Still Ticking

I know its been two years since my last post. Time flies when you are having fun. I've been taking my medication since 2004 and rarely experience angina. In the past year, my current cardiologist has tried to convince me to get the quintuple coronary artery bypass graft that I was originally told I needed back in 2004 when I took the advice of my second opinion cardiologist and began a medication protocol to control hypertension and assist my body in developing a better microcirculation and more efficient collateral vessels. It's been working.

Every time I see my cardiologist, my ECG and echocardiogram have shown my heart is normal. It would not be if the collateral vessels and microcirculation were not supplying the heart with adequate oxygen. In December I relented to my cardiologist's insistence that I have an angiogram which showed the blockages to my coronary arteries were essentially the same as they were in 2004. She still wanted me to have a five vessel CABG despite having a normal heart.

I told her that if a second opinion from a noninterventional cardiologist decided I needed a CABG, I would get one. Two months ago, I went to Indiana Heart Hospital for that second opinion. The cardiologist had all of my records and gave me a pretty thorough exam. He told me if I could do seven minutes of a cardiac stress test, he would agree with me that my medication regimen is providing adequate treatment of my coronary artery disease.

My current cardiologist gave me a stress test two years ago and I only lasted a little over five minutes at that time. Now my second opinion cardiologist wanted me to do two whole minutes more. Was I up for the challenge?

Tuesday was the big day. To make a long story short, I lasted seven minutes and 31 seconds and only experienced a slight amount of chest tightness at the end of the test that was gone within two minutes of the end of the test. The results were normal. My stress ECG showed no changes from my baseline ECG. The post stress left ventricle was normal in size. There was a normal pattern of perfusion in all myocardial regions. Resting images showed a normal perfusion pattern. Analysis of post exercise quantitative gated SPECT images showed a normal pattern of systolic thickening and normal wall motion in all regions. The post stress ejection fraction was measured at 63%, which is NORMAL.

Finally, my cardiologist's impression of the cardiac stress test: No scar. No ischemia. Normal LV systolic function. The post stress ejection fraction is 63%. NORMAL MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION STUDY.

I was told in 2004 that I would probably have a massive stroke or deadly heart attack within three months if I didn't have a quintuple coronary artery bypass graft. I opted to be treated with medication and now eight years later, I am still ticking.

Dr. Howard H. Wayne, a noninterventional cardiologist, said 95% of all CABGs are unnecessary. I hope that if you or a loved one have been told you need this very traumatic surgery, you will get a second opinion from a noninterventional cardiologist. It could save your life, or at the very least give you years of a higher quality of life than you would have if you had the surgery.

If you would like to discuss my blog or anything about the choices I have made regarding CABG surgery, email me at wordworks2001@yahoo.com.

Beware of Medical Terrorists

More Harm Than Good: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Common Treatments and Procedures by Alan, M.d. Zelicoff

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Four years ago, I began writing a blog (http://wordworks2001.blogspot.... to warn people about the dangers of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. When I read this book, I didn't have to go any further than page two for validation of my blog's premise. Here is an excerpt:



"...Before the 1960s, there was little a doctor could do about coronary artery disease. Patients with angina -- chest pain from coronary blockages -- were simply put to bedrest for several weeks and given aspirin.



"It must have seemed like medicine had taken a quantum leap ahead when the cardiac bypass technique was perfected in the later part of the decade...



"...The initial successes were splashed across newspaper headlines...



"...The truth was that bypass surgery wasn't the cure-all that the medical establishment made it out to be. Simply put the procedure didn't always work well, and it sometimes resulted in a more rapid demise than if nothing had been done at all!



"...Billions of dollars were spent for a procedure that benefited only a fraction of patients who received it, while arguably harming a great number of others.



"...It would take years for the data to show that people ended up with unchanged or shorter life spans from bypass surgery."



The subtitle of this valuable book is What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Common Treatments and Procedures. That is why I began advoctating that patients take control of their health care and insist that they coordinate and compose their medical treatment plan with their physician. In other words - Take Charge of Your Own Body!



Over the years I have begged and pleaded with people to always ALWAYS get a second opinion from a noninvasive cardiologist before being coerced into allowing a cardio-thoracic surgeon crack your chest open and perform a CABG.



The cardiologist who saved me from the surgeon's knife in 2004 started me on a medication regimen that continues to be effective and serves me well today. His name was Howard Wayne and he called cardiologists who were quick to cut "medical terrorists."



Personally, I call doctors who coerce patients and their family members into a traumatic and unneeded surgical procedure CRIMINALS, and I believe they are guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.


View all my reviews.

Non-Interventionalists 1 - Butchers 0

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I heard the health reporter on Channel 6 News announce last night that a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) says angioplasty is not as efficacious as medication in treating chest pain. Well, quite frankly, that's been known by the patients of the late Howard Wayne for many years.

In 2004, a well-known and respected invasive cardiologist in Indianapolis tried to coerce me into receiving a quintuple coronary artery bypass graft to treat my angina. The whole story is reported in this blog so I won't go over it again. If you are interested, just read this blog from the beginning.

What I do want to discuss is the naivity of the Channel 6 health reporter. She thinks this will decrease the number of angioplasties performed by cardiologists as they opt to use medication in their treatment rather than the invasive procedures they now use. WRONG!

That might be true if the motivation of the physician was to treat the patient in the best way possible. Unfortunately, many of these invsive cardiologists are not motivated by treating you right, they are motivated by money. Angioplasty and bypasses make doctors and hospital piles and piles of money. Writing prescriptions does not.

Bottom line, remember what I've been preaching all these years -- if your doctor wants to cut, get a second opinion from a noninterventionalist cardiologist!

Still Kicking

Well, it's been nearly two months since my last entry. I thought I'd better create a posting so you all would know I am still alive and kicking. I am doing very well. I can't remember the last incident of angina pain so I guess the EECP keeps working well after the therapy is over.

I am in the process of preparing to relocate to Sedona, Arizona and hope to have made the move by the end of June at the latest. I will keep you posted on the reason I have moved more than halfway across the country once I get settled in. Those who know me will be in for quite a surprise, I am sure.

Also, look for a change in the subject matter of this blog come the summertime. I started it in 2004 as an effort to alert unsuspecting patients to the unscrupulous practice of putting greed before the patient's welfare. I still believe way too many CABGs are performed in the United States but my life has taken a huge turn that has prompted me to choose one cause over the other. I will still rant about cardiologists who coerce their patient's families into getting unnecessary and expensive surgery. The medical terrorists, as Dr. Howard Wayne referred to them, will get know peace from this quarter.

Take care for now and remember always get a second opinion before allowing them to cut.

Update #5

I continue to be free of angina pain after once again dodging the knife of the cardio-thoracic surgeon. Just to bring you up to date, I once again opted to treat my coronary artery disease medically rather than through bypass surgery. My faith still lies with my former cardiologist, Howard Wayne, who explained angiogenesis and the collateral vessel system to me back in 2004, when I sought a second opinion from him.

Since the addition of Isordil to my medication regimen, my blood pressure fluctuates between 128/72 and 96/55. The lower blood pressures are always obtained in the evening. I would like my BP to become approximately 90/50 at all times when I am at rest. That should control the hypertension I was experiencing when I was under physical or emotional stress.

The good news is that I have not had an angina attack since the one that sent me to the emergency room of the Indiana Heart Hospital last month.

EDTA vs EECP

On another forum that I spend a lot of time on, Cannuck had a comment about EDTA:

Originally Posted by Cannuck Chelation has been used for many decades for a variety of reasons. My wife's Aunt was treated with EDTA for the aftereffects of the concentration camps, as were German citizens from the Ruhr Valley for heavy metal poisoning. I personally know seniors who have done so here for various cardiovascular conditions (most with significant success), and can tell you that the results are VERY short in coming.

I wanted to clarify a comment I previously made regarding EDTA and explain my reason for using EECP as my next step in treating my angina. Here was my reply:

When I said EDTA (Chelation therapy) either oral or IV is controversial, that doesn't mean I disapprove of it. Quite the contrary, I feel it is a choice of treatments that has been effective in treating CAD and some other coronary diseases and despite the fact it hasn't been approved by the FDA for use in such diseases, should be available to patients making informed choices. The reason I am opting for EECP is because I have studied its effects, side effects and contraindications and have talked with patients who have received it. Unlike bypass surgery "victims" and angioplasty (balloon & stent) recipients, none of them had negative reports of their experiences.

Further, angiogenesis and the development of a collateral vessel system to naturally bypass the clogged coronary arteries is a process the body already has started on its own, without the introduction of any drug. Like it or not EDTA is a drug and therefore could have side effects or be harmful. There are reports of unexpected deaths during or following chelation therapy. I have found none associated with EECP. That is not to say EECP recipients haven't died as a result of therapy, there simply are no reports where the therapy caused the deaths, that I have found.

I realize EDTA is a natural enzyme and as such can be sold as a nutritional supplement and I am not opposed to nutritional supplements as long as they are used wisely and in some form of a therapeutic regimen. I personally take the following supplements daily in the strengths and doses indicated:

Organic Flaxseed Oil 1200 mg, three times a day
Borago Seed Oil 1200 mg, three times a day
Omega 3 Fish Oil 1200 mg, three times a day
d-Alpha Tocopheryl (Vitamin E) 400 IU, one time a day
Glucosamine 750 mg Chondroitin 600 mg, twice a day
Folic Acid 800 mcg, one time a day
B-100 Ultra B-Complex, one time a day (Puritan's Pride Brand)
l-Arginine 500mg, one time a day
Super C Complex 1000 mg, three times a day (Puritan's Pride Brand)
Acetyl L-Carnitine 400 mg with Alpha Lipoic Acid 200 mg, one time a day
Natural Selenium 50 mcg, four times a day
Co-Enzyme Q10 100 mg, one time a day
Magnesium Oxide 400 mg, one time daily
Multiple Vitamin, one time daily

I always try to take my supplements with food and I am on a schedule that has me taking something, prescribed medications and supplements every six hours.

Just for the information to folks with CAD and angina, my medical treatment regimen is aimed at not only controlling my blood pressure, but keeping it as low as possible without adverse side effects. I try to keep mine around 90/50 when I am at rest. It usually ranges between 80/40 to 100/50. When my BP is a normal 120/70 or more, during stress or increased physical activity, I often experience symptoms of angina. Here are the prescribed drugs I am on daily

Aspirin 325 mg in the morning
Fosinopril
Metopropolol Tartrate
Isosorbide Mn
Nitroglycerine (as needed)

No dosages are provided because you need to consult a physician before starting this protocol. Suffice it to say, some of the dosages are higher than usually recommended. The Isosorbide and Nitroglycerine were recently added to my regimen and Modiuretic was discontinued due to an abnormal increase in blood tests that indicated my liver was being adversely affected. I also take prescription medication for Parkinson's disease.

I cannot emphasize enough the need to be under the care of a medical doctor who you trust and have a good working relationship with. I encourage anyone who has CAD or angina or has a loved one who does to read my blog from beginning to end and to get a second opinion from a non-invasive cardiologist before being coerced into bypass surgery they do not need.

Number of CABG's to Increase

Three years and three months ago, I was told by a cardiologist in Indianapolis, that if I didn't undergo a quintuple coronary artery bypass within a few days, I stood a good chance of having a stroke, heart attack or being dead within three months. My heart is still ticking, it is still receiving vital oxygen and I didn't have to have my chest cracked open. I was put on a course of medication which I continue on today. If you want to know the whole story and truth, start reading this blog from the first post until the last. AND BEWARE OF NEW RELEASES LIKE THIS ONE.

New Trend Reverses Almost 5 Years of Decline

WALTHAM, Mass., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennium Research Group (MRG)has conducted a detailed analysis of the cardiac surgery market in its US
Markets for Cardiac Surgery 2007 report. The analysis reveals that there will be an increase in the number of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
procedures in 2007.

This marks the first time in almost 5 years that CABG procedures have increased over the previous year. The historic decline was due to the adoption and
increased popularity of less invasive methods of coronary revascularization.

These less invasive procedures have had their safety called into question over the past year.

Safety concerns of alternative procedures, combined with the increasing incidence of heart disease and demographic pressures will result in uncharacteristic CABG
procedure growth of 0.9% during 2007 and will help to support nominal growth in overall CABG procedures through 2011.

Clinical data published in late-2006 questioned the efficacy of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and particularly drug-elutingstent (DES) procedures
for the treatment of certain forms of complex coronary artery disease (CAD).

Published data reported increased risk of late-stent thrombosis associated with DES implants up to a year post-operatively in patients with complex CAD including
multi-vessel or left main artery disease.

"The increase in CABG procedures in 2007 reverses a long-standingdecline," says Nadia Lachowsky, Senior Analyst at MRG. "CABG is a proven choice for many physicians
and patients. It will likely remain an importantoption for complex CAD despite technological advances in minimally invasive
treatments.

Besides CABG devices, the US Markets for Cardiac Surgery 2007 report covers markets for heart valve devices, endoscopic vessel harvesting
devices, anastomosis assist devices, cardiac assist devices (ventricular assist devices, intra-aortic balloon pump catheters, total artificial heart
devices), surgical ablation probes, and transmyocardial revascularization devices.

What this report fails to tell you is upwards to 95% of all CABG's performed in the USA are UNNECESSARY.

It fails to tell you that the CABG is one of the biggest money makers for hospitals, cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons.

It fails to tell you the most prudent initial treatment of conditions like angina and CAD is medication.

BEWARE OF MEDICAL TERRORISTS WHO LIE AND TELL HALF TRUTHS TO SEPARATE YOU FROM YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY AND PERFORM UNNECESSARY SURGERY ON YOU.

ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION FROM A NONINVASIVE CARDIOLOGIST.