HEART CATH.-

ely · July 28, 2011, 06:11:00 PM

got one sced. for 8-1-11 prayers are great, or just general well wishes, just wanted yall to know.

also i will try and give an update asap, gonna be on vacation for a few days after that and wouldnt want to leave the FF family hanging.

Ernie · July 28, 2011, 06:37:09 PM

Of course you have our prayers.

See if you can get your procedure on a DVD, I got my last cardiac stent insertions put onto a DVD, sure makes an interesting talking point

I also got my CT scan colonoscopy on DVD and I am due to swallow a video camera soon and will get that as well. Maybe I am just weird but I sure have a good idea of what I look like inside now if only they could find out where all my red blood cells are going, I'd be a lot happier.

DouginUtah · July 28, 2011, 06:45:25 PM

Ely,

My wife had a heart attack on July 2. They did a catheterization/angiogram and found one 100% blocked artery and one 90% blocked. They put in stents and almost four weeks later she is doing fine (although she thought she was having another heart attack two weeks after the first but the tests showed it to be a false alarm.)

So now, after reading a book by Dr. Dean Ornish, she is a fanatic about her diet--completely vegan. I can't stand it. ;D

Good luck.

Warbird · July 28, 2011, 07:37:28 PM

We will be praying for you, ely. Keep us updated, as you are able.

Magicman · July 28, 2011, 09:31:46 PM

ely, my prayer is for a successful procedure.

Buck · July 28, 2011, 10:58:43 PM

yessir, prayers and well wishes to you.

AvT · July 29, 2011, 12:02:10 AM

I wish you the best. I had one and got a stent last October. It really wasn't so bad. They do so many now i think they really know that they are doing. The toughest thing since has been the smoking cessation. It is driving me a bit nuts actually. I hope to pull out of it soon

thecfarm · July 29, 2011, 06:55:04 AM

ely,good luck to you.
My wife just had that done,found nothing wrong. ;D Than she had the scope down her throat,still found nothing wrong. ;D But she is still having a fullness in her chest. I know more test are coming. She felt better,more awake,after the heart thing than the scope. The scope they put her all the way under, the heart cath just a little under.

red · July 29, 2011, 07:02:19 AM

i know a few that had it done all doing much better

Norm · July 29, 2011, 07:18:35 AM

Good luck Ely.

Raider Bill · July 29, 2011, 08:21:32 AM

Ely,

I had one done a couple years ago, ,maybe not that long but the worse thing I found is laying completely still for 4 hours after the procedure so the entry hole in your artery can heal. Can't move a inch.
Other than that it's easy.

Good luck, Say howdy to the Nurses.

dnalley · July 29, 2011, 04:34:41 PM

Ely, I just wanted to wish you all the best on your upcoming heart cath. Just had one myself within the past month.

Started with a new to me primary care doctor with a complete physical. EKG showed what they call a left bundle branch blockage, which I already knew about, so down the hall for some blood work. Next was a sonogram on my carotid arteries and the tech asked me if I knew I have an irregular heartbeat! So back down the hall for another test, something like the EKG, but different. Doc says "your heart sometimes skips a beat", so on to a heart doctor for a stress test (indeed starting to get a little stressful by now).

Couldn't go on a treadmill because the left bundle branch blockage would show a false-negative result, so I got what they called a nuclear set test. Can't really describe what that was like except to say a little upsetting and scary, to say the least!

Then he wants me to have a heart cath so to the hospital I go (at a later date). For some reason he couldn't get all the way with the probe up my right side so he swaps to the left side, that way I get two entry punches in one trip. Around fifty percent blockage in an artery plus the bundle branch blockages in some smaller vessels, but no stents and nothing to be concerned about at this time, says he. And for sure the four hours laying still afterward was something else.

After that Doc says he wants me to have an abdominal CT Scan, after which, before I see him again, he makes me an appointment with a vascular surgeon, who explains that I have what they call AAA, an abdominal aortic aneurisym. He explained that what should be about the size of a lead pencil was about the size of a quarter so by now I'm getting paranoid! But he explained to me that he wouldn't be too concerned unless it gets up to around 35 sonometers ( or something like that). Says we have to keep a close eye on it so.....he makes me an appt. for six months from then. I'm thinking "so much for keeping a close eye on it" !!! But after reading on the internet, that's purty much what they say to do, so I'm hoping they know best.

I know this has been rather long but just to say "you pays yo money and takes yo chances" I pray that all you have is just maybe a heart cath without all the other extra added benefits that sometimes come with it. Best of luck and God's speed to you.

P.S. be very careful with any heavy lifting says the Doc, but I can't sit around on my keester just waiting to die, but don't tell my wife. She's got this thing about thinking she knows best...sometimes.

Ron Scott · July 29, 2011, 08:39:38 PM

I also had one done a few years ago after flunking a stress test and doctor stopped a trip I had planned to California in a few days until I had it done. All came out OK. I've passed 4 stress tests since.

doctorb · July 29, 2011, 09:36:46 PM

dnalley -

Abdominal aortic aneuysms are not uncommon, but if they are expanding over time, watch out!. The current regimen of repeat CT scans or ultrasounds is a very good idea and standard of care. If this thing is enlarging, but is causing no symptoms, they now can often repair it with stents, much like coronary arteries. If it gets blocked or becomes very large, a big open bypass procedure may be necessary. I am not trying to scare you. I am trying to make sure you are diligent in getting your periodic check-ups on this thing. If it changes size, but just by a litlle, they may increase the frequency of the tests. If I were you, I would make sure that your vascualr docs have the capability of performing the stenting operation. If not, I would get a second opinion with a specialist who performs this type of procedure in the near future. You want to be plugged into the right doc before the decision to intervene is made, not at the time of a later crisis.

Ely, good luck on Monday.

clww · July 29, 2011, 09:53:16 PM

Ely,
Prayers and well-wishes go out to you for your procedure on Monday.
Here's to a speedy, successful recovery, too!

thecfarm · July 30, 2011, 06:29:23 AM

Raider Bill,you probably had it done through the groin area? Wife had it done in the wrist. No driving for a few days and no making bread for a week and lifting anything heavy. No moving the wrist around alot either.doctorb,is right about finding a Dr that can put the stents right in while you are in there.

Raider Bill · July 30, 2011, 10:02:48 AM

Roger that, right side groin. I never did see where they went in it was such a small hole no stitches nothing.

Patty · July 30, 2011, 01:40:21 PM

When I worked in the OR Recovery room, we used to get the patients from the cath lab who had just undergone an angiogram. Those poor folks had to lie flat on their back, not move an inch, with a big old clamp holding down the wound to keep it from bleeding. That artery that they use for the angiogram is a very major artery, and we were trying to keep the patient from bleeding excessively from that incision wound. Usually, back then, we kept them in the recovery room for two hours for observation. When my mom had hers a few years ago, they shot her up with loads of Valium to keep her quiet while she laid there. I am sure they use something similar now for the patients.

Best of luck, Ely.

Raider Bill · August 01, 2011, 09:49:53 AM

Quote from: Patty on July 30, 2011, 01:40:21 PM
When I worked in the OR Recovery room, we used to get the patients from the cath lab who had just undergone an angiogram. Those poor folks had to lie flat on their back, not move an inch, with a big old clamp holding down the wound to keep it from bleeding. That artery that they use for the angiogram is a very major artery, and we were trying to keep the patient from bleeding excessively from that incision wound. Usually, back then, we kept them in the recovery room for two hours for observation. When my mom had hers a few years ago, they shot her up with loads of Valium to keep her quiet while she laid there. I am sure they use something similar now for the patients.

Best of luck, Ely.

Nope, no Valium for me. Had to lay there for 4 hours without twitching. Back was sore, had a itch.... They kept a 5 lb bean bag on the cut which put my leg asleep. :(

ely · August 02, 2011, 07:15:09 PM

hello, sorry jeff i had to reregister. i know it messes stuff up and is probablt ilegal on the forum but,.... heres an update . i went to my heart cath and much to my surprise they found problems. i am now in the oklahoma heart hospital in okc. my surgery is sceduled for tommorrow at 1pm. i will be having a quadruple bypass. i have been in a whirlwind getting here and getting squared away since monday morn. sooo much to learn and get your head wrapped around.

i will have my wife jennifer get on here tommorrow to update after i am out of the woods ,so to speak.

4 blockages 1 at 100%
2 at 80-90 %
1 at 55%

one of the 2 is where i had my stent put in in 06.

ely · August 02, 2011, 07:18:46 PM

many thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

thecfarm · August 02, 2011, 07:49:54 PM

Hey,hey,hey,glad they caught it. No fun to be where you are,but better there than in the ground. Keep us all posted.
I'm sure Jeff will let you slide by,but only this once. ;D He'll get you all squared away after the pig roast.

Ernie · August 02, 2011, 11:51:39 PM

Great to get diagnosed and scheduled for repairs, you are still in our prayers even with the different login.

doctorb · August 03, 2011, 06:41:18 AM

Best of luck with your surgery. Doing this before the heart muscle itself is damaged because of the blockages is the absolute way to go. Full steam ahead, chin up. Our thoughts are with you.