As we mature in life we will come across many surprises regarding our health. I didn't find out that I had lung and heart disease until my early 70's. However, I would have never found out about the critical state of my heart, had I not had an unrelated illness that sent me to the hospital.
Last February 2017, I came down with a severe infection that put me in the hospital for three consecutive days, including a full month of misery at home. I was suffering from severe chills and muscle pains throughout my body. The cause was undetermined after many lab exams, x-rays, and a full cat scan taken of the body.
Three months later I got pneumonia, due mainly to a body weakened by the infection. In late July, I was called by my Primary Care doctor to visit her and go over some medical information.
I went to see her, and she gave me the results of the cat scan taken in February at the hospital. She said, "It's confirmed that you don't have cancer, but it shows extensive calcium deposits in the heart arteries." She recommended that I see a cardiologist as soon as possible.
In early August, I visited a cardiologist associated with Emory Hospital in Atlanta. He went over the same report and decided to schedule a stress test and a cat scan, but for the heart area only.
It was one disaster after another. I already acim from severe asthma that I control with Dulera (an asthma medication). So, facing the worst news of my life, I did the stress test, and of course, I flunked it! A few days later I went for the cat scan of the heart, and that confirmed my deepest fears.
When I saw my cardiologist during my second visit to review the stress test and the results of the new cat scan, worse news I couldn't possibly have received. The doctor gave me some options to choose, but everything led to the operating table.
I opted to submit for a "cardiac catheterization of the heart procedure." I was told that this procedure would determine the extent of the damage caused by the calcification of the arteries. The surgeon would then decide whether to repair the arteries with stents, right there and then, or arrange for a bypass operation a week or so later.
Neither of the two options appeared appealing. But a bypass operation would have placed me in a very difficult situation. I found that the recovery period was anywhere from a month to two months in bed, including a full week at the hospital.
I live alone, and I just couldn't see myself having to depend on my adult children to help me. Two are working parents with children of their own, and the younger one is fully occupied in building his law career. However, the pressure was on me by my family to do something about my "critical condition". My cardiologist laid the plan clearly, and unless I did something about it soon I could have a heart attack, anytime!
The cat scan to the heart, which was done on August 18, had the following results typed by the doctor who analyzed it:
The total score of 2,127 (the points scored after adding up all four arteries) means that 94% of asymptomatic patients of the similar age (I am 72 yrs. old) and gender have less calcified coronary arterial plaque than this patient. The calcium score corresponds to extensive atherosclerotic plaque.