Some test results are in
When I had my heart attack a year ago, it was discovered my left carotid artery was 100% occluded but my right was clear and blood was traveling through it to my brain. Since the bypass surgery that I needed on my heart was so risky the doctor decided that it would be better to leave that be and just watch the right one...and only do surgery if that side started to become blocked. A dopler ultrasound was done with the strong suspicion that it would show the need for surgery but instead we were all shocked to find that both the right AND left carotid arteries were clear as a bell. The doctor had no explanation and we're all still scratching our heads but I'll take good news wherever I can get it.
The ultrasound of my heart wasn't as good. I have to have surgery to install a defibrilator. That isn't a big deal these days. Usually just a two day hospital stay and one week recovery time. Though the surgery isn't a big deal, the need for it seems to be. Along with the unstable heart beat, I've been diagnosed with cardiomypathy. It is believed the heart attack last year damaged part of the heart muscle. It was hoped that after the blockages were cleared from the bypass surgery and blood could again reach that part on my heart it would regenerate. That didn't happen and has grown weaker. My Ejection Fraction (how they measure the strength of your heart beats) is 20% were normal is between 50-75%. This is the most likely cause of the edema I have been experiencing. The defibrilator will not do anything to correct this but will regulate the rhythm of my heart beats and perhaps prevent another heart attack. 20% is on the low end of the scale so the cardiologist plans an aggressive treatment. Appointments to discuss his suggestions are coming up soon.
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