Category: heart

Post Angioplasty Post

So two days ago on the 2nd of Mar., 2018 I had my Angioplasty at PGH. As I explained earlier it was one of those situations when an Angiogram, a procedure to find out if your heart had any blockages would be done and should it be found to be necessary an Angioplasty would then follow immediately while you’re lying there.

And as it turned out I had two blockages, and thusly two stents were installed.

This image may or may not be exactly how it was done to me but you get the idea.

Continue reading Post Angioplasty Post

Checking In PGH This PM

This here is Truck aka Juan Carlos Mercado, born Dec. 4, 2017. I fall asleep and wake up to this face almost daily as he sleeps right beside me. He had a nasty cough starting last weekend so we took him to the Dr. yesterday and she told us it was because his tonsils were red, causing him to have a very itchy throat. It is very likely he was infected by people kissing him, specifically his 4yo brother Ace, who adores him. The Dr. said a lot of kids cry a lot when infected with such but not this guy. He seemed to just smile through it and by yesterday he was hardly coughing.

Continue reading Checking In PGH This PM

Not Sure I Had A Heart Attack

So between Jan. 15 (Mon), to the 19th I suffered chest pains. I was still able to go to work on Tue and Fri AM. The worst of it came on Fri PM as I was coming home Jill suggested and I agreed that I go to hospital where I stayed until Sunday.

The feeling is exactly 100% like GERD, which is why I hesitated so long. I would feel much better after rest but after simple exertions such as climbing stairs or walking short distances my chest would feel very tight with pain across my shoulders and arms.

I went to a cardiologist on the 17th Wed and after an ECG, a blood pressure check (a whopping 160/130 at the time), reading through my thorough history of lab tests (I keep detailed accounts), and his interviewing me, he leaned towards believing I had an Unstable Angina, a condition in which your heart doesn’t get enough blood flow and oxygen, that may lead to a heart attack. He concluded this after considering my decades old diabetic condition which had unfortunately worsened since my last tests mid 2017) and of course existing symptoms.

He was however cautious about saying I had a full on heart attack because of my ‘young’ age (truly relative, that), and that he needed lab work. He required a battery of tests which I took the next day at HP along with a long list of medication.

The most conclusive tests of all however are prohibitive and require pause. Here’s the results of Jill’s exhaustive research. Continue reading Not Sure I Had A Heart Attack