Member Profiles
JOHN
At age 46, I had no idea what my risk factors
really were. I did not know that my mother's family had a high incidence of
heart disease, and only one of my four older brothers had heart disease. My
blood pressure was low, but my cholestorol was 225, although I don't know my LDL
at the time. I was in a stressful job, travelling frequently.
I had series of minor chest pains in the week before my MI, but nothing
significant. I later found I suffer from Silent Ischemia.
On February 21, 2002, I had a major MI at my desk at work. I experienced profuse
sweating and dizziness but no real chest pain. An associate drove me to a nearby
hospital, where I was diagnosed with a severe blockage in my Left Anterior
Descending artery. I was helicoptered to Saint Joseph's north of Atlanta.
I was given an emergency angioplasty with a non-medicated stent implant.
Apparently there was enough damage to warrant an Aortic Balloon Pump to assist
my Left Ventricular Function. After several days, I was released and spent 12
weeks in recovery at home.
In October of the same year, my stent occluded and I underwent another
angioplasty with brachytherapy, a radiation treatment applied to the stent to
prevent restenosis.
Since that time, my health has been good. I just celebrated my 50th birthday and
have had no recurrences. However, I remain concerned about restenosis, as well
as the reported increased risk of blood clots and stroke from brachytherapy.
Back
Join JOHN and the rest of us in the Heart Disease Forum:
