Filmmaker Kuku Kohli’s death after reportedly undergoing treatment for a heart attack has raised an important medical question: how can a patient deteriorate even after a blocked artery is opened with a coronary stent?
Kohli, 77, died on August 25 at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai after his condition worsened following treatment. According to medical experts, a stent can restore blood flow to a blocked artery, but it cannot reverse heart muscle that has already been permanently damaged.
Doctors explain that the severity of a heart attack depends on several factors, including how long a coronary artery remains blocked and how much of the heart muscle is affected. Angioplasty and stenting can reopen the blocked artery and prevent further damage, but dead or severely damaged heart muscle cannot be restored.
“A stent can open up a blocked coronary artery, but it cannot undo a heart attack that has already damaged the myocardium,” cardiovascular surgeon Dr Sameer Bhate told NDTV. He said the exact cause of death in an individual case cannot be determined without complete clinical records.
Why Can Patients Deteriorate After Angioplasty?
One of the most serious complications is severe damage to the heart muscle. If a major artery remains blocked for a prolonged period, the heart may become too weak to pump enough blood to vital organs. This can lead to heart failure or cardiogenic shock, a life-threatening condition.
Dangerous abnormal heart rhythms can also develop after a major heart attack. Ventricular fibrillation, for example, can cause the heart’s lower chambers to quiver instead of pumping blood effectively, leading to sudden cardiac arrest even after a successful stent procedure.
In rare cases, a blood clot can form inside a coronary stent, causing stent thrombosis and another heart attack. Experts stress that patients should not stop prescribed antiplatelet medicines without consulting their doctors.
A Stent Is Not a Complete Cure for Heart Disease
A coronary stent treats a specific blockage but does not eliminate the underlying coronary artery disease. Other blockages or unstable plaques may remain in the heart’s arteries, making long-term treatment and regular medical monitoring essential.
Recovery after a heart attack may include prescribed medicines, cholesterol and blood pressure control, diabetes management, avoiding smoking, following a heart-healthy diet and returning to physical activity under medical guidance.
Kohli’s death highlights that while stenting can be lifesaving, the outcome after a heart attack depends on the extent of heart muscle damage, the speed of treatment, heart function and possible complications.
