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Angiogram in 12 hours


Dottleshead

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It's hard to believe at 51 I am literally getting one of these things.  Procedure is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. PST.  They'll evaluate the three main arteries in my heart and if over 70% then they'll insert stents.  I honestly do not think I have 70% plaque blockage but then I didn't think I would have the scores I have.  I've lost almost 25 lbs in 2 months and feel better but notice I breath heavy and gasp for air climbing stairs.  I'm not sure if I will be awake for the procedure or not but they go in through my wrist.  I'm drinking a lot of water tonight. In some ways, I think it would be cool to be awake and watch but then I think maybe how much easier it'd be if they just put me out.

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38 minutes ago, Kirby said:

Well, is the procedure done?  Let us know when you're hopping around again!

If they went in through the groin like they did for all of mine, he won't be hopping for a week or two. You don't want that plug coming out of the artery before it heals.

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They went in thru my wrist. Yes, I had the manscaping professionally done, "just in case".

Doc told me, 1 of 4 things will happen:

  1. Nothing, all clear
  2. Slight blockages, control with exercise & meds
  3. Stent. Either metal or coated.
  4. By-pass.

I scored a #2.

FWIW, I had to have it done pre-hip op because of my cardiac history. I was asymptomatic for heart disease.

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20 hours ago, Dottles said:

It's hard to believe at 51 I am literally getting one of these things.  Procedure is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. PST.  They'll evaluate the three main arteries in my heart and if over 70% then they'll insert stents.  I honestly do not think I have 70% plaque blockage but then I didn't think I would have the scores I have.  I've lost almost 25 lbs in 2 months and feel better but notice I breath heavy and gasp for air climbing stairs.  I'm not sure if I will be awake for the procedure or not but they go in through my wrist.  I'm drinking a lot of water tonight. In some ways, I think it would be cool to be awake and watch but then I think maybe how much easier it'd be if they just put me out.

Glad it went well.

What were the warning signs that caused you to have the test?

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18 minutes ago, petitepedal said:

Are they not sending you to cardiac rehab :dontknow:

Oh, I have a follow up with them. Won't miss it.  But I don't see how much more  they can add when it seems like healthy activity, healthy eating, taking proper meds, and following your doctor's advice cover it.

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Shortness of breath and needing a rest during a walk or ride across campus, was what alerted one of my office mates at Texas A&M that he had a problem.  Had another friend in the early 70s at the University of Arizona that went in to give blood, and after taking a few readings they rushed him to the hospital.  He is still going strong today. Take care and enjoy life.

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2 hours ago, Dottles said:

 

The first major symptom wasn't so obvious to me and hard for me to diagnose.  Shortness of breath.  Climbing stairs and sucking air.  Mowing the lawn and having to stop every 5 minutes or so and take a break.  As a former hardcore athlete I had a problem with this.  I spent the first 25 years of my life engaged in competitive athletics and was in really good physical condition.  I always thought I was just out of shape, that I needed to become more active.  And even though I thought my rate of decline was abnormal, I had also just turned 50 and thought maybe this is just what happens as you age.  I  mean it does happen, right?  The second major symptom I had was feeling lethargic, tired all the time and having difficult motivating myself to do physical activities.  Lounging just seemed like so much a better option -- even though I knew I should be getting out there.  in short, my desire to engage in physical activities was working against me because I knew it was just more work and not so much fun.  Another thing I noticed is that I was  taking deeper breaths throughout the day to keep my system in equilibrium.  I was light headed often or even slightly dizzy.  But as things worsened, I think the final symptoms were even the cpap machine which I bought a year and a half ago no longer seemed to do it's job.  That is, when I bought the machine I felt amazing the next morning after a good night's sleep.  But now I was feeling just as bad or worse than when I got it. Not being able to get proper rest even with my cpap machine was another indicator.  It was then I became aware that I was having to take deeper breaths during the day to catch up even if it was minor activities. On occasion I did have some minor chest tightness. But the straw that broke the camel's back was when I rode a simple 23 mile bike ride on relative flat surface and after 7 miles of riding I had to stop and rest for like 45 minutes.  I felt sick and terrible.  I knew something was wrong.  This never happened to me.  Keep in mind, I had also been to the doctors office in the past trying to identify my problem and even visited the ER twice in 5 years to have my heart checked out and every time my test results came out squeaky clean.

What also played into my mind was I had a history with high cholesterol.  It was off the charts but 20 years ago when I got serious about it, ate the right things, and jogged 2-3 miles every other day, it plummeted.  Unfortunately I returned to old habits over time thinking psychologically that I could turn it on whenever.  Bad mistake.  The hospital is littered with former and current athletes thinking they don't need medicine or they can control their outcome 'when they set their mind to it'.

I feel very lucky to have found this early.  It was me who took the initiative and asked my doctor about a plaque scan.  I had to pay for that out of my own pocket.  Best $200 I ever spent.  I honestly say I can feel the difference right now some 8 hours after the surgery. I can breath easier.  It's my job now to do what I can to get the most mileage out of these stents.

Wow. Good on you for getting the test.

Time to  crush it!

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4 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

Did you have a stress test recently before this decision.? If so what were the results?

No.  I had a stress test a few years back and it showed nothing abnormal.  I think my plaque scores were so high, and I was exhibiting some of the symptoms, that they 'bypassed' it and went to the table.  The idea was they do an exploratory view of my heart with dye and scope the arteries.  If they are 70% blocked or more, they will insert the stents on the spot. I was hoping the blockage was going to be less, obviously, and then tackle my problems through lifestyle change.  But now that I have them, I need to tackle the same problem with same lifestyle change.  They do provide almost immediately relief but stents can accrue plaque and become blocked just as easily if not more so than without them.  My goal is to take the meds as directed and change my lifestyle permanently.  I've got a 2 month head start. My diet now primarily consists of whole foods and little processed foods and I have lost a lot of weight.  I have another year or two of weight loss but, boy, it sure seems a lot easier when you realize there are no more options.

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Quote

Question: How long is person expected to live after a stent is inserted?

Answer: How long a patient is expected to live after getting a coronary stent inserted depends. It depends primarily on the underlying heart disease, age, and medical condition of the patient. A younger patient, for example, who has a strong heart and has never experienced a heart attack, will be expected to live a full and active lifespan. On the other hand, someone who perhaps is in their seventies or eighties, and has a weak heart from previous multiple heart attacks, and has other serious medical problems, their life expectancy of course will be shorter after a stent insertion.

It doesn't mean the stent shouldn't be put in, because the most important reason to do an angioplasty and to put in a stent is to make patients feel better; and very often, even with serious medical co-morbidities or other medical illnesses, we can dramatically improve a patient's quality of life even towards the end of their lifespan, and in that circumstance that would be a good reason to put in a coronary stent.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDiseaseLivingWith/story?id=4224509

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1 hour ago, Further said:

Expecting you to live quite a while.

Thanks Further.  I will accept no less.  It's my job to make sure I get the most out of those stents. I never had a heart attack and they said my arteries were big -- a good thing I understand.  So I feed my body right, it'll take care of me.

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