Skip to main content

And the news just keeps getting worse

Finished reviewing copies of my angiogram and treadmill reports, and not only do I have a
90% stenosis of the distal left main coronary artery

I also have a
95% ostial stenosis of the circumflex artery systolic function

The latter being the reason the cardiologist couldn't stent, since according to a friend,
The ostium is the opening of the artery to the aorta. You can't stent through that [because] half the stent would be lying free in the aorta.

Whether they could have stented the left main artery is pretty much irrelevant since a bypass would be required regardless. It's just now it will be double bypass surgery.

Yet it doesn't end there. During my treadmill it appears I experienced an ischemia
abnormal ST depression seen immediate recovery 0.9 slow sIow-upstoping V3, 4.5mm horizontal in V4-V5, and 1.9mm V6->; ST depression seen during exaggerated HTN reading of 246/106

Not sure that makes a lot of sense to me, but in simpler terms, this was evidence the heart wasn't getting enough blood. So if I keep exercising, there is a high probability I could end up having a heart attack, sooner than later.

But, at least it wasn't all bad news. My oncologist did provide (what I thought was) a favorable prognosis for my lymphoma, which hopefully will help sway the decision, by the VA, in my favor.

So now it's just a waiting game for the doctors at the VA in West LA to make a decision. I just hope it's favorable, and comes soon. I'm not sure I can take any more bad news.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The results are in

And I am iron deficient, big time. [Which would account for my low hemoglobin] Test Result Ref Range IRON 30 59-158 mcg/dL TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 231 250-420 mcg/dL IRON SAT 13 20-50 % My Ferritin levels were good, but that could be because Ferritin is also an "acute phase reactant", that is sometimes increased with acute or chronic disease. Folate and B12 levels were also within the normal range. The only problem now is determining what is causing the iron deficiency, which in the case of men, is [very] rare. My oncologist has given me a Globin Fecal test to perform, and has scheduled me for a consultation with a colorectal surgeon to discuss performing a colonoscopy, which could be problematic because of my large spleen. In the mean time, I've decided to start taking an iron supplement, it's only the quantity that is causing me some consternation. I've been told by a very knowledgeable person that to overcome an iron deficiency, I need to be taking 300 mg o...
5 comments
Read more

This is just one of those days

It's one of those days you just want to sit around the house and do absolutely nothing, or watch some movies you have recorded. It might even be a good day to read a book, if you were so inclined, which I am not. As you should be able to see from the view out my bedroom window, it is raining outside. The rain started last night, and hasn't let up since. I can't complain too much though, as this is the rainy season, and we do need the rain. Plus Monday's are typically my day off from exercise, so I will surprise everyone, and not complain. I just feel sorry for anyone who might be visiting from, say Argentina, like a friend of mine (fellow MCLer), who happens to be in Cambria today. He might be a little disappointed. Fortunately the rest of the week, when he will be in LA, will be nice, and the real intent of his trip was to visit his son in Tahoe, who works at one of the ski resorts, and ski, so I know he's not complaining too much either. This weather will actually...
6 comments
Read more

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...
11 comments
Read more