sts66 Thanks for the question and your positive work/comments on this board.
What prompted the scan prior to surgery was my annual
heart exam. My cardiologist noticed a 5% reduction in my heart function. He seemed at a loss to explain this and so, he put a stethoscope to each side of my neck and heard a difference. This caused him to have me get an "echogram?", which indicated to him the possibility of a blockage. This in turn caused him to order a more thorough imaging scan which produced evidence of the inescapable truth...….80% blockage in the right carotid and 40% in the left. My cardiologist referred me to a vascular surgeon.
I did not call him. The day that I got the referral my insurance gal came to our house for the annual renewal event. Almost the first thing out of her mouth was the statement that she was feeling very sad because that morning, one of her closest friends had gone under the knife for carotid surgery and died...…
I took this as an omen and decided to put off the call to the vascular surgeon. One year passed and I went for my annual cardiac appointment. My doctor remarked that he had not heard that I had followed through on his referral. I told him of my concerns and he said, "Well, let's see if it has gotten any worse!" And so, another imaging scan...…...this time (one year later) it is 85%.....! All the while I have been feeling just fine...no pains, no fainting, no dizziness, vitals fine, blood pressure fine...….I am 6 foot one and a half....172 lbs.
At this point it doesn't take courage...it takes brains. Anyone can see where this is going.
And so, 6 weeks after the last scan, I find myself in an O.R.
that looks like the control room of the Death Star. The surgeon told me that I was his final operation (he was retiring after my surgery)….he had been doing this operation for decades.
And so, after the operation my surgeon reported that I had had
95% blockage! After going through these things it is hard to NOT develop a belief in God! Someone has decided that there is still need for me to be around!
I am encouraging my family and friends to take a moment to get an imaging scan...…..but for a few moments, I would not be typing this note. Hopefully, someone will read this and be moved to get checked out...…...by the way, my pre-op bad cholesterol was 115.....my trigs were 123...…...I was not a likely candidate for this blockage. After the surgery, the surgeon told me that carotid blockage remains something of a mystery. He went on to talk about "differential flow rates and resulting unpredictable turbulence within the bloodstream".....He congratulated me and retired!
Best to all
G50
AI
