Still having pain after heart attack and stents....

[Shelley9164]

In July of 2010 I had a heart attack and had a stent done....after the surgery I came home hurting and by the next morning I was hurting so badly that I called my Cardiologist and was flown back to the hospital where I was told my stent had collapsed and he reopened that one and put in another.  Over the next 8 months I had 4 more stents put in.  I was put on beta blockers, crestor, isosorbide....many different drugs and gained 20 lbs.  I have had pain ever since.  I am not able to walk for any distance without hurting.  I have been back in the ER on several occasions with chest and back pain.  He has cathed me 11 times.  Says I have several tiny arteries that are clogged but nothing can be done about them.  I don't want to have a bypass but I would give almost anything including that to lose the pain.  I just want to feel normal again.  Is there anything that can be done?  I'm not sure why he doesn't want me to have a bypass.  If that would help I'd be willing....I do dread the scarring but would be so happy to not hurt anymore.  Please give me some advice....what shall I do?

[Flycaster305]

What stands out with your issue are the tiny arteries... maybe they aren't so tiny but branches off the larger, major arteries.  You are entitled to and can request procedure reports from the hospital where the procedure was done, and I suggest you contact the hospital, request and receive these reports, and post the last couple of procedure reports on this site.  Some of us have some luck understanding what is reported.
In my case, I had eight stents inserted plus other issues, and experienced new blockages in branch vessels that led to very uncomfortable angina.  Stents couldn't be inserted through the existing stents, and I opted for bypass surgery as the stress of daily angina was just driving me nuts.  I've had no angina since the bypass, it was very successful.  
I've got new heart issues unrelated to the bypass, but I'm very happy to have had bypass surgery.

[ChatterAlly]

I am so sorry you are at your wits end with this, but I can sympathize with you.  With my first stent I went to the ER complaining of chest pressure, not chest pain really.  After my RCA was stented in 2004 I developed real chest pain. I've endured many caths and many trips to the ER only to be told I had several smaller vessels that are blocked. But in addition to that I suffer with coronary artery spasms.  These can wake me from a dead sleep. And about 4 or 5 times during my sleep.  I carry Nitro with me always.  I was told that I will always have chest pain because of these smaller vessels. Wish I had a better answer for you. Like Ed has said, bypass might not have any effect either.  Take care, Ally

[ed34]

A bypass may not be the status quo either. Mine lasted just three months and many don't even last that long. If I'd have known my triple bypass would fail before I had recovered (took 12 months) then I would have refused.
Has your hospital got drug eluting balloons? which are used in Europe for arteries too small for stenting. They coat the artery with the same medication used in stents to prevent scarring. You could ask them to use FFR on your coronary arteries (fractional flow rate). A tiny sensor on the catheter measuring the blood flow/pressure can find problems not seen with the naked eye. I had angina and no problem could be seen on the angio monitors. They passed the sensor down my circumflex artery and halfway down the flow reduced by 50% but nothing could be seen. They put one stent in but the flow was still dropping. They put a second stent below that one and hey presto, full flow. I felt incredible after that.
You know the odd thing? it was me who suggested it at the time. After he said there were no problems I just said "while you're in there, why not use FFR". He agreed and was astonished.