What the Heck Happened?

Medical science, though very advanced is not perfect. Add personal differences, past health habits and family history to the mix and it's very puzzling that doctors can actually repair anything.
I had my by-pass on March 3rd and was feeling really good. I was scheduled to return to work on April 14th and was looking forward to it, just getting out of the house was a treat! The Thursday before I was to return to work (April10th) I started having chest pains, bad enough that I broke down and called 911 and got an ambulance out to pick me up. I had another heart attack! But how?
It seems that two of the by-pass grafts occluded or closed up on me. My cardiologist was on vacation and I had another very good heart guy work on me and try to get things straightened up. He worked on m heart using angioplasty techniques for about 3 hours. I felt pretty good and by Sunday I was getting to go home. I got home and sat on the couch for about an hour before I started having more pains and Kim rushed me back to the hospital.
By that time my cardiologist was getting near home and he came to see me. He scheduled another heart catheter for the following day and he worked on getting blood flow back to my arteries for another 2 and a half hours. It worked! By placing two more stents I now have good blood flow and no chest pain. I now have a total of five stents, though one of them has clogged up and was actually the target of one of my by-pass grafts. Here is a picture that Dr. Hollis drew after working on my heart on Thursday.
The two big things that look like lug nuts are two of my early stents. The one in the right coronary artery is fine, a little blockage evident, but after 8 years in there I would expect that. The one in the left artery was 99% blocked and was by-passed with my mammary artery (labeled LIMB) and is in great shape, the mammary artery is a good choice for grafts. The little additions are the failed grafts. The one farthest to the left is the one that is still occluded and is basically a total loss. The one on the right is now opened and has two stent in it to keep it open. Dr. Filardo was able to get some blood flow through the artery of the failed graft so it is not a complete loss. He was able to get me about 30% flow in that artery which is a heck of a lot better than the 3% it had last month!
It is all pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. What would work in the majority of people just didn't work for me. How many thousands of people have by-pass operations each year that work flawlessly? I know I am not unique, there must be a few others that have had this problem. Maybe the vein in my leg wasn't a good choice as graft material, I don't know. All I do know is that I am doing well now and am very thankful for everything.

Cholesterol - Clogging of the arteries

I recently found out a few things about cholesterol and some medications for the problem that I thought I would share.
Following my two heart attacks, the doctors put me on Lipitor to help control my high cholesterol levels. After having the open heart surgery I have delved into the problems a bit more than I had before, maybe because I am now more worried and actually taking part more in my well being than before.
First, let's get the whole "good" and "bad" cholesterol thing hammered out. You have two different types of cholesterol in your blood. There is LDL and HDL cholesterol. HDL is the good stuff and can be remembered by thinking of Happy Cholesterol, 'H' for Happy, HDL. I know it's corny but it helps. LDL is the cholesterol you want to be in low levels in your blood. The lower the better. This is the one that clogs those arteries and causes most of the problems. HDL on the other hand is the good stuff. It actually breaks down the plaque and fat that is building up in your arteries and can help to clean out the works. You want it high.
So how do we get the LDL down and the HDL up? There are a couple of ways for each. We can rely on medication to assist us. There are a few cholesterol lowering drugs out there such as Lipitor and Crestor. The problem I ran into was that my LDL was so high that the doctors tried raising my dosage of Lipitor enough to make a difference. However, at high levels Lipitor can also get rid of HDL which is a bad thing.
Niacin can be used to raise HDL. The main problem with taking niacin is how it makes you feel. A doctor will tell you that it will make you feel flushed. Bull! It makes you feel like you have caught on fire inside and the fire is spreading all over your body. It's a bad feeling, believe me. There is something you can do about this reaction. Since your doctor probably has you on Aspirin, you can take your Aspirin about 15 minutes before you go to bed, then right before you head off to bed, take the niacin. It works, and keeps the flushing feeling at bay.
So what if we don't want to rely on pills? The only thing you can do is watch your diet and probably change a lot of things. Very little fat intake, no burgers or bacon or pork chops. Nothing with a lot of cholesterol in it like eggs or dairy products. You need to eat things high in HDL such as legumes. (What the heck is a legume, you ask?) Beans, lots of beans. Lima beans are a good choice for HDL but others work well too. I found a good recipe for a vegetarian chili that is actually really good. Put lots of beans in it, different beans like navy beans and kidney beans and garbanzo beans and any other bean you have lying around. Vegetables are good sources of HDL. Pick up a good heart healthy cookbook and find some things you like in it.
No, I'm not preaching about changing your diet, I have a hard time with it myself. I love bacon! But I have found that turkey bacon isn't too bad. It's not the best and it is definitely not real bacon, but it's alright.
Some things that you can find in the grocery really are not too bad. My sister says that there are ribs made from tofu that really taste like ribs, and vegetables that have been ground up that taste a bit like hamburger in chili and things. I'm not going to just say she's crazy, I'll try some of the stuff for myself. I urge everyone to do the same.
My sister just let me know that the way to remember LDL is "Lousy". So you have Happy cholesterol in HDL and Lousy cholesterol in LDL. It may be corny, as I mentioned before, but if it helps me remember which is which then I don't care. Thanks Teacup!

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Welcome - The story thus far

    I am beginning this blog following a very important event in my life. On March 3rd of 2008 I had a triple bypass operation to repair blocked arteries of my heart.
    I have had heart problems for quite a few years. I had my first heart attack when I was 38 years old and another five years later. Both of the attacks were followed up with angioplasty and the insertion of stents to hold the arteries open. They worked for the most part, but I am stubborn and didn't take good care of myself or the stents.
    I began having some chest pains in late 2007, but I didn't think much of them. I only realize what was going on in retrospect since the pain was never very bad at all. By February of 2008 I was well aware of what was happening and made an appointment with a cardiologist to get checked out.
    I went to see my new cardiologist on February 29th, (Leap Day) and explained what had been going on. My doctor listened to me and asked pertinent questions. He is a very good doctor. He then told me that based on what I was telling him and on the results of an EKG that he could not allow me to leave and that he was scheduling me for a cardiac catheter that evening so we could check it all out. It turned out that I had a 97% blockage in two places and a 99% blockage in another. The worst blockage was at a stent which had plugged up pretty good over time.
    After consulting with a surgeon and talking with me about the possibilities, we all decided that open heart surgery was the best option. So at the age of 46 I went in for the operation.
15 days later and I am feeling pretty well. I can walk to the mailbox (about 100 yards) with no problem. I am getting a bit better every day.
    I plan for this blog to be about the early detection of heart problems and suggestions for everyone about things they can do to head off the possible outcome of lifestyle and genetic problems. I am not a doctor but I have learned quite a bit over the years (most of which I have chosen to ignore until now) and if I can help even one other person then I plan on doing so.

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