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.

Belated Update

It's been several months since I last posted here. I guess that's a sign that all is going well. It was, at least with my coronary artery disease and angina.

However, about two weeks ago I began having some strange sensations in my chest during the evening while I am simply relaxing or reading a book. These feelings are not pain, they aren't even discomfort. It's like the feeling a teenage boy gets when he falls in love for the first time and I haven't even dated lately.

I noticed my BP, which usually is around 90/50 during this hour was in the 140's over 80's and my pulse thast is usually in the high 50's or low 60's was in the 70's to low 80s. For some, my BP medications have stopped working as well as they had before.

So, I am going to see a cardiologist later this morning. I will let you know how it turns out.

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.

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.