When Should I Have a Stent as a Treatment?
π Dr. Marcum's book on reversing cardiovascular and chronic disease, The Creator's Code: https://www.amazon.com/dp/147961954X
She was 82, on no medications, and walking two or three miles a day with her dog. Then the chest tightness started β and it took less and less walking to bring it on.
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In this Biblical Prescription for Life, cardiologist Dr. James Marcum tells the story of that patient and uses it to answer a question he gets constantly: when is a stent actually the right choice?
A stent doesn't remove a blockage. It pushes the plaque aside so blood can get through. That's a real tool, and Dr. Marcum walks through the three situations where he thinks it earns its place:
An active heart attack β the sooner the better, because muscle that loses its blood supply dies
Keeping a person moving β when a blockage is stealing the exercise that's protecting their blood pressure, their blood vessels, their social life, and their brain
A high-risk blockage in a dangerous location, where getting worse would be very serious
And he walks through the other side of the conversation too: medications that may or may not work, the side effects that come with them, and the reality that an 82-year-old who can't walk can't build collateral blood vessels either.
Then his patient asked him the question every doctor gets: "What would you do?"
She heard the risks and the benefits. She talked with her family. And she prayed about it.
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." β Matthew 6:33
Not some things. All things. God wants to be part of every decision, including this one. Modern medicine is a gift He allows us to use β and the best decisions come from getting all the information, weighing the risks and benefits, and taking it to the Great Physician first.
She had the stent. She's still walking her dog every day, with no symptoms.
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