I survived my first minor heart related procedure
 

Doc said it was simple but still i was a scared pussy. They went thru my groin with a line to clear my artery by the aorta. It felt weird and i feel weird now. Doc said its like a tune up. Sorry if I havent been around to answer any messages. But if any of you have to do this, dont sweat it. Its not so bad.

wow.. congrats! Glad you made it!

Glad you are ok. Thanks for the reassurance if we need to go through it.

Congrats ! While I guess you feel a bit weird I'd still like to say 'Get Well Soon' :)

I was born with a hole in my heart - However luckily, by the time I reached puberty, it had healed over, so I never needed treatment :)

Sorry to hear you needed it but glad the procedure went well Joe!

WOW you never know why people disappear sometimes. Glad you made it back and let us know it's not so bad. Here's to many, MANY more long happy healthy years for you :drinkup

Get well man.

You pretty relaxed with your diet, or is there another possibly reason for it?

Get well, mate! Wish you as speedy recovery as possible.

Haha, had this in 2009 -- you'll be FINE, I promise!

Get well soon!!

Hope you bounce back quick :thumbsup

Damn, dude...glad you're okay!
I had some kidney surgery "stuff" done about 2 1/2 years ago, through that same "route", but I am sure the heart situation was pretty scary/worrisome for you.
Sure glad you're alright, Joe!

Get well soon

How did you know you needed this procedure? What symptoms did you have that sent you to a cardiologist?

Best wishes!

Yikes, you're way to young for all these things EP

I originally went to hospital for some pressure in my chest. They took blood work and determined I had a higher than normal level of something that the heart produces when it senses danger. I did a tread mill test and got tired too quickly. So i did more tests where they put a die in my blood and check its route to the heart. They determoned i needed spring cleaning in my artery as it was a bit clogged.

Haha, I was 29. It was due to a heart defect, so it could have happened at any age. :winkwink:

Glad you made it through that, I spotted your reply in the other thread about your MS, it's nuts how much you have to pay and it's dirty of pharma to up their prices so much.

Are these ops incredibly profitable or something? Are they recommending them for more people than really need them?

Well the reason behind it is the heart has to work harder than it should do to a clog

Glad you're doing well ...

Eh. It's part of what I worked so hard for in my younger days to be able to afford -- I didn't want to have to worry, since I was (previously, before Obamacare) uninsurable due to prior conditions. Now, I'm still uninsured, but out of laziness during the latest signup period. :1orglaugh I think it was $900 or something per month, so that's WAY better ... but it doesn't really cover very much, it seems.

Try again. I'm in the same ballpark as you and I'm paying around $230 and have a really good package, it does depend on the market and I have been told that Austin has a really competitive market. I think the next cycle is in October.

exercise once a week. get a bike ride it

I definitely plan to. I need the Cadillac of packages to make sense for me, but even at $900+, it's still a deal for me personally. I've been out-of-pocket so many years it's crazy. No less than $30k in a year since 2007, I'd imagine .. with some years being MUCH more.

The Staples center doesn't have healthy food options? Good thing you got it done before the jammer. over 90% of people who suffer heart attacks do not survive unless a defib is close by.
Stressing over the Canucks doesn't help either :glugglug

Glad you caught this fast! Next time we go out you'll get only salad

Glad to hear you are okay.... Shit like that scares me too.

Ouch, Joe! Hoping you get well soon, and no more procedures are needed.

Oh hell - I am glad you are ok - and you were right to be scared - ANY procedure involving your heart is potentially dangerous as hell. My father in law had that and he was so uncomfortable for a few days.

I hope everything is ok now and they got things taken care of for a good long while. :thumbsup

Sounds like you made out pretty easy considering it could be much worse. I've had three angioplasty type procedures now. Once to fix a blockage and put a stent in, once more to check things out, and a third to do some more studies. Twice through the groin and once through the right wrist which I guess is the preferred route these days. Next step is an implanted defibrillator.

Stay on top of things now because damage to the heart is pretty much permanent.

glad to hear you got this spotted and cleared out early Joe. I want to hear that you are back on the ice soon though, skating is great for the circulation ;)


...oh and so are bodychecks and slap shots.

Glad you got through it alright! I'd be scared as hell, too!

get well soon!

Glad you made it, Turning 54 in 2 months and I knock on wood about my health and doing some things lately to ensure it stays that way

congrats dude!

Get well and eat a lot of fish !

Im happy for you.

They check your blood for Troponin levels. It's a decent marker for future heart problems and is elevated after a serious heart issue. It's a simple test that they do more and more.

Get any problem with chest pain checked out though. Heart palpitations, Tachycardia(fast heartbeat) out of no where, pain in the upper back, shoulders and chin.

Most of the time it's nothing but stress or even heartburn but don't go and ace out over over something completely avoidable.

More on Troponin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troponin

Glad you're feeling better Amacontent!

Oh yeah, I noticed too that now that my heart is weakened, anything can be an unexpected struggle. I had what I figured would be a minor cold or flu last week but it really knocked my ass down. Had a cardiology appointment midweek and the doctor darn near admitted me to the hospital to be on the safe side. For anyone thinking they should be doing something.. you're right! Never too late to start taking care of yourself but sooner is going to be better than later. :thumbsup

True that brother. Another test to get if you are seeing a cardiologist is the Lexiscan stress test. Tells you all kinds of shit about your heart function. Specifically how much it pumps out the left ventricle (Ejection Fraction) and heart wall thickening.

A much better predictor of heart issues.

You sit in a chair and they inject you with a radioactive isotope and a drug that makes your body think you're running 100 miles an hour. They give you some caffeine and it stops. Coca Cola. Then they take a sort of xray and that shows them all kinds of shit.

Really fucking weird feeling.

I've never had that test, or a regular treadmill style stress test yet. I did get an EP study done though where they inserted wires into each chamber and forced my heart to race. Then they stop and see if the heart takes over the job of beating normally again which mine did. My visits now are to get ultrasounds and look for any improvement in strength which was down to a low of 20%. Next month I go for yet another ultrasound to look for any improvements. Looks like I'll be getting a defibrillator implanted at whatever point I decide to get it done.

Ahhh fuuuuck, Lexiscan feels AWFUL! They made me do that one last time instead of the treadmill (which I definitely prefer). Felt horrible!

You guys rock thanks for the kind words. I do have full coverage with Staples. So it cost me a whopping $10. I gotta drop a bit of weight and doc said i can get right back on the ice for Labor day tourny to ref. Im also gonna get in the habit of walking the stairs at staples before work. Its a good 25 min workout.

Yeah it sucked. They injected it and then turned around to change the tv channel or something. I was thinking I'm gonna stroke out while these fucks are trying to find Judge Judy on the set. Weird shit. Then they give you caffeine to stop the effect??? I don't get that at all.

I didn't get caffeine to stop it. They just said "if we told you how bad it was going to be, you wouldn't have let us do it." ... wtf?! :helpme

good to know... best of luck and good wishes with that...

Glad to hear things are on the up and up now