How Long Is Person Expected To Live After A Stent Is Inserted?

— -- Question: How long is person expected to live after a stent is inserted?

Answer: How long a patient is expected to live after getting a coronary stent inserted depends. It depends primarily on the underlying heart disease, age, and medical condition of the patient. A younger patient, for example, who has a strong heart and has never experienced a heart attack, will be expected to live a full and active lifespan. On the other hand, someone who perhaps is in their seventies or eighties, and has a weak heart from previous multiple heart attacks, and has other serious medical problems, their life expectancy of course will be shorter after a stent insertion.

It doesn't mean the stent shouldn't be put in, because the most important reason to do an angioplasty and to put in a stent is to make patients feel better; and very often, even with serious medical co-morbidities or other medical illnesses, we can dramatically improve a patient's quality of life even towards the end of their lifespan, and in that circumstance that would be a good reason to put in a coronary stent.

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