Had a cardiac cath yesterday...

[gsmittle]

Around the end of May I went to the ER with chest pains and spent the night, with a stress test the next morning. I followed up with my primary care doc, who referred me to a cardiologist.

I saw him on Monday, and he decided to do the cath the next day, mainly because of the upcoming holiday and the fact he was going on vacation right after.

Well, it turns out my coronary arteries are absolutely clean--no plaque, no blockage, no nuthin'. I have the coronary arteries of a teen-ager. Good news, except SWMBO has decreed healthy eating for me from now on.

Can anybody spare a cheeseburger????

Of course, when I turn 50 in a couple of weeks my arteries will probably celebrate by clogging up....

g.

[cabinetman]

Glad to hear you came out OK. We all aren't that lucky, so we get drugs. Actually, anxiety and stress are not the first causes usually considered, and they can be as difficult to treat as a haywire medical condition.
.

[dkhoward]

Congratulations, I got a double bypass for my 53 birthday back in December.

[JoeyGee]

I am still amazed at cardiac caths and what doctors can do with them. When my daughter was born, she had a duct outside her heart that was supposed to close, but didn't. It didn't close by her first birthday, so they did a heart cath to implant a coil to help close it.

Of course, as parents we were very nervous, but they kept telling us it was no big deal, and surprisingly, it wasn't. The Dr. did two caths, one on each side--one with a "hand" to hold the coil, and one with a camera type device. When it was done, he told us he had dropped the coil into a vein and had to catch it before it went to her heart--he REALLY didn't need to tell me that.

There are no scars, and no evidence of the procedure at all. There were only two little pin prick type holes for a few days. She was up walking around within a few hours as if nothing happened. Amazing.

Sorry to hijack. I'm glad everything worked out for you.

[gsmittle]

I am still amazed at cardiac caths and what doctors can do with them. When my daughter was born, she had a duct outside her heart that was supposed to close, but didn't. It didn't close by her first birthday, so they did a heart cath to implant a coil to help close it.

Of course, as parents we were very nervous, but they kept telling us it was no big deal, and surprisingly, it wasn't. The Dr. did two caths, one on each side--one with a "hand" to hold the coil, and one with a camera type device. When it was done, he told us he had dropped the coil into a vein and had to catch it before it went to her heart--he REALLY didn't need to tell me that.

There are no scars, and no evidence of the procedure at all. There were only two little pin prick type holes for a few days. She was up walking around within a few hours as if nothing happened. Amazing.

Sorry to hijack. I'm glad everything worked out for you.

Glad to hear your daughter's OK. I think it's worse being a parent. My cath was no big deal--the worst part was the Lidocane to numb my groin.

Going to the dentist is worse.

g.

[ironhat]

Good deal, g. Glad it worked out well for you. When I get a chance I'll toss ya a pork chop - no, wait... already tossed it to Paris Hilton. She needs more than one pork chop, though!

Later,
Chiz

[ragswl4]

I had one of those two years ago with a stent implant at the same time. It followed a heart attack I had a few weeks earlier at the age of 58. Prompted my early retirement. The Doc gave me a CD with video taken during the procedure, pretty neat watching a clogged artery open up after the stent was implanted.

No complications during or after, just gotta take meds now. My biggest scare was the stent that was used was recalled 30 days after I got mine. Luckily the problem with the stent was during implant so I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn't have to have it removed. Not sure how that would be done. Primary care and Cardio doctors both believe the heart attack was stress related.

Glad you are OK! Fish oil and flax seed oil pills work wonders for the cholesterol. YMMV.