Introducing myself

Diseases & Conditions Heart & Cardiovascular Disease
1
Hi everyone.  I've been doing a little browsing in this forum and thought that I should introduce myself and give a little background so that I can ask you guys some questions:)
 
My husband, after having a complete, routine physical (and getting a clean bill of health) had some chest pain while mowing the yard.  It would stop when he rested and return when he would exert himself again.  After talking to his sister-in-law, who is a nurse, we thought perhaps that it was exercise induced asthma and that maybe an inhaler was needed.  He made a Dr.'s appt.  (they were much more anxious for him to come in then he was!)  They ran a stress test and he failed it within the first two minutes.  The Dr. said that it was possible that there was a blockage and they started him on some meds and scheduled a cardio cath.  Being only 41, having a clean bill of health only weeks before, and no symptoms prior to this, we thought that even if they were to find a blockage, it would have to be very minimal.  What they found is that his right coronary artery is 100% blocked, is left circumflex artery is 100% blocked is left anterior descending artery (?) is ok and he has a ramus artery (not everyone has this artery from what I understand).  The ramus artery was 90% blocked.  They were able to put a drug eluting stent into the ramus, but they were not able to treat the other two blocked arteries.  The right coronary artery developed some collateral blood supply on its own.  For now they have ruled out bypass because they say that he would not get great benefit from it at this point and since he is still so young, they say if they do it now they would likely have to repeat it when he got older.  After the cardio cath. he was on a 10lb weight limit as far as lifting, dragging, pulling, pushing, etc...that of course was so that he could heal from where they opened up the artery.  He is self employed and does a fair amount of lifting, but of course we could make alternate arrangements for a few days.  We went for a follow up check up and they say the weight restriction is for life.  That seems so unrealistic.  I know that if it means living vs dying, that's what he has to do.  Right now I think we are all reeling from the huge lifestyle changes we are making. 
 
Has anyone had similar experiences with restrictions on lifting?  If so, did the dr. ever revise or change the restrictions?  I'm also wondering about experience with insurance.  He has a term life insurance policy that will be expiring before too long.  How hard will it be to get life insurance after this? Being self employed, we pay for our own medical insurance.  I'm scared that at renewal time they will drop him or raise the rates so high that we won't be able to afford it.  I know I have lots of other questions and just can't think of them all now. 
 
 
2
Hi Kristin, and Welcome to HealingWell!! tongue
 
I really am glad that you've found us!
 
Did your husband have a heart attack? If he did?  How much damage did he sustain?  From the way it sounds...they tried and are continuing to try their best to prevent that from happening, or happening again. 
 
I've only had weight restrictions put on me after my stents were placed, after a heart cath, and after my bypass - and these were temporary, so I am not sure why they placed this restriction on him.  This is something that he should ask his Dr. more indepth about! 
 
You did mention he had blocked arteries that they did not stent, due to the fact that nature's bypasses had already started - this is wonderful! 
 
Re the insurance question...this is out of my area completely, Kristin, but perhaps others with some knowledge will come along and help answer this.
 
I am not a Dr., nor is anyone else on this site, so please make sure that you do ask his Dr. about that weight lifting restriction!
 
Best Wishes to you both!!
 
Hugs, Teri tongue

"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

"I Hope You Dance".............LeeAnn Womack
 
Please allow HealingWell to continue helping others by donating:
http://www.healingwell.com/donate/

3
Thank you for such a warm welcome!

My husband did not have a heart attack, thankfully. The blocked arteries that they didn't stent was because they were unable to get a stent in. The collateral blood flow that the one blocked artery developed is not enough to support the heart during times of exertion. That's why the 10lb weight limit. I just wonder if that will ever get any better. Unfortunately, right now, my husband is not feeling very much improvement from the stent. He thinks they will have to end up doing bypass, but I'm hoping it's just a matter of his body getting used to all of the meds that they have him on. He seems to be getting dizzy and tired a lot, but I think that can be a side affect of the medications.

I'm so glad that I found this site! It sure is a wealth of information.

Kristin
4

Hi Kristin, tongue

Is your husband's blood pressure (BP) low? 
Do you have an at home BP monitor?  I ask because,
I have had dizziness in the past myself from low BP,
medications (med.'s) can cause this...If the BP gets
too low, then his Dr.'s need to be aware of this so
they can monitor his med.'s closer - perhaps just
putting him on lower doses.  He may need time to
adjust to the med.'s.  I don't know the answers,
but I think the first step would be to call his Dr.
about this and then keep an eye on his BP, so it
does not fall too low.  Tell him he's not alone,
and he's welcome to join us, too!!

Well, that certainly makes sense that they put
the 10 lb. weight limit on him! yeah

I found a couple of sites for you and your husband
to look at that will provide more info so that you
both understand what is going on and are able to
speak to his Dr. with more knowledge of the situation. 
Trust me, it does help to be part of the health team!!http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/disease/cad/cad_arteries.htm
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/3400/3450.asp?index=11621http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HB00032
I hope this helps, Kristin!!  I also know how hard this
is on you - I've been through this with both of my
parents, and I've watched my own husband have
to deal with this...so remember to take care of You!

Best Wishes and Hugs, Teri tongue


"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

"I Hope You Dance".............LeeAnn Womack
 
Please allow HealingWell to continue helping others by donating:
http://www.healingwell.com/donate/

Post Edited (Teri16) : 9/3/2005 3:42:39 PM (GMT-6)

5
Welcome to Healing Well, Kristin. I'm glad you found us and got some information that sounds very helpful. Good luck to you and your husband. Hugs, Kathy

Happy Grandmommy to Amanda, Alayna, Wyatt and Ezekiel

6
Hi Kristin! 
 
I hope you and your husband are doing okay?!
 
Hugs, Teri tongue

"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

"I Hope You Dance".............LeeAnn Womack
 
Please allow HealingWell to continue helping others by donating:
http://www.healingwell.com/donate/

7

Kathy, it's so good to see you on board!! tongue I hope that means you are feeling good?

Love and Hugs, Teri tongue

"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

"I Hope You Dance".............LeeAnn Womack
 
Please allow HealingWell to continue helping others by donating:
http://www.healingwell.com/donate/

8

Hi everyone,

Everything here is still the same except that my husband has developed neck pain.  He called the Cardiologist and they told him to make an appointment with his primary care physician, so off he goes on Monday.  Apparently the Cardio. Dr. doesn't think it is cardiac in nature.  I have to say, it worries me a bit.  The stent does not seem to have done much to help him.  We are taking it day by day though.

Kristin

 

 

9
Good morning, Kristin! :) It's great to see you back again, I was wondering how your husband was getting along. As you probably already know, neck pain can be present in many conditions, along with angina, nervous tension, strain from sleeping the wrong way...to name a few. I really hope he's okay!!

Here's a link to something you might find interesting.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=5BC9D9EA-B51C-442A-84799C5E74121B45&dsection=4

You'll probably have to copy and paste this into your search bar.

Hugs, Teri :)

"Because he is he and I am I."......E. V. Lucas

"I Hope You Dance".............LeeAnn Womack
 
Please allow HealingWell to continue helping others by donating:
http://www.healingwell.com/donate/