This post was published in the Wilson Times April 17.
The pinhead-size dot on my
right wrist is hardly noticeable, but it bookmarks a miracle.
That
dot marks the spot where cardiologists inserted a catheter into the artery just
below the skin, then maneuvered that catheter up my arm to my shoulder then into
my chest, where it reached the coronary arteries of my heart. That nearly
unimaginable journey up my arm and into my heart was just the beginning. My
doctor deployed a tiny laser from the catheter and used its concentrated light
to obliterate the plaque that had constricted a coronary artery by more than 90
percent.
He
was not done with these incredible advances in cardiology. He then deployed
from the catheter two stents that were expanded to prop arteries open in two
places. One of the stents, which are expandable mesh cylinders, measured 3 mm
by 28 mm. The second stent was 3 mm by 24 mm. Three millimeters is about the thickness
of a penny and a dime sandwiched together.
When
I awoke from the sedation, the intense, skilled and fast-paced cardiology team
at N.C. Heart and Vascular Hospital was wrapping up the procedure. Just another
day in the heart procedures suite. They were telling me that I had done well
(just by lying there!) and that the procedure was a complete success. “When is
the next 5K?” I asked, part joke, part bravado. “I think there’s one next
weekend,” someone replied, calling my bluff. I had arrived at 7 a.m. to check
in, was out of the procedure suite and back in my room in time for lunch and
was allowed to go home at mid-afternoon.
For
a good 30 years, I had been avoiding that day. I had attempted to beat what
medical people call “family history.” In the long list of factors that
contribute to heart disease (smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes,
etc.), the one factor you can’t do anything about is family history. You can’t
change your family; you can’t change your genes. Some of us have great
families, but they carry bad heart genes. In my case, my two older brothers had
heart problems. One had quadruple bypass before age 55. The other died
following surgery to repair a valve and bypass some clogged arteries. My father
was never diagnosed with heart disease, but his death certificate (at age 88)
gave the cause of death as “congestive heart failure.” His father, who lived to
age 78, died of a heart attack in 1955 without ever being diagnosed with heart
disease.
This
history encouraged me to do whatever I could to avoid heart disease. I watched
my weight; I followed a very active lifestyle; I made it a point to always use
the stairs, not an elevator; I tried to avoid stressful situations; and I tried
to limit artery-clogging foods in my diet. I had rarely eaten red meat in the
past 20 years.
Nevertheless,
I found myself getting slower and slower in my running times. More recently, I
was getting exhausted and out-of-breath after running only two blocks. After
exercise that I used to breeze through, I became near collapse and had a
burning sensation in my chest. The burning, I convinced myself, indicated a
digestive problem — heartburn — not heart disease.
In
February, my wife and I attended two Heart Month programs that gave me
additional warnings about heart disease factors and symptoms. On a list of
heart attack symptoms passed out at one of those events, I saw “burning in the
chest.”
Uh-oh!
I talked to my regular doctor, and he referred me to a cardiologist. It took a
second referral to find one who was in my insurance network. A few weeks later,
I was on a surgical table in Raleigh.
I have
to thank Dr. Jobe and his team at North Carolina Heart and Vascular Hospital,
and my wife and two daughters (my son kept in touch from a business commitment
he couldn’t skip) who sat through the long wait while my heart was being
repaired. Thanks to all who prayed for my healthy recovery. I got the miracle,
even if it was different from the one you might have envisioned.
In
addition to being amazed at what modern medical science can do, I have learned
a few things from this experience. Even if you don’t have symptoms of heart
problems, do everything you can to reduce your risk, and if you are at risk,
ask your doctor to help you beat the odds. I can recommend a book: “Prevent,
Halt & Reverse Heart Disease” by Joe Piscatella. He spoke at the Vidant’s Heart
Month lunch in Wilson. He was a captivating speaker.
If
you can, get some healthier parents, grandparents and siblings.
Hal Tarleton was an editor of The Wilson Daily Times
for 29 years. Contact him at haltarleton@myglnc.com.
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