EXPERT
Dr. Donna M. Mendes
Vascular Surgeon
Dr. Donna Mendes is a vascular surgeon practicing in New York, NY. Dr. Mendes specializes in disorders relating to the arterial, venous and lymphatic systems. As a vascular surgeon, Dr. Mendes diagnoses and treats vascular diseases and performs vasular surgeries. Common conditions that a vascular surgeon treats are aneurysms, atherosclerosis and varicose veins. Vascular specialists might also treat trauma, venous ulcers, poor leg circulation, peripheral arterial disease and other vascular-related issues.
Dr. Donna M. Mendes
- New York, NY
- MD at Columbia University
- Accepting new patients
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Can you recover from heart failure?
Yes, one can recover from heart failure. Heart failure is a weakening of the heart muscle because of years of beating against untreated high blood pressure which causes the heart READ MORE
Yes, one can recover from heart failure. Heart failure is a weakening of the heart muscle because of years of beating against untreated high blood pressure which causes the heart muscle to become weak and thin. It can also occur after a heart attack if a significant mount of the heart muscle is involved. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction occurs when a coronary artery is closed. That occurs when there is already a significant amount of "plaque" in the artery and clot then also appears. Plaque is also known as atherosclerosis. The combination of plaque in and then clot in the vessel causes the artery to completely close and the muscle that it is perfusing then dies because there is acutely no flow to the muscle because the artery was bringing oxygenated blood to the heart. Simply, no oxygen flow causes death of the muscle. Recovery involves exercise. which can make the heart muscle stronger. This can simply be walking and can be increased as the patient's ability to exercise increases. It also involves medications and control of the cause of the problem, such as control of hypertension and medications for the coronary artery disease or angioplasty or surgery. Every patient is different, but that is a brief overview.
Donna M. Mendes, MD
Donna M. Mendes, MD
When does an echo test and stress test show a heart problem?
And Echo test will show you whether or not there is muscle dysfunction in the heart and a stress test will show you if the coronary arteries are the cause of the muscle dysfunction.
Donna READ MORE
And Echo test will show you whether or not there is muscle dysfunction in the heart and a stress test will show you if the coronary arteries are the cause of the muscle dysfunction.
Donna Mendes, MD
Donna Mendes, MD
What is a vascular surgeon?
A vascular surgeon operates on the vessels that take blood away from the heart that has any a narrowing or a blockage. These vessels are usually in the legs but can be in the neck, READ MORE
A vascular surgeon operates on the vessels that take blood away from the heart that has any a narrowing or a blockage. These vessels are usually in the legs but can be in the neck, arm or abdomen. We operate on all vessels except for the heart and brain. The vascular surgeon initially gets a picture of the vessels, and this is called an arteriogram. An arteriogram is a road map which guides the surgeon. The surgeon then follows that road map and opens the vessels with a balloon and stent and if that is not possible, will recommend a bypass to the patient. A bypass is a tube that is placed into the vessel above the blockage on one end and below the blockage on the other ends. Thus it is called a "bypass", ie bypassing the blocked artery.
