OT - terry hallinan - As a person with two stents, it indeed would be a trmendous help to evaluate the stents without going through further cathiterizations. In 1998 I was admitted to the hospital five times in the month of April. I think I broke a record of having 5 cathiterizations in one month. They are no fun--as you must lay in the bed many hours after each one so that the blood vessel at point of insetion in the groin area does not rupture. On top of that, during the withdrawal of the cathiter in one of the procedures there was a break though on one of the arteries. It was one of the most painful two hours I have ever spent as the cardiologist did an angioplasty procedure to correct the good artery puncture his instruments caused.
Also, at one point I was considered for a pacemaker. My family doctor did not want this for the precise reason that MRI's were then ruled out for me if needed in the future. So this new technology with a fast growing senior population has temendous potential. It is also true, however, that many patients who have had stents put in may need additional cathiterization to explore the non-stented arteries to check for blockage. Waitedg
