1. After consulting with a cardiologist, I had a cardiac catheterization, an invasive procedure where a catheter was inserted in the large artery on the right side of my groin and “floated” to a position above my heart. During the procedure one artery (mid-left anterior descending--the "main" one) was measured to be 90-95% constricted, and a stainless steel stent was placed to re-open the artery.
2. After the catheterization, my femoral artery bled, and two nurses took turns leaning on my groin for 30 minutes. I have never before felt such excruciating pain for such a prolonged time. With genuine concern, the nurses repeatedly apologized, while pushing with all their weight. My organs felt crushed and I imagined my pelvis breaking. (I may take issue the next time a women tells me that I don’t know what the pain of childbirth feels like.)
3. After the bleeding stopped, I lay flat and still for five hours, after which a doctor examined the wound and praised the nurses. The next day, an ultrasound showed the femoral artery was fine and I just had a big honking hematoma, which I was told was a fortunate outcome.
4. Repeated blood tests showed that I did not have a heart attack, not even a small one. In fact, I learned that my heart muscle was strong, my arteries (except the one obvious exception) were large and “pristine,” and after a couple weeks of recovery, my heart will be at 100%. In a year, artery tissue will grow around the stent, completely encasing it.
5. Anti-climactically, the post-surgery EKG was the same as the pre-surgery EKG. I questioned the doctor who signed my hospital discharge: he said this was the reason cardiology is so tricky and I shouldn't really be worried about the EKG results.
6. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday: I feel fine, aside from a tender leg and groin in several pretty shades of violet, which makes me slow and purposeful.

Posted by David | Permalink