Can you feel your stents?

Hi Health n Joy,

I'll tell you a bit about the procedure itself:

The stent, which is collapsed around a balloon at the tip of the catheter, is guided through the artery to the blockage. At the blockage, the balloon is inflated and the spring-like stent expands and locks into place inside the artery. Once the stent is in place, the balloon catheter is removed and the stent stays in you to help prevent your artery from re-narrowing again.

As far as I know, when it comes to feeling your stent, that would be physically impossible, the only logical explanation for the people that you mentioned who feel it is that it's only in their heads.

Hey you two,

I think that I can agree with Alan, it is physically impossible for somebody to feel the stent they placed inside his artery.

I'll tell you about what happens after the procedure is done, but remember, there is no such thing as feeling your stent.

Right after the procedure is done, you are going to stay in the hospital for a bit longer and the nurses there will monitor your heart rhythm and blood pressure. You won't be allowed to leave your bed 2 to 6 hours after the procedure had been done.

Usually, people spend the night in the hospital and they go home the day after.

Hi guys,

I think that they are right, Health n Joy, I had my stent placed three years ago and I never felt it, it also seems kind of impossible to me.

Well, as Adria wrote, you are free to go home the day after the procedure but in some rare cases, like mine, you can go home even on the same day. The amount of time that you stay in the hospital will depend on if there were any difficulties during the procedure and how well the catheter insertion site is healing. After you return home, you should rest and continue to drink plenty of fluids.

Hey Health n Joy,

Like they wrote already, there is no way for you to feel your stents. I believe that the people you have heard talking about them feeling their stents felt something else, or they created the feeling of their stents in their heads.

Just like Guest wrote, you are probably going to have to spend the night in the hospital, cases like his, when you are released the same day from the hospital are pretty much rare. 

You also don't have to rest much when you get back home. It is suggested that you don't do anything in the next 24 hours and that's it.

Hello everyone.

I am not so sure that I can tell that you can feel your stents, but you can definitely feel some pressure in the area where the stent is inserted. But the good thing is that you should not feel a sharp pain. If you do, tell your doctor about this because in this case I am pretty sure that we are not talking about feeling your stents.

Still I do believe that everything is connected with your physical condition and you should try to let it go as soon as you can.

My mom had three stents and she never felt a thing.

Hi guys.

I don’t know a lot about this but I remember that my friend was talking what has happened to her friend. She told me that her friend Steven has 5 stents in his heart and that there is no chance for you to feel them.  Maybe he had some discomfort but that was all. His therapy was going pretty well and he was feeling fine after the surgery. I still believe that the patients who “feel” their stents do that because they are really focused on it. I believe that it all comes from the brain.

My opinion :) 

Hello there. Let me share my experience with you. Three years ago I had my first surgery. I had some very minor discomfort in my chest and to be honest with you I can still feel it. This discomfort appears without any reasons in the middle of the day. It starts with some sensation and then it becomes a little bit “rough” but it goes away very soon. Also, sometimes when I laugh very loud I start to feel some discomfort. I am not saying that I am feeling my stent, but I am feeling something around my stent definitely.

I can talk from my own experience and I can tell that there is no chance to feel stent. It is not possible because the stent is in your artery and you can’t feel it. Of course, you can think that you can feel it because sometimes you will have some unexplained pain in your chest, I had the feeling like something is moving inside my chest, but that was all in my mind. When you are concentrated at one thing you are sure that you are feeling it.

But you can’t feel your stents, they don’t move.

Good luck.

Hello. That is just a myth. There no are chance that you can feel your stent – that it is there or that stent is moving. That is just in your mind. On the other side, you can feel some discomfort (like other members already told you) but in this case you need to tell your doctor what type of discomfort do you feel and when. For example, you feel discomfort when you are waking or running, you feel it in the morning, afternoon, etc. Those are very important facts for you to tell him. Maybe it is nothing but since you can’t feel your stent you need to inform your doctor about this.

That happens to me too. I have a stent since two months ago.

It happens to me too. I believe I am feeling my stent. I know it sounds strange. Maybe some are more in tune to their bodies.

I had two stent placements and I have to agree sometimes I can feel some discomfort. And it is not in my head.

its been almost 4 years and yes some people are a little more in tune with their bodies. If I cough hard, laugh hard, sneeze, or bendover. Its not painful (pressure). So its not impossible.

I have had mine for 7 months and I read any post I found about stents. Like recovery time to how I would feel after. I think people are different. Some when right back to work and felt better than ever. Not me. I exercised a min of 3 times a week before. Zumba, yoga and Pilates. After the stent I did Cardio rehab. I still have a hard time moving. I am not the same and not better than before. I think I feel something in my chest. It's a discomfort. The Dr went back in to check it and says it's normal. Good luck.