Cardio test
 

I go next Tuesday for a nuclear stress test. I asked the doc why not just do a treadmill test and he said ”oh no, not you”
My RCA is 100% blocked but I grew collaterals for a diy bypass.
He said I could exercise but not push it until after the test.
I am assuming he is concerned my heart might demand more oxygenated blood than my artery can deliver and cause a heart attack.
So far my heart itself is good. Ecg shows I never had a heart attack.
After the test he will decide if he will try opening the artery for a stent, doing a bypass or leaving it as is. If the collaterals can deliver enough oxygenated blood to avoid problems I am sure he will leave it as is and monitor it.
I am hoping to hear that I can push it. Just doing 6 miles at a time is boring.

When I had clogged artery issues, back before the double bypass surgery, I got stents. I had and have good insurance. The hospital bill for one or two stents was IIRC $60K-70K, which seemed nuts to me. It's just an hour in an OR with a doc and about 5 specialized nurses. Anyway, it worked and I paid ~$500. They went in through my right wrist artery, so recovery was no big deal. I wound up with three stents, 2 at one time, and a single at another. I was able to push it all I wanted after the stents. I think you'd feel discomfort in your heart if you pushed it so hard that your heart muscle was in danger. That said, the heart's muscle cells are special - they can handle a lower oxygen environment than any other muscle cells in your body. There's a reason for that.

They might not be able to stent a 100% blocked artery: you'd have to ask. My stents went into partially blocked arteries. There are 3 types of cardiologists: plumbers, electricians, and general contractors, sometimes called carpenters. They're all quite specialized as each one of those areas is pretty tricky and takes a lot of practice. A stent is pretty simple, in and out the same afternoon. A bypass is a whole 'nother thing. I had a bypass in April and I'm still recovering my strength. It was pretty bad for about 2 months, and I was the fastest at recovery this doc had ever seen and he's done thousands of bypasses. Not a trivial matter. That said, the bypass is more permanent. Those old arteries can keep accumulating blockages.

My wife manages the hospital surgery dept. and hand picked my dr and any surgical team needed.
In the past few months I have eliminated red meat, processed neat like ham, cheese and sausage. My ldl was 77 but doc wants it under 50 so I am taking a statin too.
I really miss bbq, sausage and cheese but I like smoked turkey and chicken and salad. I eat fruit and veggies.
I’m tryin.

Yes. they can open a 100% blocked artery. I had one. They actually had to place 2 stents. One to open the blockage and one to reinforce an area that started to tear as my heart tried to pump through the blockage. This was 40 years ago. That heart attack resulted in some heart muscle damage. I was off work for 3 months and my cardiologist really didn't me going back for at least a year. It set me back at least a year or more and resulted in falling out of biking for many years.
Getting a nuclear stress test is very strange the first time. Your heart starts beating fast and you start breathing fast and you're just sitting there. My cardiologist says it is actually more acurate then the treadmill.

I've been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for over 50 years. Still got clogged arteries. Couldn't take a statin though. Had bad reactions. A lot of it must be genetic.

And good on you and your wife. Great team.

I tried a different statin years ago with bad side effects like muscle aches.
The current one is a rosuvastatin and so far no side effects. Or if there are any I don’t notice them over my normal aches and pains. 😆

That's one I didn't try! I've been using Repatha, an injectable, once every 2 weeks, for a few years now. Works really well.

That would be my next step.
It kills me that an ldl of 77 isn’t low enough.

I know nothing about this stuff (haven't ever had to take any meds long term), but from a quick search, don't you mean that an ldl of 77 isn't high enough?

Hdl should be high but within range.
Ldl is the bad cholesterol and should be low. Normally they want it under 100 but since I already have blockage they want it under 50.

Since we seem to be comparing notes on statins. This is my experience.

I've been using Simvastatin for a couple years with no bad side effects. And it seemed to have dropped my cholesterol and triglycerides into the lower end of the normal range. I might say that I feel a little fatigue occasionally, but not overly. And it might be the omeprazole I take for GERD that is the cause of that too. I took Pravastatin for about a year prior, and it seemed about the same for the side effects, but maybe not quite as good a result for what it's intended to do. The little bit of tiredness or fatigue isn't a factor for any of the times I'm cycling. Just when I'm sitting around with nothing better to do.

I miss being able to eat grapefruit. And pravastatin is okay with grapefruit. Simvastatin that I take currently is not. So I might ask if they will put me back on that. Unless they are willing to let me try none at all.

I just double checked but I can eat grapefruit with my Rosuvastatin. There are no known interactions.
I used to drink grapefruit juice. I need to get some.

Eggs and dairy are on somebody's healthy heart diet and claimed to decrease the likelihood of clogged arteries?

Beats me. We go through a good bit of eggs and milk, eggs from free range chickens, not just any ordinary eggs, organic milk, too. My wife's arteries seem just fine. been together 53 years. You just can't win it all.

Nobody gets out of life alive. I just want to try to stay as healthy and alive as I can.

G-d Speed for good outcome and good health.

There is a guy in my rehab group who had 4 bypasses 28 years ago. They eventually clogged, so he got stents.

I was wondering if that ever happened. Yup. I had a double bypass in April, but I'm 80, I guess there's a good chance I'll pass before I'll need stents. I can't eat any better than I've done.

My dr said I need to lower cholesterol even though I’m in the normal range.
He said that this artery being blocked shows other arteries or veins may be probe to blockage.

I did a quick search r.e. your situation and wish you the best in getting your LDL down to where your Dr. is happy.

Probably so. They have imaging that can see arterial blockage. I saw an image of mine. Don't know what it's called. I've been eating a very clean diet for over 50 years. I think a lot of this sort of thing is genetic. Some of my genetics is good, other things not so much. I'm actually a crappy athlete, but I just love doing stuff. It's all over the place. I try to take advantage of the good and ignore the bad.

I don’t know why I was worried. I didn’t really notice when they injected whatever they used to speed my heart rate. I didn’t feel like my pulse was fast and my breathing never sped up. It was boring.
I will find out the results tomorrow morning.

The last lipid panel showed my ldl was 77. He wants it under 55.
That was 3 months ago. I have changed my diet since then and take my statin in the evening- when I don’t forget.
I will have another lipid panel tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day!

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW :thumb::thumb:

The results are better than I hoped.
My heart is very good. It responded perfectly to yhe stress test.
The collaterals are carrying enough blood to my heart so they don’t need to try to open the RCA or do a bypass.
I have no restrictions. If I exert a lot and need to stop for a breather that is all I need. He said I was in no danger of having a heart attack even with heavy exertion.
I guess it’s time to start attacking the climbs.
He said I would never be able to get back to how I was but he also said I was in much better shape than his other patients.