The Widowmaker

It has been a long time since my last post.  I usually don't post just anything.  I wait for a life change or something that really gets my attention.  Things like a heart attack or a new grandson.

Well, I have had both.  In December of 2013, I felt a tightness in my chest and something told me it was not normal.   I waited for my wife to come home and I told her to take me to the hospital.  My wife is a very smart lady and gave me about six aspirins before we left the trailer.

The usual argument took place in the car as to whether I needed to go to the emergency room or just to a local MediQuick.  Melissa won the argument and took me to the ER.   They ran the usual tests (EKG, etc.) and did not find anything wrong.  However, we have some pretty smart doctors in Texas and they also ran some blood tests that indicated I had a heart attack or I am about to have one.

I got my first ride in an ambulance that same day and arrived at the hospital that afternoon.   I was not in pain and did not have what I thought were the usual symptoms.  I guess I was just in denial.  The next morning, three very serious looking doctors came to visit me and told me they were going to take me to surgery to do an angioplasty.   Well, I was new in town and I had no knowledge of this hospital or these doctors.   I balked and told them I needed to have some time to make a decision.

One of my concerns was my insurance was going to run out at the end of the month and I didn't know how much these things cost.   The other question was "What the heck is an angioplasty?"   A very nice nurse brought me some information and my darling wife, Melissa, helped me to make my decision.  I learned that an angioplasty involves a procedure that allows the doctor to place a fiber optic tube in my arm and travel all the way up to my heart.  It is considered the "gold standard" for finding out if you have any artery or heart problems. 

The procedure is done while you lay naked on a cold table and watch five or six people operate "joy sticks" and monitors which record the whole process.  Although I had a valium, I was awake the whole time and found the level of skill and communication involved fascinating.   The doctors found a major artery called an LAD was 98% blocked and decided to do the angioplasty.  Melissa got to come into the operating room and see the blockage.

Wilkapedia says "Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening narrowed or obstructed arteries. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire is passed into the narrowed or blocked arteries and then inflated to a fixed size. The balloon forces expansion of the inner plaque deposits and the surrounding muscular wall, opening up the blood vessel for improved flow, and the balloon is then deflated and withdrawn. A stent may or may not be inserted at the time of ballooning to ensure the vessel remains open."

The "LAD" or left anterior descending artery supplies about 50% of the blood to the heart.  Because the LAD provides much of the bloodflow for the left ventricle, which in turn provides much of the propulsive force for ejecting oxygenated blood to the circulation system via the aorta, blockage of this artery is particularly associated with death. In the medical community heart attacks associated with this blood vessel are commonly called "the Widowmaker."

So I considered myself a lucky man for not making Melissa a widow.  After the procedure, I went home the next day and my energy level increased 100%.  I no longer needed to take naps in the middle of the day and I wasn't tired all the time.   I felt great.   I went to classes called "Cardiac Rehab" for a couple of weeks and they monitored my heart while I exercised.   They also gave me a lot of information on how to watch what I eat and how to get enough exercise.

I want to encourage all of you who may be heading for a heart attack to take the warning signs seriously.  If I had waited one more day, I could have died.   Please err on the side of caution and go to the Emergency Room if you have any tightness in your chest or even if it just feels like indigestion.  Your body will tell you something is wrong.   Don't wait for severe pain or vomiting or some other symptom.   Just go and have it checked out.