On the 28th of this month, I will be having a heart catherization procedure to further explore the results of my nuclear stress test that indicated my LAD was displaying a limitation of air flow... however, while there was an abnormal reading, I was able to achieve my target hearf rate for my age... which typically does not happen if there is a restriction of air flow especially inside the LAD... so, this procedure will provide results that will confirm either there is a problem or there is not or the problem does not warrant anything to be done about it at this time...
In other words:
- do nothing
- insert more stents
- have a bypass
Now... depending upon the result... I will make two different decisions... either stay with UT Medical Center - Cardiology or asked to be referred to Vanderbilt Cardiology. And, my reasoning? I believe Vanderbilt has more experienced cardia surgeons. For example, UT has only been putting in stents for the last 5 years and I just have the mentality that experience makes for a better surgeon, espeecially when one is dealing with the heart.
Twelve years ago when I had my 5 stents put in at NYC Presbyterian Hospital, I knew that stents were more often than not a temporary fix... more than likely I would end up having a bypass at sometime down the road... maybe now is that time... or maybe not...
What I do know is that bypass surgery is commonplace and that it takes a good 12-18 months before the bypass patient is back to normal. And, while I am still fairly young, my recovery will be a llittle longer that it might have been 12 years ago and it will be even longer if I get to wait another 12 years...
