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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Two things, Willis. First, this new technology sure is great! Second, if what ails you can be cured simply by taking a couple of pills, then count yourself lucky. Oh, and third, I love reading everything you write, including your visit to the doctor.
Getting older gets more fun every year . . .
My Finnish Grandfather used to say to me when I was a young lad, “Too soon old, too late smart.”
Godspeed Willis.
Good luck on the recovery, Willis. You are very lucky. It could have been much worse.
I had my heart attack in 2005 when I was 58. My symptom was vomiting. It came on me as I was started a summer skiing trip up Ralston Peak, near Tahoe. I managed to drive myself home to the West Shore. The next day I still felt crappy and drove to the hospital in Truckee, when I got there I was surprised to find myself gasping for air in the ER. They wisked me off to Reno where the angioplasty was performed the following morning, followed by a stent. Then the next day something lodged in the wrong place in my brain triggering a mild stroke. I lost my ability to write, and speech was slurred, simple arithmetic was a challenge, The next day they told me I had Type 2 Diabetes, and did I know that ? Well no, but thanks.
My recovery has taken a long time but I was back to skiing a few months after the events of that summer and still climbing the back country peaks in the spring time and summers since. My ejection fraction remains extremely low about 20% I think but it only affects me when I am skinning up a peak or climbing stairs. I lost a huge amount of my left ventricle functionality. I continue to take a gob of pills every day, not much side effects perhaps a small balance issue. I do metformin now no longer the insulin injections for the type 2. Unrelated to the above I get terrible leg and hand cramps in the middle of the night. I take powdered cinchona bark in a tea for this. It works wonders. This was based on my first cardio prescribing quinine, then when the FDA started blocking that use I did the research to find the source of quinine.
I guess we don’t live forever. I try to enjoy every day to the fullest.
john another says:
November 11, 2013 at 6:49 pm
http://www.massdevice.com/news/did-steve-jobs-stubborness-kill-him
Willis,
You have received lots of good advice from folks who genuinely love and respect you. I join them in anticipating your full recovery to glowing health. One thing that I learned is important is this:
Every time you exhale, be sure to inhale.
Those who do not follow that advice quickly learn how important it could have been.
Blessings to you and your family.
Clay
richardscourtney says:
November 11, 2013 at 9:44 am
The US Navy felt that portable harbors weren’t needed, which belief in the event was shown valid by the destruction of the Mulberry at Omaha beach by the terrible storm on June 19. The British Mulberry was however useful, even though the Americans were able to land all the logistics they needed over the open beaches in their sector, as their experience in the Pacific & Med led them to believe possible, given enough amphibious ships & craft.
HR says:
November 11, 2013 at 4:04 pm
nobody going to mention Obamacare?
————————-
Better IMO to let Willis comment himself, but I assume he’s on Medicare, possibly with supplemental private insurance, so Obamacare doesn’t really apply, except that to fund the debacle, Medicare has already been raided to the tune of about $800 billion, stealing from the monies paid in by workers over five decades.
Great post Willis and good to hear that all went well. I never had a favourite cardiologist but I sure have one now (and a stent). This post http://bit.ly/SeKcDg and the following one tell the tale if anyone is intersted.
Good luck
milodonharlani:
re your post at November 11, 2013 at 10:27 pm.
I don’t want to disrupt this thread, but the Mulberry harbours and Fido were essential to the success of the D-Day landings. As you say, the Americans lost their Mulberry in a storm (n.b. on 22 June 1944 not 19 June when the storm started) but that does not disprove the critical importance of the temporary harbours whatever excuses the Americans later chose to make for their loss of theirs. As Encyclopaedia Brittanica says in its good summary of the matter
And
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396732/Mulberry
And that is all I intend to say about the matter in this thread.
Richard
Cancer? Look up “Phoenix Tears”. The fact that this is not well known is criminal.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4
And this:
The results may be due to THC’s anti-inflammatory properties, write the researchers, who included François Mach, MD, of the cardiology division at University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. Inflammation has been shown to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis.
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20050406/marijuana-chemical-fights-hardened-arteries
Another thing to look into is supplemental vitamin D and K, specifically, D3 and K2. D (“the sunshine vitamin”) tends to be especially low in individuals in more northern lattitudes, particularly during winter months. And guess what, even in the summer, if we’re outside, that “protective” sunscreen people put on screens out UV-B, which is what we need to produce D (which our body stores in the liver, until needed). Vitamin K2 is what directs calcium into our bones, and without it, the calcium is free to attach to arterial walls. As we age, our need for these extremely important vitamins (as well as A, C, and E) increase.
I have an allergy to doctors myself. I don’t even have one, and I turned 60 this year. My ideal doctor if I decided to find one, would be someone versed in alternative therapies in addition to conventional ones (which I consider last resort).
Bruce Cobb says:
November 12, 2013 at 7:06 am
Glad to see a mention of K2, which is still somewhat unknown as an important co-factor for the cholecalciferol-calcidiol-calcitriol system. Vitamin K2 is not the same as the familiar vitamin K. It seems to be very important, and is the “Activator X” discovered by Weston Price in the 1930s. There is a good recent book on K2 by the Canadian naturopath Kate Rheaume-Bleue. Here is a link to the current 95 reader reviews, nearly all very positive —
http://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-K2-Calcium-Paradox-Little-Known-ebook/product-reviews/B00D5TSMAS/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Dr. Cannell’s website for D3, vitamindcouncil, has been mentioned. There is also an extensive (4408 pages) website by the diligent Henry Lahore:
http://www.vitamindwiki.com/VitaminDWiki
As for an ‘ideal’ doctor that combines conventional medicine with nutrition, etc, one might mention books by Dan Purser, which are available on Amazon. Dr. Purser mentions that two free e-books by Jeff Dach, MD, are available on-line:
http://www.drdach.com/Dr_Dach_Books.html
Best wishes for a good recovery. I enjoy reading your life’s adventures. I wish that you may have only positive ones.
I’ll add my voice to the people warning you about statins and the mainstream view of heart disease. Do not EVER take statins: http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2013/11/04/statins-blasted-on-aussie-tv/
Want to avoid heart disease / artery plaque ? Replace plant oils with healthy saturated fats: the omega-6 in the former turns inflammatory in your veins and boosts plaque formation, while the latter has no such “feature”.
Another suggestion, from (my own favourite cardiologist) Dr William Davis, is to avoid eating modern wheat in any form: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/11/a-grain-eaters-cholesterol-panel/
I see someone praised Colin Campbell higher up in the comments… Please note that “The China Study” is bad science rife with cherry-picking and heavy bias, motivated by militant vegetarianism. See this rigorous statistical review of the raw data that shows how the conclusions that Campbell drew are NOT supported by the numbers he cited: http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/
Best Wishes, Willis.
Thank God your required surgical process was completed before Obamacare squads were involved. You are set for another 20 years.
Willis Eschenbach does have mysterious ways his wonders to perform, not only in his writing but in what he lets us know about his life and mind. And he inadvertently turned WattsUp into a medical blog, of sorts. Great! Taught me a lot about my body’s arteries, yet unexplored and in good shape for all I know. But I’ll have some alpine quack take a dekko of them now.
My best wishes for Willis who deserves, and will shortly regain, all the health and stamina that Mother Nature holds in stock for able seamen. Including his never-ending curiosity that holds me spellbound, even from a distance. Curiosity, as all of us know, only kills the cat.
To Willis, with love: greetings from a Tyrolean mountain gently kissed by billions of early snowflakes no doubt owed to AGW. 🙂 They’re blowing kisses to him, too!
While it seems likely that American eating habits have a lot to do with their diseases of middle age and later, especially compared to other parts of the world, I am skeptical about many of the claims made above about the evils of ‘carbs’ and of wheat in particular. Most of humanity, since the Neolithic, have lived on cereal grains (wheat, millet, barley, maize, etc., and especially rice) and most still do. Most of humanity do not suffer from obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. So I suspect there is something lacking in the ‘evil carbs’ hypothesis, and maybe something present that is not science: fad-following.
/Mr Lynn