Heart Disease and Brest Implants

One of the most common cosmetic surgeries performed each year is the augmentation of the breast.   Cleveland Clinic states that over 300,000 procedures are performed in the United States each year.   That is not a number to sneeze at.

 Most procedures are done to enlarge the breast.  Others are done as reconstructive surgeries after the loss of the breast from injury or from breast cancer.  Still others may be performed to correct congenital  issues.

 People seek this surgery for various reasons. Some  to feel more confident, others  to look better in their clothes, or just to put cancer behind them.

Breast implants can be saline filled or silicon gel. They are both considered medical devices.

When looking at the silicon device. They are filled with a silicone gel.  They are and can come in different textures and in different shapes and sizes  They feel more like natural beast tissue than do the saline.  Saline may be filled after insertion so the incision may be smaller.  They both have the risk of rupture but with the modern silicone, there may be a little less of a rupture risk than with the saline device.

Their average lifespan is 15 to 20 years.  The recommendation though is that maintenance exams be done to pick up any rupture.  With the saline a rupture will be readily noticed  due to the loss of volume and shape.   With the silicon devices there can be silent leaks.   Here the device will still maintain the shape, feel, and size of the breast.  Rupture rates start to increase around 6 to 8 years after implantation.  This review of them noted thar 15% of the implants rupture by the 10-year mark.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women in this country.  Over 32 million women have cardiovascular disease.  The studies show 1 in 5 women have cardiovascular disease. 

Most people are familiar with echo technology.  Women undergo it to see how the baby is progressing during pregnancy.  An echocardiogram in a non-invasive manner of investigating heart disease.

When women with implants had these test done there was a significant increase in the number of positive results as compared to women who did not have implants present.  This resulted in an increased number of cardiac catheterizations with negative results.  

The implants interfered with accurate diagnosis when echocardiography was used to look for heart disease.

It seems that women who have breast implants should be well aware that the interpretation of the testing maybe affected and thus they maybe subjected to more invasive cardiac procedures.  FYI.