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Well, I'm home from the hospital and am doing just fine. I know - huh???
OK, now the details. I was having some discomfort in my chest Saturday night and had trouble sleeping. I finally got comfortable and slept for a few hours, then was feeling fine Sunday. On Monday, I was working in my shop as usual and felt a little tightness in my chest occasionally that went away when I sat down for a bit. Later Monday night, I had trouble sleeping and got up a couple of times. The second time I got up, Bobbie pressed me for what was wrong so I told her the tightness in my chest wasn't going away. So, we headed to the hospital about 5am Tuesday. They checked me in the ER and decided the best approach, considering my history, was to get me to the cath lab. The lab was booked up but they felt like they could work me in late in the day. I was getting treatment - nitro patch and a drip - so I was out of trouble.
Sadly, the patient I was to follow in the lab began having a lot of trouble. She was an older lady and was handling the procedure well initially, then began to lose all vital signs. A nurse told me they had personnel from all departments in the lab to determine courses of action. What should have been a one hour or so procedure had run to three hours and they still had issues. The day ended badly for everyone.
I had to wait until Wednesday morning for my procedure, but I was first in line. The crew finished prepping me and the doctor started on my heart cath. There were two bad blockages in the one coronary artery that was not replaced in 2010 when I had the major procedure. It was not blocked back then, but some plaque shifted and was creating an almost complete blockage of the artery, which is on the right side of the heart. The doctor placed stents at the top and bottom of the artery to clear the blockages.
They held me overnight for observation and all went well. I was released about 1pm today and am resting well at home now. This may sound more scary than it actual was. Having been through a cath procedure three times before, I wasn't really too concerned. The bottom line is that my heart muscle is still strong with no damage. I'll be back to normal or maybe better in a week or two.
OK, now the details. I was having some discomfort in my chest Saturday night and had trouble sleeping. I finally got comfortable and slept for a few hours, then was feeling fine Sunday. On Monday, I was working in my shop as usual and felt a little tightness in my chest occasionally that went away when I sat down for a bit. Later Monday night, I had trouble sleeping and got up a couple of times. The second time I got up, Bobbie pressed me for what was wrong so I told her the tightness in my chest wasn't going away. So, we headed to the hospital about 5am Tuesday. They checked me in the ER and decided the best approach, considering my history, was to get me to the cath lab. The lab was booked up but they felt like they could work me in late in the day. I was getting treatment - nitro patch and a drip - so I was out of trouble.
Sadly, the patient I was to follow in the lab began having a lot of trouble. She was an older lady and was handling the procedure well initially, then began to lose all vital signs. A nurse told me they had personnel from all departments in the lab to determine courses of action. What should have been a one hour or so procedure had run to three hours and they still had issues. The day ended badly for everyone.
I had to wait until Wednesday morning for my procedure, but I was first in line. The crew finished prepping me and the doctor started on my heart cath. There were two bad blockages in the one coronary artery that was not replaced in 2010 when I had the major procedure. It was not blocked back then, but some plaque shifted and was creating an almost complete blockage of the artery, which is on the right side of the heart. The doctor placed stents at the top and bottom of the artery to clear the blockages.
They held me overnight for observation and all went well. I was released about 1pm today and am resting well at home now. This may sound more scary than it actual was. Having been through a cath procedure three times before, I wasn't really too concerned. The bottom line is that my heart muscle is still strong with no damage. I'll be back to normal or maybe better in a week or two.