Back on Track

Monday October 12th dad finally went in for the stress test. It sounds like his rash isn't totally gone, but it's not acute anymore.

Typically, a stress test is where they put you on a tread mill and run you till you drop. Well, I'm sure it's more scientific than that, but that's the common (and my) perception. This is not such a good idea for the aged and infirm, so when the Portsmouth NH hospital said they wanted to do a stress test on my mom when when she fainted dead away on Star Island in 2005(?), I was alarmed.

It turns out, we observed, that (in the words of Wikipedia), "patients ... who are unable to walk safely can be 'exercised' pharmacologically instead of by walking on a treadmill. The patient will typically receive a ... vasodilator or [a drug] which stimulates heart rate and pumping force while a cardiologist or physician assistant reviews the ECG tracing and checks blood pressure periodically."

This is the kind of test they gave mom back in 2005, and the kind they elected to give dad on Monday the 12th. We were a little surprised at the results. Although I wasn't on the phone with the doctor who gave dad the results, I gather the conversation went along the lines of, "So when did you have your heart attack?" To which my dad responded, "What heart attack?"

I knew that heart attacks leave chemical markers in the blood, but apparently they also leave scar tissue on the heart (which isn't to surprising upon reflection, since some heart muscle probably dies from lack of oxygen during the event). From the changes they saw in dad's heart, they concluded that he had had a heart attack.

There was some base-line data to work from, from a 1997 (or was it 1992 - details to be confirmed) stress test this same cardiologist had done on dad. Since then, dad did have a fairly major stroke the effects of which wore off almost completely after a couple of months. This led us to believe that it had been a minor event, but I recall the Dr. saying that though it had been largely asymptomatic, it had been relatively big.

Dad's characterization of his surgeon's attitude towards this was, "Well, that's all very interesting but we're going to do this anyway." As in fact we are.

So at this point, the EVAR stent procedure is scheduled for Monday, October 19th. Some time later this week there will be a conversation with the surgeon, at which I hope to be present by telephone so that I can ask my questions about the bypass.

Travel plans to be determined.