My first post...
I stumbled upon this board and I'm really glad I did! My husband just turned 38 years old today. He's not exactly in a "partying" mood, though, since he had a quadruple bypass three weeks ago. Actually, he's doing pretty darned good--considering. It seems that he had very aggressive aterosclerosis due to radiation treatments he received 6 years ago for Hodgekins disease. The funny (not really)thing is, no one told him that radiation could cause rapid artery clogging. No one ever checked his heart until it was almost too late. He experienced very little pain, had only slightly high cholestrol, low blood pressure, was extremely physically active, and didn't drink alcohol or smoke. Go figure. Three weeks ago, he passed out in our living room. When he awoke, he threw up and thought maybe he had food poisoning since he had just eaten. he also complained of a terrible headache and mild chest discomfort. Of course, he NEVER thought he could be having a heart attack! Well, a few days later he decided (with some coaxing from me) to go to the doctor. The doctor did and EKG and immediately sent him to the ER. He was admitted and after several tests, the informed him that he needed a cabg. Well, the "coded" twice before they even took him to the OR and a 4-5 hour operation took 14 hours because they couldn't stabilize him and didn't know why. Because of his radiation treatments in his chest area, they couldn't use a mammary artery so they used arteries from one leg and one arm. Due to the length of the surgery and lack of blood to his hand, his hand turned blue and they thought he was going to lose it, however they kept him in ICU for a week on blood vessel dialators and he's only going to lose half of his index finger. Wow, thanks for letting me vent! It's been a horrible three weeks but things seem to be looking up. Just please tell me that he will be able to do most of the things he was able to do before the operation. He's kind of depressed and saying things like he wants to sell the house and get a smaller yard, etc. I think he thinks he's now "old" at 38. Thanks, K
Hello K, Your husband is NOT alone. I was treated for Hodgkins Disease in my 20's, had a heart attack at age 43, lots of monitoring and tests, including an angioplasty and bypass at age 55. I also have aortic stenosis (calcification of the aortic valve) which will need to be replaced shortly. On the bright side, I live in the country and push mow 2 acres for the exercise. I highly recomment _The Heart Surgery Handbook_ by J.Jude, M.D. et.al which has been republished as _Coping With Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression_. Ironically, there is another Hodgkins survivor on ValveReplacement.com who just had an aortic valve replacement and had some complications which they believe were caused by radiation. He spent 8 days on the ventilator but came through OK. Your husband should continue to be monitored by his cardiologist, at least annually, for the rest of his life. If he develops a murmur, then an Echogram should be done to evaluate his valves. This is a painless test similar to an ultrasound for babies. See ValveReplacement.com for more information on heart valves and disease. There are several main selections, Heart Links for lots of heart related information, Personal Stories categorized by type of valve problems, and a great FORUM broken down into several topics, including a reference section for websites on heart issues. Has your husband had any upper GI / esophagas problems such as heartburn? If he gets recurrent heartburn, he should see a good gastroenterologist who can monitor his condition. There are several effective drugs on the market (prilosec, aciphex, and less powerful ones like pepcid, etc). I don't mean to scare you and your husband, but it is MUCH better to be informed and to monitor the situation so that treatment options can be formulated in the early stages. I would really like to know how to report my (our) experiences to chronicle the long term effects of Radical Radiation Therapy. A couple of papers were mentioned on VR.com but I think the Cancer community is just now beginning to recognize the long term effects of radiation to the chest. Tell your husband to hang in there. There really is Life after Bypass. Keeping a Positive Mental Attitude goes a long way toward recovery. 'AL' In a message dated 5/15/02 5:06:18 PM Canada Central Standard Time, sherdavi@... writes: << I stumbled upon this board and I'm really glad I did! My husband just turned 38 years old today. He's not exactly in a "partying" mood, though, since he had a quadruple bypass three weeks ago. Actually, he's doing pretty darned good--considering. It seems that he had very aggressive aterosclerosis due to radiation treatments he received 6 years ago for Hodgekins disease. The funny (not really)thing is, no one told him that radiation could cause rapid artery clogging. No one ever checked his heart until it was almost too late. He experienced very little pain, had only slightly high cholestrol, low blood pressure, was extremely physically active, and didn't drink alcohol or smoke. Go figure. Three weeks ago, he passed out in our living room. When he awoke, he threw up and thought maybe he had food poisoning since he had just eaten. he also complained of a terrible headache and mild chest discomfort. Of course, he NEVER thought he could be having a heart attack! Well, a few days later he decided (with some coaxing from me) to go to the doctor. The doctor did and EKG and immediately sent him to the ER. He was admitted and after several tests, the informed him that he needed a cabg. Well, the "coded" twice before they even took him to the OR and a 4-5 hour operation took 14 hours because they couldn't stabilize him and didn't know why. Because of his radiation treatments in his chest area, they couldn't use a mammary artery so they used arteries from one leg and one arm. Due to the length of the surgery and lack of blood to his hand, his hand turned blue and they thought he was going to lose it, however they kept him in ICU for a week on blood vessel dialators and he's only going to lose half of his index finger. Wow, thanks for letting me vent! It's been a horrible three weeks but things seem to be looking up. Just please tell me that he will be able to do most of the things he was able to do before the operation. He's kind of depressed and saying things like he wants to sell the house and get a smaller yard, etc. I think he thinks he's now "old" at 38. Thanks, K
K: Your husband and I share the same birthday. I just turned 46. Last June I suffered a massive MI requiring a CABGX4. I was a distance runner who ate well, etc. The early going may be an adjustment as the body heals, he gets used to the medication and learns to deal emotionally with being a cardiac patient. After 11 mos Im back to taking my daily walk with my wife and life is pretty much normal. It took about 3-4 mos for things to begin to return to "normal" for me. Try to be as supportive as possible during this time. My wife was patient and helpful which was the main reason my recovery progressed nicely. Good luck! Dave C.
--- In BypassSurgeryRecoverySupport@y..., "Fred_Plappert" On the 16th i found out the damage report from the cath it 100% blockage and anyersum in my left main... Ok Kim i survived the surgery and ongoing mental illness my life goes on today with some limitations.. Once ur hubby gets his six week follow up he should be walking at an indoor mall at least one mile everyother day during phase 1 of his cardiac rehab... But for the most part i don't let those limits slow me down because i've got two children whom need there father more than ever and besides I'm thankful to the almighty Lord that he gave me a new lease on life 4 yrs ago.. fred