Had a heart catheterization done yesterday

[pscot]

No stent, no angioplasty; it seems that all I have to show for 75 years of dissolute living is a little plaque and a bent valve. I can head back to the gymn on Monday and my breathlessness remains a mystery. Thanks again to all who commented on my earlier thread.

[shenmue]

1. :)

Hang in there.

[pscot]

4. ;)

That's what we do.

[Warpy]

2. It probably didn't make your day but it wasn't that bad, right?

It's nice to know your arteries are clean. The valve might be an issue in the future, so take care of your teeth, which sounds counterintuitive but really isn't, dental health has a large effect on cardiovascular health.

And once you reach your three score and ten, you can assume you've been doing something right and keep on doing it.

[pscot]

3. The worst part was stopping the bleeding afterward

They held me for 10 hours trying to get the artery to clot. Thankfully they went in through the wrist. Otherwise I'd probably just be getting home from the hospital.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Hiatal Hernia

Often the cause of hard-to-figger-out dyspnea (shortness of breath).

Might be worth checking out.

Congratulations on surviving your cath and your healthy heart!

[pscot]

6. Unless you are a certified Studebaker mechanic

or a medical doctor, how do I know if I can trust your diagnosis ? I will, of course, google hiatal hernia.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. You *cannot* trust my *thought*

Assume that I'm a madman bent on the destruction of you and everyone else.

[rhett o rick]

10. How can anyone trust you? You have more personalities than Christine Costner Sizemore.

Who are you today?

[MannyGoldstein]

11. I am the Bishop Desmond Tutu

Who shall I say is calling?

[rhett o rick]

12. Well Tutu to you too, Desmond. My Albert King moves to KR3 and takes your Bishop Tutu.

[LiberalEsto]

8. Thank goodness you're okay

About the breathlessness - any chance it could be the tons of tree pollen floating around? I get asthmatic during tree pollen season and need to use prescription inhalers. This is around the peak time.

[localroger]

9. Had mine a week and a half ago

I didn't have much wrong but what I did have wrong was a doozy, 85% blockage in the Left Aneterior Descending coronary artery. The one they call "widowmaker."

All stented now. Had I not been paying attention to my blood pressure (I was otherwise asymptomatic) and had I not had a stress test (things were relatively normal at rest) I'd have just probably died at some random point in the next couple of years, either from a massive coronary in that artery or of a stroke from the massively elevated blood pressure.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties with the entry closure. For mine -- it actually took two procedures, because they were hitting my limit for contrast dye when they realized how serious the problem was in the widowmaker -- they went in through the thigh, and I was amazed at the bruising and the nasty not-so-little hematoma that developed. But there was no bleeding at all; they used a "closure mechanism" that apparently floods the puncture cavity with biodegradable expanding foam. I did have to hold the leg straight for four hours (Twice! Two procedures!) to make sure the closure didn't get disrupted, but that part of it worked according to plan.

Oh, and my blood pressurei s now normal and there's a good chance I'll live more than a couple more years.

Oh, and on edit: I just turned 50 in February. I hope to have more years of dissolute living left to do.