Question:

Is it possible when RCA is blocked that it is supported by others?

I have 100% RCA (Right Coronary Artery) blockage and 50% in LAD (Left Anterior Descending), but a doctor told me that I am lucky because 100% blocked area is supporting by others. The doctor has given me some medicine for the 50%. Is it possible when RCA is blocked that it is supported by others? After taking medicine, I feel a little pain in my chest and under my left shoulder attached to my chest bone that I didn’t feel before I knew I had a heart problem.

Submitted by Daud from Kabul, Afghanistan on 02/04/2014

Answer:
by J. Michael Duncan, MD

If an artery is substantially blocked, development of collateral circulation (i.e., other smaller vessels) may occur. When this happens, the collateral vessels help to maintain circulation to the area served by the artery in question.