here in the United States. All you need to do is pack a bag and leave the rest to us.

In some cases, going abroad might be the only way to afford angioplasty surgery for:

• uninsured patients
• patients whose policies do not cover the procedures they need
• self-insured patients who cannot afford the deductibles and co-payments
• anyone who does not want to jeopardize their financial situation trying to meet the high costs of angioplasty operation costs

The low cost of treatment overseas often allows an American patient the opportunity to receive medical care in an exotic location, enjoy a vacation, recover in a four or five-star resort, and return home having spent considerably less than what the procedure would have cost in the United States or United Kingdom.

However, you should be aware that in some cases Angioplasty is a short-term solution, you may want to consider Open Heart Surgery as a much more longer lasting and permanent solution. See our article on Angioplasty vs. Open Heart Surgery here. Ultimately you should make the best informed decision with the support of your primary care Physician.

If you would like to join the increasing number of Americans realizing INCREDIBLE SAVINGS overseas, Click Here to Receive a FREE quote or FREE initial consultation and save up to 80% or more off the typical cost of Angioplasty Procedure ($57,000 U.S. vs $11,000 overseas), Open Heart Surgery Prices/Bypass Surgery Prices ($130,000 vs $10,000 overseas).

We’ve covered various treatments of clogged heart arteries previously, and there is no question that heart stents have saved countless lives in the short term by preventing impending heart attacks or opening arteries while an attack is being treated. However drug eluting stents may result in the incident of what is known as stent thrombosis, or the formulation of a blood clot within the stent itself. While the drug eluting stent is time-releasing its drugs, it effectively stops the re-growth of muscle cells inside the stent. This results in a clot which in turn results in a heart attack.

Neither type of stent, bare metal stents nor drug eluting stents have been shown in rigorous clinical trials to improve long-term survival compared with open heart bypass surgery. In December 2006, an expert FDA panel concluded that drug-eluting stents are even more likely than bare-metal stents to cause thrombosis.

Stents, which come in varying sizes and designs, are inserted by a cardiologist though a small opening, typically in the leg. The stents are then snaked to the heart on a microscopic balloon that opens the artery and is removed after the stent is in place.

With bare metal stents, the main drawback is the tendency of the repaired artery to become clogged again (restenosis). Drug eluting stents can cut restenosis in half, but have now been found to carry their own dangerous risks - which in some cases may even prove fatal.

For people who receive drug-coated stents, the standard protection against clotting is what is known as “anti-platelet therapy” - a few months of aspirin and the blood-thinner drug Plavix. Problem is, aspirin is a known stomach irritant and Plavix causes severe rashes and bruising. To prevent the recurrence of clotting, the FDA recommends staying on Plavix for a year, and on aspirin forever.

Why have stents become so popular? Probably because drug eluting stents are less invasive and frightening than full-scale surgery. They also help avoid the potential side effects of heart drugs, which can include fatigue, sexual dysfunction, depression and light-headedness. Perhaps other patients are not being told that a bypass surgery may be a good option.

Recent studies have shown that bypass surgery could extend many patients’ lives longer than stents. Stents, when improperly used, might put patients at greater risk of blood clots, heart attacks or even death. Bypass surgery should be considered as a better, longer term alternative.

Sources:

• Duke University: Drug-Coated Stent Patients at Risk if Anti-Blood-Clotting Medication Discontinued
• Duke University: Coronary Stents Do Not Improve Long Term Survival
• The Mobile Register (Alabama) : Doctors debate risk, benefits of stents - Fred Tasker; July 3rd, 2007
• The Wall Street Journal: New studies hint at overuse of stents - Ron Winslow; January 23rd, 2007
• MSNBC.com : Some heart stents pose death risk;March 1st, 2007
• The New York Times: Doctors Rethink Widespread Use of Heart Stents - Barnaby J. Feder; October 21st, 2006.

1960s: Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) is introduced to repair arteries clogged with plaque. Surgeons harvest healthy veins from a patient’s legs and transplant them around blocked arteries near the heart, restoring blood flow.

The problem: Although effective, it’s a major operation. Surgeons saw through the patient’s sternum and pry open the rib cage. About 500,000 such surgeries a year are performed.

1977: Doctors begin to unclog arteries with balloon angioplasty. They make a small slit in the patient’s groin, run a wire-like catheter up the femoral artery and inflate a tiny balloon inside the plaque blockage, opening it, restoring blood flow.

The problem: Within six months, one-third to one-half of patients experience a re-narrowing of the artery due to plaque, called “restenosis.”

1986: Pharmaceutical companies bring out the “bare-metal stent” a tiny metal-mesh sleeve that is collapsed, run up the femoral artery to the plaque lesion, expanded by the balloon and left to keep the artery open.

The problem: In 15 percent to 30 percent of cases, restenosis still occurred within a year.

The reason: Ideally, when a wire-mesh is implanted, the artery heals it over in a few months with smooth muscle cells called endothelia. But in some cases, the cells grow back too aggressively, piling up into scar tissue, narrowing the artery again and encouraging a new blockage with plaque.

2003: The “drug-eluting stent” arrives. It’s coated with medicine that is released over a month or more to slow the growth of the cells that encourage restenosis. They were a hit - cutting re-blockage by two-thirds.

The problem: Occasionally a patient with a drug-eluting stent suffers a heart attack, and sometimes it’s fatal. Studies say it happens more often with drug-eluting stents than with bare-metal stents. It isn’t restenosis; it’s thrombosis, a sudden blood clot that forms inside the drug-eluting stent.

The reason: While the drug-eluting stent is time-releasing its drugs, it effectively stops the re-growth of muscle cells inside the stent.Thus, the bloodstream reacts to the foreign metal object - the bare stent - the same way the blood in your cheek reacts to the nick of a razor - it clots. Result: a heart attack.

Today the debate rages on; doctors in favor of creating better stents vs. doctors who would forgo angioplasty altogether in favor of open-heart surgery.

Sources: Fred Tasker - McClatchy Newspapers, Ohio.com

What is a Balloon Angioplasty?

Angioplasty, also known as Balloon Angioplasty is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open narrowed or blocked blood vessels of the heart.

How is it done?

Angioplasty procedures generally take up to 1 - 2 hours. The patient is awake for the angioplasty procedure but local anesthesia is used and pain medication can be given as needed. During the procedure the surgeon will insert a small balloon catheter into an artery in the groin or arm and advance it toward the narrowing in the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated to enlarge the narrowing in the artery. In some cases, a stent of wire mesh inflates with the balloon and is left behind to support the artery walls.

Why is it done?

When successful, Balloon Angioplasty can relieve chest pain of angina, improve the prognosis of patients with unstable angina, and minimize or stop a heart attack without having the patient undergo open heart surgery.

Risks & complications

As with any surgery, there are risks, including the possibility of:

• Complications associated with anesthesia, including respiratory or cardiac malfunction
• Infection
• Bleeding in the groin (or other catheter access site)
• Complete obstruction of blood flow to an area of the heart (a small risk, less than 1%)
• Damage to a valve or blood vessel
• Stroke
• Arrhythmia
• Kidney failure
• Allergic reactions to X-ray dye

Balloon Angioplasty treats the condition, but does not cure the cause of narrowed arteries. Recurrent narrowing can be expected in up to a quarter of cases over a 6 month period. This recurrent narrowing may or may not require a repeat procedure.

Risks can be reduced by following the physician’s instructions before and after surgery.

Alternatives

If the arteries are not sufficiently widened by angioplasty or the blockages are too severe to be treated by angioplasty procedures, heart surgery may be recommended.

Candidate eligibility

Your physician will make the final determination of each patients eligibility for the angioplasty procedure after an examination and consultation with the patient.

Affordable Angioplasty

Receive a FREE quote or FREE initial consultation and save up to 80% of the typical cost of an angioplasty procedure ($57,000 U.S. vs $11,000 overseas) by contacting us here.

Lori Johnson, Oldsmar, Fla., and her husband, Steven, came to Somerset to renew their wedding vows and to attend the baptism of Cole Johnson, their daughter, Kelsey Johnson’s, baby.

The former Lori Qualters is originally from Somerset. On Saturday, she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth and collapsed. She had a heart attack. While Johnson is only 46, she had had three stents put in arteries of her heart in Florida. She was a smoker up until about four months ago. Somerset Area Ambulance Association took her to Somerset Hospital, which has a cardiac catheterization laboratory where angioplasty is performed. Angioplasty is a procedure that uses a balloon-tipped catheter to open blocked arteries and restore blood flow to the heart.

“I remember being given nitro (nitroglycerin) and being in pain,” Johnson said. “Everybody kept holding my hand.”

Emergency room physician Dr. Prakash Ghatge could see changes in the electrocardiogram and called in Dr. Cyril Nathaniel, medical director of interventional cardiology at Somerset Hospital.

Johnson had 100 percent blockage in an artery that circles one side of the heart, Sue Schimpf, registered nurse, said. That was the cause of the attack.

“In an active heart attack, it is important to get the vessel open as soon as possible,” Schimpf said. “The guidelines call for 90 minutes or less from door to balloon. She had hers in 70 minutes from the time she arrived in the ER.”

Time is important to save heart muscle, Pam Geary, registered nurse and cardiac catheterization laboratory supervisor, said.

“I had a little pain when they were starting the cath, and I said I was having trouble breathing, and I felt better in seconds,” Johnson said.

On Sunday, Johnson was able to rest. But during the initial examination, Nathaniel found that the right coronary arteries were diseased. On Monday, she had two more stents put in. She now has six.

Statistically, men have the classic signs of a heart attack, Geary said. Women have as many heart attacks, but the warning signs may be the same chest pains, or may be back or jaw pain, nausea and shortness of breath.

“She did very well,” Nathaniel said in a telephone interview. “She came in quickly, so we could open the artery effectively. The important thing is to come in right away. Even if you only have the slightest indication that you are having a heart attack, the sooner you come in, the better.”

Somerset Hospital had offered the procedure for three years under a pilot program. Last year, the state Health Department told small rural hospitals that they could continue to offer elective angioplasty only if they participated in a study. But the study required more angioplasties than Somerset performs. Emergency angioplasty wasn’t in danger of cancellation.

After several months, an agreement was reached to allow Somerset Hospital to continue to perform angioplasty through a partnership with Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, that provides oversight.

Dr. Debasish Chaudhuri, former medical director of interventional cardiology, moved to Texas. Nathaniel became medical director in March.

It is important for Somerset Hospital to offer angioplasty, Nathaniel said.

“The hospital is providing an excellent service to the community,” he said.

“The whole idea is to save lives,” Greg Chiappelli, director of corporate communications, said. “We’re glad to have Dr. Nathaniel on board.”

Johnson works for at an orange juice and ice cream plant in Sun Groves, Fla.

“I’m staying in Somerset for four weeks,” she said. “So many people here impressed me that I’m staying for follow-up care. Dr. Nathaniel talked with me every day and used normal words, not big words. I’d like to take him back with me. And Dr. (Deborah) Baceski came in to see me, too. It was awesome. I want to get healthy so I can watch my grandchildren grow up.”

See more of this at the Daily American, www.dailyamerican.com

That depends on whom you ask, and what studies you cite. Conventional cardiology wisdom has long held that heart attacks occur because arteries blocked by the buildup of plaque starve the organ of blood, sending it into a condition called infarction. Under that model, angioplasty, stenting (placing of a wire mesh structure in the blood vessel) and bypass surgery all make a certain amount of sense.

Angioplasty lets doctors thread a snake-like device with a balloon on the end into diseased and narrowed arteries. Inflating the balloon opens the blockage. Usually, cardiologists will leave behind one or more tiny metal scaffolds, called stents, as insurance.

Continue reading the rest here at the Pakistani Tribune website…