Angiograms Are Never Fun

Yesterday especially so. If you have never had the pleasure:  they cut a hole in your artery (traditionally the femoral artery at your groin) then snake a catheter to the heart, release xz

-ray contrast media into your terrified cardiac arteries (who are you?  What are you dropping here?). Then they use a fluoroscope to see which arteries are occluded.

Yesterday, my cardiologist discovered one of the arteries that was stented last year was partly occluded again. Ordinarily, a cardiologist would clear the artery and put in another stent.   In 2014 led to a stroke as debris flies away to the brain.  I think my cardiologist decided to not take that risk since I will be having open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve soon.  While they are under the hood, so to speak, they will do a bypass on that artery.

That valve replacement is a long-dreaded, long-needed surgery with about a 3% post-28 days mortality rate in my age range.  While some elderly people at church have reported 5 days in hospital and three weeks recovery, my cardiologist says six weeks recovery is more typical so I guess I will not be teaching in the fall. This is a disappointment but if I can get back the endurance I had after my 2013 valve replacement,  the pain and risk is worth it.

Every time I have an angiogram, it is a bit different.   I was only out for parts of th3 procedure.   He used a local anesthetic while cutting open access to the femoral artery and he was cutting through scar tissue and yes, it hurt.   Without thr hypnotic sedative I would have been screaming instead of grimacing. Afterwards,  I had to spend six hours lying flat while pressure cuffs squeezed the arteries until they repaired enough to stop producing geysers of blood and yes that described it when the nurse reduced pressure too quickly at my risk.  At least open heart does not involve catheters. 

The stent installed last year was collapsed: 95% occluded.  Do these have a warranty?