Back Home After Some Metal Work!

Bill Arnold

1974
Staff member
Messages
8,622
Location
Thomasville, GA
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.
 
I thought maybe you were getting a new knee or something similar by the thread title...oh wait that's Dave! :D

Sounds scary to me indeed!! Sounds like your wife was right to press you into going to the ER! Glad you're at home and resting now Bill! :thumb:
 
Glad to hear u fine Bill but thank Bobbie from all of us for looking after you and making you go. ;) She is the hero here oh and the technicians that did the work.

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That's scarry Bill!!! Thanks Bobbie for pushing his to ER, he may not be here with us now if you didn't! Heal fast Bill and follow the docs orders, I'm sure Bobbie will be sure of that:)
 
Hey Bill,
Glad to hear you're home and on the mend... the old pump ain't nothing to mess around with.

Last time I was in to see the family doctor he said he heard a murmur in mine.. never been told that before. He asked when I last went to a cardiologist - which had been over 9 years... so he set me up with my wife's cardio doc... he's a great guy and really easy to talk to... went on last Wednesday for an echocardiogram... the old pump makes funny noises when they turn up the volume.. fortunately had a call from the doc later in the day that while I do have a murmur it's likely caused by a stiffening of the valve muscles... we all get a little stiff as we age... but nothing for me to worry about now.... someday may have to have it repaired or replaced.... the doc said they're working on procedure where valves can be repaired without replacement, more of a stint procedure.

My concern was that in my family, on both sides of the marriage, of the 6 uncles I have plus my father, all of them have either had open heart surgery....or passed away due to heart attacks. I only have one living uncle now and he's had bypass surgery twice. He is well into his 80's and so were most of my other uncles, but it's something to consider.

You take care of yourself, listen to your doctors and remember we're getting of an age where we need to work smart, not work hard.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts and comments!

Hey Bill,
Glad to hear you're home and on the mend... the old pump ain't nothing to mess around with.
...

Darn right, Chuck! I've tried to stay aware of warning signs since my father had a series of heart attacks starting when he was about 42. Thanks to medical technology, my heart is still healthy in spite of the issues with the arteries.

You mentioned cardiac ultrasound, which I've had twice - once a few years ago and again on this hospital stay. Hearing your heart pumping is kinda weird, alright! Apparently, I have no issue with valves - so far.
 
Good man for listening to you body when it says "Oops"!
Cath lab is a fun place to work...those folks are amazing; fixing the heart from the leg is really cool!
Mend up well and get back to work! :thumb:
 
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