A family member (55 year old male) was recently diagnosed with 3 partially blocked arteries at the heart. The doctor explained that he would insert a shunt (I hope terminology correct), to keep the arterial walls from collapsing. He did 2 no problem but when he went to install the third it was then when he discovered that the body had already grown a vein around the affected section thereby providing a natural by-pass. The doctor told us he had never seen anything like it. Has anyone heard of this? Is this one of those moments where a possible mutated gene is responsible?

That's very interesting. But if he grew a new blood vessel to replace the blood flow of an artery, wouldn't he have a new artery instead of a vein? Did the blood vessel somehow have the characteristics of a vein instead of an artery?

I've heard of this phenomena before (maybe not to this extent) when blood flow is restricted your body will grow a new artery/vein to maintain blood flow

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Arteries flow away from the heart, veins flow back to it. The two are not interchangable. This is either an artery, or just a strange bypass tube that his body grew.

It is actually not uncommon for the body to inprovise when there is a problem. Bypasses are rutienly grown in the circulatory system, just not usually in that big a blood vessle.

Arteries are usually round and stay round but veins kind of fold up a bit and are more squishy maybe he is talking about these characteristics and not those of blood flow.

or it could be non scientific termonology

Sorry about the terminology. Its wasn't the fact whether it was a vein or artery but that the body responded to a crisis by growing a bypass. A few of you have said this has happened before but I would wager not very often. I thought it might have something to do with genetics and evolution to some extent. Is this the type of stuff Darwin was intimating? I wonder if adult stem cells somehow were triggered into forming a new blood vessel. Does anyone know if this phenomena has been studied or if other body parts have mysteriously begun regenerating or building anew?

if you get cut or scraped your body grows more skin/veins/arteries/capilaries

It can't be that common or we wouldn't have so many heart attacks.

Maybe it's just an example of the human body's very limited ability to 'regenerate' body parts as part of the healing mechanism.

 

I also heard of reports in infants that had lost the tip of their little finger, growing it back. I've no idea if that's true or just an urban myth though.

Try cutting off one of his fingers and see if it grows back.

well I would, but then the NSPCC would drink my blood.