After Your Stent Procedure: Hospital Release Checklist

As someone with a new stent, it is important to learn how to best care for your stent and your heart after a heart event. To make your transition home easier, focus on these simple steps over the next few weeks as you begin your recovery process.

• Understand and follow your cardiologist's instructions.
  Make sure you fill and take all medications as prescribed and refill prescriptions before they run out.⁶¹ If you are unclear about why you are taking a certain medication, or the direction your doctor has provided, make sure to follow up with your doctor.⁶¹

  Your doctor will likely prescribe an oral antiplatelet (OAP) medication and aspirin to help keep your blood flowing smoothly through your stent and coronary arteries.²⁵ Together, an OAP medication plus aspirin can help prevent clots from forming in your stent and can help reduce the risk of future heart attacks.²⁵ OAP medications are pills that are usually taken daily. You should not stop taking these medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.⁶²

• Prepare for your follow-up appointment.
  Your cardiologist will likely want to see you for your first follow-up visit soon after your stent procedure. Be sure that you, or whoever is helping you, schedule this appointment soon after you are discharged from the hospital. Write down any questions you have about your health, recovery plan, medications, and what to expect for the future before this appointment. Bring the list of questions with you to help guide your conversation, and to ensure you do not forget anything important you wanted to ask. You may also want to bring someone with you to this appointment to help you remember the doctor's directions.

• Contact your primary care doctor and pharmacist.
  It's important to inform your primary care doctor and pharmacist of all medications that you were prescribed as a result of your stent procedure.²⁵ You should also tell your doctors about any planned surgical or dental procedures as they may need to stop or modify how you take some of your medications. You should never stop taking your OAP medications without consulting your doctor.⁶²

• Do not be afraid to ask for help.
  It will be useful to have family members, neighbors, or friends help you follow your doctor's instructions and recuperate from your procedure.

  In addition, if you think you are experiencing any symptoms of a heart attack, do not wait. Call EMS (Emergency Medical Services) or the equivalent 9-1-1 service in your area.¹³²

• Help protect your heart during the months following your procedure.
  Your doctor will monitor your recovery progress and answer any questions or concerns you may have about medicines, activities, or lifestyle changes following your procedure. Your doctor may also want you to participate in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Cardiac rehabilitation includes education on how to keep your heart healthy, supervised physical activity, stress management, and counseling by trained professionals.¹³³ Not only can rehabilitation help you recover more quickly, but research shows it can help prolong your life.¹³⁴ In a recent study, patients who received cardiac rehabilitation experienced fewer cardiac deaths, second heart attacks, and heart surgeries than patients without cardiac rehabilitation.¹³⁴

• Learn more about your condition.
  Most heart attack survivors have some degree of coronary artery disease, and they will likely need to make important lifestyle changes and take medication to prevent future heart events.¹³⁵ Now is a good time to learn more about heart disease, your treatment, and your medicines.

  You can also seek heart-related information from Mended Hearts, a national nonprofit organization which offers services to heart patients through visiting programs, support group meetings, and educational forums.¹³⁶ Visit www.mendedhearts.org for more information.

No reference available.

Lilly is not responsible for any third party content.