Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
Well, it’s been a most unusual week on my planet. On Tuesday, I went to my doctor about some recurring chest pain I’d been having. He gave me an EKG and a complete physical. He told me that there had been some changes since my last EKG (in 1985), and then asked me something I greatly hope that not one of you ever gets asked. He asked me, who was my favorite cardiologist?
I allowed as how I didn’t know one cardiologist, and I’d never given the question a moment’s thought.
So I said that my father-in-law, who is 85, had a cardiologist I’d never met. I’d take his. My doc said go. That was Tuesday
Early Wednesday morning, I found myself in the cardiologist’s office. He turned out to be like my doctor, warm and informative. His assistant hooked me up to another more complex EKG machine. Then they gave me an “echocardiogram”, that was fascinating. I could see my heart beating, and watch the valves open and close … astounding.
However, when the cardiologist read the EKG and echocardiogram charts, he told me that I’d suffered a heart attack. He said it was an inferior myocardial infarction. Inferior? Really? I have a heart attack, and it’s second-rate?
He made an appointment with the surgeons for the next morning. He said said they would thread a tube through my veins into my heart, release some dye, and take pictures to see exactly what was going on.
But there was more. He said they did the whole thing in one go—after the dye test, if the plumbing was clogged, they’d likely put in a stent.
He also said that if it was really bad, they’d cut me open right there and and do bypass surgery … dangalang, that’s not the kind of thing a man wants to hear, and certainly not before 10 AM. He gave me some nitroglycerine pills to take home with me … that was Wednesday.
Thursday I checked in to the cardio unit at the local hospital, accompanied as usual by my gorgeous ex-fiancee, who is a Family Nurse Practitioner and my main medical squeeze. First thing, they shucked me out of my clothes and had me put on one of those hospital gowns, the kind I call “fundamentally drafty” because the draft is on … anyhow, the nurse was asking me all these questions and came to “Are you taking any medications on a regular basis?” I said no … she said “Really? We hardly ever see anyone in here who isn’t taking some regular medication”.
“Not me,” sez I, “not even aspirin.”
She looked at me with a wry smile and said matter-of-factly “Well … that’s over.”
Dang.
The surgeon came in, again a warm and encouraging man. He said if they could put the catheter in through my arm and I had to get a stent, I could go home that day. But if they went in through the groin, I’d have to stay overnight.
“OK,” I said, I was only a pawn in the game at that point.
So they took me away to the Operating Room, and I woke up with a stent in my heart. They put it in through the arm, so that same day I came home. That was Thursday.
The whole crazy sequence of events has been relatively painless, except for my arm where they put in the catheter. That still aches, but that’s minor. And I’m enjoined from pounding nails or lifing anything heavy or doing anything strenuous for a week.
So no condolences or the like are necessary. I count myself among the most fortunate of men. Heck, since I can’t work at house building, I’m free to do more research and writing, what’s not to like? …
What do I take from all of this?
Well, it sure was great to wake up after going under. And it is always good to be reminded of my mortality. It let me know that I need to keep the pedal pressed firmly to the floorboard, and that I need to produce during my days, for the night is assuredly headed my way, wherein no man can produce …
Finally, it is very strange to think that I have a piece of metal mesh in my heart … first step to being a cyborg?
I go back to see my new favorite cardiologist on Friday.
My best to everyone,
w.
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Dear Wilis, having had coronory bypasses three years ago in the same way you had now your stens, I can imagine what you have experienced inbetween the diagnosis and the sten implant…
We are fortunate that we live in these times and in these countries where heart surgery is about as routine as pulling teeth. My father died from his second hart attack at age 72 (which I am quite near in age…) in a period that heart surgery still was non-existing, neither were stens invented.
The only drawback I had from the surgery (or probably from the anasthesia) was a huge loss of short term memory, so bad that I couldn’t read a book anymore as when at page 10, I couldn’t remember what passed at page 1… That slowly returned by practising Sudoku, but still is not back to what it was before surgery…
Anyway, welcome to the club of blood thinners (aspirin) and cholesterol pill takers and good luck with your health in coming years, we need your regular contributions to WUWT…
Willis
When you go to visit your favourite Cardio I suggest you keep off the subject of Obamacare and Climate change just in case…
Hope all continues to go well with your recovery
tonyb
Ferdinand said;
“The only drawback I had from the surgery (or probably from the anasthesia) was a huge loss of short term memory, so bad that I couldn’t read a book anymore as when at page 10, I couldn’t remember what passed at page 1… That slowly returned by practising Sudoku, but still is not back to what it was before surgery…”
So that explains why you didn’t return that very large sum of money I lent you a few years ago? You simply forgot. That is easily rectified now you realise what happened.
This is a notification that I have the rights to try this with Willis should his memory go…
I suspect that many of us here are not in the first flush of youth and judging by the responses we are uncomfortable with these reminders of our own mortality. Those who suspect something is wrong but haven’t done anything about it should take the lesson and make an appointment to see your doctor now, and not at some time in the future.
tonyb
Wheat is being rapidly being phased out in our household. Have not eaten bread for 4 days. Do not feel any different unfortunately. Certainly, sugars ,especially the fructose corn syrup cause chronic inflammation, which then precipitates cholesterol, which your body makes on your arteries. It is not the cholesterol per se that kills you. The statins are a massive fraud by cherry-picking data. We have been sucked in for decades, just to make these greedy bastards money at the cost of our health. Just think- a dollar a day per person for life. Every second male over 40 is taking statins. My cardiologist was not impressed a year ago when I told him I was not going to take the *&^$% anymore. Cholesterol jumped up really high.
Like all medication, statins have their side effects. Sore muscles, possibly linked to dementia. It is a major scandal how, even with the actual information freely available, browbeating and intimidation have allowed this scam to persist for decades. It is all VERY similar to the CAGW scam. The stakes are a little bit different. For the drug companies it is loads of money, for the UN it is destroying economies and eventually society itself for them to take over and install their Fabian “Utopia.” Both are pathological liars. I have been using the similarity to the statins fraud to highlight the AGW fraud. Here in Australia, the ABC of all places had a 2 part series exposing the uselessness of statins without actually accusing the drug companies of major fraud.
We’ve woken up in this part of the world now so, after reading the long list of comments, perhaps I can add my own ‘stent’ event as something of an oddity. After the usual preparations, with local anaesthetic and groin access, the procedure commenced for what I was told would be about 15 minutes. Watching the whole thing on the screen was fascinating but the same picture seemed to keep recurring and the 15 minutes seemed to be inordinately long. There was much coming and going and raised voices and it turned out after the operation that the surgeon had had great difficulty getting around a particular corner. Eventually all was fine and at the check-up with the surgeon some time later, he met me with a broad smile and profuse apologies. I jokingly replied that I perfectly understood and we all lose our way at one time or another but he said: ” No, no, I am apologising for my language”.
Definitely check out chelation. Also, pomegranate juice has been shown to do wonders, at least for carotid arteries. From http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/feb2007_report_pomegranate_01.htm
” Despite the patients’ advanced atherosclerosis, ingesting pomegranate juice produced statistically significant reductions in the thickness of their carotid artery walls, which is correlated with decreased risk for heart attack and stroke. After only three months, the average thickness declined by 13%, and after 12 months, the thickness dropped 35% compared to baseline. During this same 12-month period, the average carotid artery thickness of the placebo group increased by 9%. ”
Also, don’t have a link handy, but taking short (about 15 min) walks after eating has been show to dramatically temper rises in blood sugar.
Best wishes from a fellow cyborg (in my case titanium endoskeleton with organic material for the exterior). I found my upgrade a major benefit since 2011.
Glad to hear you are recovering Willis. My mother, in the UK, was on holiday in the early months of this year in the US. She had a heart attack while in CA/LA and was rushed to hospital (I got a call here in Aus at 4am). I shudder to think what the result could have been if she had the attack in our home village in the UK. She too has a stent and on aspirin (She was on beta-blockers too, but they aren’t so nice after a while from my own experience). Truly amazing technology. At about the same time my mother-in-law had an asthma attack in her home town, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Most Ethiopians have even less access to medical care, especially if they don’t have money. Close call either way!
All the best!
Relieved you’ve had a positive outcome. A couple of years ago I want to my doc with problems with balance and memory. Thought it might have been early onset altzheimer’s, turned out to be hydrocephalus. So now I have a foreign body in my brain, a shunt, and it is a really weird feeling every time I am reminded of it like when I touch the bump on my skull. Empathise with your feelings about the surrealness of a med implant though. Snap!
I wondered where you went, Willis. We missed you here.
[sarc on] So you’re using the old worn-out “I had a mild heart attack” excuse for the lack of blog posts. [sarc off]
Take care of yourself so that you and your ex-fiancée can continue to enjoy one another for many more years.
Cheers
In answer to your question, Peter C Gazes.
A few years ago, I saw him give a talk as part of a post-doctoral cardiology course at the Medical University of South Carolina. His talk contained some sage advice, and was riveting in places. He had been practising cardiology since WW II and was still as sharp as a pin, despite advancing years.
He was also clearly still a little bit miffed at having been retired, apparently somewhat against his will. The irony wasn’t lost on the audience, because he was speaking in the cardiology research institute that is named after him.
Willis
Wish you speedy recovery. I know 2 people who had same treatment recently, nothing to it they claim, but do take care.
Willis, may I wish you a speedy and full recovery, and a very long and productive future. And keep the articles coming!
Oh well, that kinda shucks. Thankfully surgeons sure know their trade!
(About the rest of the medical profession, I would not come to the same conclusion. People who want to “save” something – like say “the planet”, or fellow human beings – don’t all know what they are doing. Shocking, I know. But enough of that. Hope this will be the last such run-in with doctors for you, until you reach an very very very old age, and leave your – any mine – planet like we all were meant to go.)
Should’ve warned you about not eating Scottish food…….
Medical Miracles.
Heart disease has gone from a leading cause of sudden death and long term debilitation to an interesting (and scary) pause in a long and productive life. Starting with Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG) in the 1960s and continuing through Balloon Angioplasty and now Stents, all supplemented by lifestyle changes and some amazing pharmacology, we’ve come a very long way. A series of Medical Miracles.
Then there’s pacemakers. And AICDs — Automatic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators.
And now all those people who have been saved from cardiac disease are having their hips and knees replaced. It’s a wonderful world and we’re lucky to be living in it.
Glad to hear the second-rate heart attack was no worse and the stint does the job.
Too bad your problems wasn’t spotted earlier when you did the treadmill test:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/09/23/catching-my-breath/
Have a good recovery.
Best of recoveries, Willis.
Willis:
Sincere good wishes for your rapid and complete recovery. I know you are an atheist so I hope you are not offended that you are in my prayers.
Richard
Good luck Willis, and go hard at that bucket list of yours. I’m glad you managed to complete your trip to GB before your heart attack, although I would have been interested in your comments on our medicine/doctors.
I have always been amused by Billy Connoly’s observation that if you stop smoking, keep to a modest alcohol intake and eat sensibly you should get another ten years of life. The only problem is that you get it in your 89s/90s, whereas it would be far more fun to get it added to your 30s!
My mother had stents put in in 2000 and she’s still going strong no matter what I do.
I blame Roy Spencer, he pushed you over the edge.
All the best Willis on your recovery and rehab.
I had a similar experience as you had, went in had a stress test, no heart attack but some irregularity. Sent off for a heart cath with the idea the worst was going to be a stent.. when I woke up I was told surgery was scheduled for the next morning as I had a major blockage, something called the “widow maker”.. so I had some major plumbing done CABG X4 ..
The lessons I learned are: 1) there has been and continues to be great advances in the treatment of heart disease 2) there are a lot of opinions and theories out there.. do the research and work with a cardiologist you trust.. 3) you have entered a whole new world where your penchant for research and discovery will keep you engaged and busy..
Carpe Diem..
Glad to hear you’re OK! The great thing about modern cardiology is that if you actually get checked regularly, they can prevent a great deal of bad things from happening to you.