what about failed stents

[jodie380]

My mom had stents (which I had thought were balloons) put in approx. 15 years ago.   What happens if they fail and what would be the symptoms of failed stents?  Recently, she was told that she had parkinsons because she has started shaking.   No test was performed to show this and I have asked her to ask her doctor whether or not it could be something else.

It seems to be worse when she is eating her meals, and there are symptoms such as hands turning purple due to no circulation, easy bruising and weak leg muscles.   She does excercise to combat getting older and would like to remain active.
She also has kidney disease but is controlling with a strict diet that is very low in potassium.

please help
thanks

[ChatterAlly]

Has she had any cardiac testing lately?  I have a stent in a stent in my RCA because it became blocked after only 1 year.  If there is any new blockages or the stent has become blocked, I would think the doctors would be taking a look at that.

[ed34]

If the stents failed, then I would have thought she would have been getting the same symptoms as before they were inserted. I would have thought that the stents would be fine because of the amount of time they have been in your mom, they are probably bare metal and not drug eluting. If those stents suffered restenosis, it tended to be early on after insertion.
However, there is no reason why new blockages couldn't have formed in those 15 years. What tests has she had?
To verify Parkinsons disease, I would really consult a neurologist. There are some good medications out there now to help with the involuntary shaking. There are many reasons for shaking and to class it as Parkinsons disease without lots of tests to eliminate other possibilities is a bit ridiculous. An imbalance of electrolytes such as potassium can cause shakes, but the list of reasons is quite large. My Father had this disease and it took many months of various tests to eliminate other reasons.
I do believe that recent research has discovered Parkinsons is a genetic issue, where some peoples immune system begins to attack their own tissue. So research now is very excited and has a clearer path to go down and hopefully find a way to supress the problem.