My Dad's Cardiovascular Health

I guess I don't get the import of this exact procedure and the day being salaried or not, though I also live on tight money..

My mother and father weren't at something important for me, and forty years later I remember that.

Just how hard is it to show up for fifteen minutes?

Littlek,
I'll never forget the feeling that came over me the first time one of my parents had health issues. I'm the youngest of 6 and my parents struggled a bit to raise and feed all of us. My mother never graduated high school and my father worked two jobs so I would bet they avoided health check-ups for themselves. So about 18 years ago my mother was having trouble breathing and was being treated for asthma.(I forgot to mention that 5 of us work in the healthcare industry) Never did she want to worry any of us. After dealing with this for a few months she let it slip to one of my sisters that her breathing was so bad that she was sleeping in the recliner at night. And my RN brother encouraged her to see a cardiologist. Her angiogram showed a 95% blockage of her right main coronary and the next day she transferred to the university hospital I worked at for her angioplasty. All of a sudden while she was in the procedure room I lost it(at the time I was rotating through the cardiac cath lab and was well aware of the procedures and the doctors caring for her). It finally hit me that after all those years of her caring for me she was the one in need. My mother, the strong,loving caregiver,kisser of all boo-boo's was under the weather.
Wouldn't ya know it, one year later my dad started experiencing the same symptoms. His cardiologist wouldn't let him finish his treadmill. The next day he had 6 bypass grafts. Made it through the surgery a trooper and was out of ICU in two days.
So, littlek, I can totally understand your emotions right now. So although I think that of course your going to worry, know that he is in good hands and has taken care of himself physically. Sometimes bypass surgery has longer success then stenting and I'll bet that if this is the route his doctors take he will make a fine recovery.
You mentioned that they moved his surgery to thursday. Does this mean he is having bypass surgery or are you referring to his cardiac cath as surgery rather than a procedure.
Feel free to ask more questions. I'll be happy to answer as many as I can. The angiogram and stenting is done through a puncture into the femoral or radial artery so there are no incisions made and most patients go home the same day.
PS Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your holiday and your family!

Hang in there. Things aren't always as bad as we might think. I tried to die last December flying home from Washington, but had a stent installed and was home from the hospital in less than two days. By the way, my blood pressure was 120/70 and my cholesterol was 173 at the time I had a complete blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery (a/k/a the widowmaker). Took me almost two weeks to return to full strength, but I've been back to normal ever since. I even broke down and went back to the cardiologist for a recheck a month later! Considering the fact that I had not been to a doctor for thirty-three years before the heart attack, I consided that to be a major concession. Tell your dad that he and I are pretty much bulletproof. After all, the good die young!

Hang in there. Things aren't always as bad as we might think. I tried to die last December flying home from Washington, but had a stent installed and was home from the hospital in less than two days. By the way, my blood pressure was 120/70 and my cholesterol was 173 at the time I had a complete blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery (a/k/a the widowmaker). Took me almost two weeks to return to full strength, but I've been back to normal ever since. I even broke down and went back to the cardiologist for a recheck a month later! Considering the fact that I had not been to a doctor for thirty-three years before the heart attack, I consided that to be a major concession. Tell your dad that he and I are pretty much bulletproof. After all, the good die young!

HIs hospital is 2 hours away from where I work. It's all-day trip. I do plan to go, it's just handy that it's falling on that day.

Oh, good. I didn't mean that to sound as snippy as I see it sounded. Just that it might mean a lot to him for you to be there.

Marty, you had it twice as hard! My Mother has her own ailments, but as of yet, they are life-threatening in the same way as heart disease is.

I am not losing sleep, I'm just a little nervous. I did refrain myself. He helped me bring stuff from my car into the house. I did not ask him not to or express concern.

CowDoc - I am super glad you are feeling better. Geez! I guess I'd better get used to this. Seems like most people face cardiovascular disease at some point, if they live long enough.

If it's 2 hours away, how could it take all day?

Glad you got that help fast, CowDoc.

I'm going to guess that it takes two hours to get there, one and a half for pre-procedure prep, 1-2 hours for cardiac cath, 2-6 hours recovery, and 2 hour drive home. Littlek, you might want to bring a good book so you're not pacing and biting your nails.

Reading with interest lil'k.

May I ask a couple questions?

You say the first procedure was unsuccessful....what made it unsuccessful exactly? They placed a stent, was there a problem with it.

You speak of the pain, and the fact he has to be awake? My husband had a heart cath and also a renal artery cath, and he was put out for both. In fact, other people who've had the procedure where out too. I guess I'm not familiar with this.

Angioplasty didn't work right, the blockage didn't flatten, I guess. So they put in a stent (2 actually). Chai, I can only speak to my Dad's experience. He was awake. for the angiogram, angioplasty and stenting procedures (geez, I think, sort of confused here).

Marty, my mom and sister will aslo be there. I may bring some homework.

The drive is 2 hours there, stay for the procedure, drive back. By all day I mean that there wouldn't be much time left for working.

Well, if it helps any, every day there are new advances in cardiology.

There was/is much more wrong with my husbands heart, having to do with a ventrical arythmia problem. If this had been not too many years ago, he would have been long gone, with no warning. Like your dad, today his heart is actually in better shape than before anything happened.

There are newer statins being developed all the time, and other wonderful drugs.

I know how emotionally draining it is, like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hope everything turns out ok for your dad, it sounds he's got a lot going for him, in that he's an active participant in his health care.

Unfortunatly, pain can't always be avoided, but.....consider the alternative. :wink:

I'll be pulling for you dad.

I'm glad your husband is feeling that much better! All these happy success stories are easing my worry.

Not much I can add, but to reiterate my best wishes.

Still feeling nervous. Generally positive, but still tense. I will be heading down for the procedure on thursday. Maybe I'll give blood while I wait.

Good wishes, lilk - i know how it feels - i worry endlessly about my Dad too

My father-in-law has a lot of problems with his heart too...he had a surgery (bypass) a couple of years ago and lives a peaceful life.

Thanks Sakhi. I do expect that things will be fine. It's just the not-knowing that's getting to me. I wish your father and father-in-law the best of health.

I'm back from Hyannis, I've started some homework and made some dinner. I'll update this thread and then back to work for me.

My dad's procedure went very well. My sister and I arrived after he'd been taken away for the angiogram, we sat and talked with my mother. She looked grateful for the company and the distraction (she would reluctantly admit to that). We got to know the other (mostly) women waiting in the area outside of the surgery station. Well, we got to know their names and something about them. One of my parents' neighbors came to chat, he's a hospital volunteer. Another neighbor (this hospital is 40 minutes from my parents' house, but it's the only major hospital on Cape Cod) who is a semi-retired oncologist stopped to chat. Both neighbors are also friends of my parents. Next to show up was Dick. Dicks family lived across the street from the house I grew up in. I hadn't seen him in decades, but my parents have. It took me a minute to recognize him and the visit was nice. He didn't even get to see my dad today. Lastly, a teacher from my masters program was there waiting for her husband to have his defribulator reset. I sat with her until it was time for her to go.

The cardiogramist(?) came to tell us that Dad definitely had a blockage. It was two actually, one just up stream from the other (in the circumflex artery). One was 65% blocked and the other was 80% blocked. They'd stent them both. Later. In a couple hours. We could see him. He looked good and was messing with his monitor by holding his breath and watching the lines spike and recover <rolly eyes>. My sis and I went out to grab lunch and came back to eat and wait with my Mom.

After quite some time my mother called to ask if he'd gone in for the stenting yet? Yes, he had. We waited. A team of three came to the waiting area to speak with us. It was scary, no one else had a team come to speak to them. After introductions the doc said he was ok (why don't they say that first?). He said confirmed the blockages and success of the stents, then he detailed other issues. There was another blockage near the tip of one artery which had collateral whatever (veins had grown around the blockage to compensate). He also said that there was serious cardiovascular disease and extensive calcification of the arteries. We tried to get him to explain that to us some more, he didn't really. He said dad would have to lower his cholesterol even more preferably via medication (his cholesterol meds dosage has been doubled 3 times over the last 2 years).

We spent some more time with my Dad before we left to come home. He hadn't received the bad news about the calcification and was in good spirits. He kept lifting his head even though he wasn't supposed to (he'd been lying flat on his back for over 6 hours and was uncomfortable) and he messed with the monitors again.

So, after spending the last 10 years eating well, exercising daily and taking his meds, he STILL has hardening of the arteries. We are hoping he doesn't conclude that the food and exercise are useless. He did reverse one partial blockage, so we have that to point to.

He just called to say he would be allowed to sit up at 11 pm and presumably will be able to sleep on his side tonight.

Whew! Well, I'm glad he's okay for now. Tough to find out about all the calcification.