@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
Hi, @hckynutjohn, I hope all goes well with your procedure!
Hubby had his procedure on the 22nd, this past Monday and it went very well. No new issues were found so his, thankfully, he can be treated with medication. He goes for his follow up this Friday. He was given twilight and was able to tell them when there was discomfort during the movement of the catheter. This was a VA hospital and I was amazed at how many people were in and out of his room preparing him. At one point last week, it was thought that the procedure would be cancelled because when he went in the previous Friday for lab work, it was found that his A1C had gone up dramatically into the 500+ range. They called him back to the clinic to start insulin. By Monday morning, it was 186 so they preceded. I can't wait to set up his medical portal to see his official med report because his doctor versus the medical practitioner said slightly different things about the findings.
Anyway, thanks for asking and good luck. Oh, may I ask what prompted your having to have this procedure?
@Mmsfoxxie
Glad to hear things when well for your husband. What did the Cardiologist that did the procedure tell you about his results? If my wife is with me during certain procedures, or vice versa, our doctors always talk with us right after the procedure. They do that while the patient is still in the recovery toom. With all but 1 of my previous 4 Heart Caths, I was wide awake and could see exactly what my Cardiologist was doing. Was pretty easy for me to follow.
In my present issue, I noticed this when ice skating. I always wear my Polar Chest Heart Rate Monitor, skating and during all my workouts. Have been doing this since the 1980's.
Been back skating about 4+ years and pretty much knew where my heart rate should be depending on my type of skating. Beginning HR was always about 80bpm, and I worked it up to 120bpm for my warmups. At that point i did my stretches and started adding more speed types of skating. I kept my Max HR at 150bpm, and then slowed down.
At 1 session i noticed my Heart rate just skating easy was 110bpm. And gradually as I skated, not particularly hard, it would go up to 140bpm, and it was not coming down as quickly as it should. I thought maybe it just might be an "off day", which happens in skating and running.
It wasn't just that day, it continued every time I skated. I knew after my 2nd Heart Attack, when I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure(CHF), that my Hearts Ejection Fraction(EF)numbers were too low. That is your heart's ability to pump blood throughout your body. But after 3 months I was able to raise those numbers to the 40-45% EF, an acceptable number.
Normal range for a healthy heart is around 50-60%. My first thought was that was probably the issue with my heart. It just started seemingly out of nowhere to me.
Made my appointment to see my long term Cardiologist, and asked him if he would schedule an Echocardiogram to take a look at my EF numbers. Sure enough, they had dropped from the 40-45% EF numbers down to 30-35%.
He prescribed Entresto to help ease the strain on my heart. When I saw him yesterday he asked me if I preferred a Treadmill Stress Test, or to do the best way, which is a Heart Cath. I chose the latter because I want to see if there is possibly more Artery Blockage.
If so, if it is in a safe place, they could do a Stent Angioplasty, and do it immediately. If not, it may require Open Heart Surgery. If it is not blockage, it means my heart is just wearing out. I obviously prefer it being a blockage, and maybe a Stent Angioplasty, or the Heart Surgery.
I will wait till I see the results of the Heart Cath, and just move on from there, whatever the outcome. For now I will keep moving along as usual, just not skating or raising my HR too much.
As usual, I am pretty detailed in my explanations, but that has always been who I am.
My best to your husband,
hckynut 🇺🇸
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