Most heart attacks are caused by nonobstructive plaques that infiltrate the entire coronary artery tree. There is no such thing as “1-vessel disease,” “2-vessel disease,” or “left main disease.” Atherosclerotic plaque is continuous throughout the coronary arteries of heart attack victims.

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Most heart attacks are caused by nonobstructive plaques that infiltrate the entire coronary artery tree. Atherosclerotic plaque is continuous throughout the coronary arteries of heart attack victims. That’s why we have to treat the cause and prevent the buildup of plaque in the first place, which means keeping your LDL cholesterol low. I talk more about how to do that later in this video series. Next, l talk about the risks of stents.

This is the second in a seven-video series on stents. If you missed the first one, check out Do Angioplasty Heart Stent Procedures Work?.

Stay tuned for:
• The Risks of Heart Stents (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-risks-of-heart-stents)
• Angioplasty Heart Stent Risks vs. Benefits (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/angioplasty-heart-stent-risks-vs-benefits)
• Do Heart Stent Procedures Work for Angina Chest Pain? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/do-heart-stent-procedures-work-for-angina-chest-pain)
• Why Are Stents Still Used If They Don’t Work? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/why-are-stents-still-used-if-they-dont-work)
• Heart Stents and Upcoding: How Cardiologists Game the System (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/heart-stents-and-upcoding-how-cardiologists-game-the-system)

As I say over and over in this video series, during a heart attack, in an acute setting, angioplasty can be life-saving. As I reiterate, when I’m talking about stable CAD, I’m talking nonemergency situations. In an upcoming series I talk about pros and cons of statin drug therapy. Spoiler: If you have a history of heart disease or stroke, taking a statin is recommended. All of these videos, including the upcoming statin series, are available on a digital download of a webinar I did last year. You can find it here: https://drgreger.org/collections/videos/products/how-effective-are-statins-and-stents-digital

UPDATE: A new meta-analysis was just published last month and alas, there is still zero survival benefit to stent placement for stable coronary artery disease, but at least there were fewer heart attacks. Since this still didn’t translate into actually living any longer, the foundation of treatment remains medical and lifestyle management. Hat tip to Dr. Bitterman! (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33742721/)

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Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: https://nutritionfacts.org/translations-info/

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