Well, contrary to plans and expectations, I’m still sitting at home.
This week has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. A couple of weeks ago, my doctor–a new one to me–had me have a heart stress test, on accounta high blood pressure and my age. I expected to pass it just fine, but in fact they found some abnormality. So they had me do a second one (much easier than the first one, I will add. For the first one, they used ultrasound to get images of the heart, once at rest for a baseline, then they put you on a treadmill, get you panting and your heart beating away a mile a minute, then take pictures again. For the second set of images, they have to get 4 takes in one minute, and you have to hold your breath for several seconds for each take. That is HARD. The second stress test used radioactive something and a sort of low-level x-ray system to get the images–MUCH easier on the victim patient.)
Anyway, the second one also was abnormal. Both indicated blockage in the major heart artery, apparently the most deadly place to have blockage. A very nice cardiologist laid out my options for me, from doing nothing to going straight for bypass surgery. The recomendation was an angiogram, because while the stress tests have a high level of accuracy (around 90%), the angiogram is 100% because they go in and actually look at the arteries from the inside. If they find mild or moderate blockage, they just come out again and you get treated with drugs and lifestle changes. If they find severe blockage, they put in a stent. Doing nothing was not an option for me–the uncertainty would kill me if the heart didn’t–and heart surgery sounded like an overreaction. Based on the two stress tests, the expectation was I’d end up with a stent.
Now, all this was not only delaying my long-planned-for trip, but also shoving my mortality in my face just a few years before I was quite ready for it. But I was adjusting. Lots of people get stents, sometimes more than one, and live with them for years and years. And I figured maybe I’d end up with a bit more energy and stamina–my heart would get more oxygen and would consequently pump more oxygen more efficiently to the rest of me, and all would be good. I’m not crazy about beginning the serious aging process this early (at 61), but I was dealing with it. So Thursday I went in for the procedure, which is actually not particularly arduous from the patient’s perspective. The idea of a catheter snaking through one’s body inside one’s veins/arteries (I’m not sure which–probably both) was a bit creepy, but in the event was no big deal. And–apparently my artieries are nice and clean. Up swings the roller coaster.
I have to take it easy for a week to allow the incision site to heal properly–you really don’t want a major vein breaking open and bleeding out, so I’m taking that quite seriously. So far it’s doing well–yesterday there was some swelling still, and aches and twinges to remind me not to overdo it. This morning all those have subsided, so I’ll have to be more conscious about taking it easy. I have an appointment with the cardiologist next Wednesday, and I have a few questions for him. Like, just how clear are my arteries, anyway? I was still under the effects of the anaesthetic (you stay conscious throughout the procedure, but in a nice calm almost dreamy state) when he gave me the good news, and he didn’t go into detail at the time, just said things like he’d be happy to have arteries as clear as mine. So now I want details. And I’d like to know if there is any other condition, besides blockage in the arteries, that can result in an abnormal stress test, and if so what, or is it just a matter of inherent test inaccuracies and luck of the draw that both mine were abnormal, and abnormal in ways that indicated blockage in the exact same area?
The bottom line trip-wise is that at this point I’m expecting I can get out of here either Wednesday afternoon or on Thursday (more likely Thursday). My itinerary won’t be as planned–so it’s a good thing I hadn’t made any hard and fast commitments. But the trip is on again, as soon as I’m cleared to lift more than ten pounds. Yay!
Wow. That sounds really frightening! I’m so sorry you had to go through it. Glad to hear it turned out well! Unsettling though that both stress tests showed something.
Here’s to a quick recovery and an uneventful trip, starting soon.
Thanks. I intend to inquire about that matter of two abnormal tests with the cardiologist next week–I want to understand it better. But I have resumed active trip planning (which after all is, if not half the fun, at least a significant percentage of it.)
See, I skip your blog for a few months and what happens?? Wow, I’m sorry for the health scare. I hope that all turns out to be perfectly fine and it was just a test glitch. Good luck, and I’m happy to hear your arteries are clear!