56-year-old Mr. Thong experienced sudden left chest pain and initially thought it was due to muscle strain. The pain subsided after resting, but returned half a day later while he was riding his motorbike. He sought medical help, and Dr. Vo Anh Minh from the Vascular Intervention Center at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City diagnosed him with acute myocardial infarction.
The patient had a completely blocked right coronary artery with blood clots stuck in the vessel’s lumen, making intervention challenging due to his larger blood vessels than normal. Dr. Long, the Director of the Vascular Intervention Center at the same hospital, explained that a successful thrombectomy was performed to remove the blood clots, relieving Mr. Thong of chest pain and stabilizing his heart rate and blood pressure.
Dr. Long noted that Mr. Thong’s smoking habits, one pack a day for over 30 years, were a major risk factor for the formation of blood clots leading to acute myocardial infarction. He advised him to quit smoking, exercise moderately, and maintain a healthy diet to reduce the risk of re-occlusion in the coronary artery. Dr. Long explained that smoking can lead to atherosclerosis and the formation of blood clots in coronary arteries due to various mechanisms and warned smokers are at a higher risk of heart attacks and other complications than non-smokers. Regular check-ups and screenings for cardiovascular disease are crucial for long-term smokers.
Mr. Thong was admitted to the hospital 16 hours after experiencing chest pain accompanied by sweating and shortness of breath. The medical team performed a successful thrombectomy to remove the blood clots from his blocked right coronary artery with lumen blood clots.
After thrombus aspiration, an angioplasty stent was not needed as the vessel lumen was no longer narrowed, indicating that Dr
