any help you can give me about heart bypass?

[Nancy1229]

Anyone
I went to the ER because I was having severe pain in my right arm and numbing and burning feeling in my fingers..and after lab work and an EKG they admitted me becaue my enzymes were high and my EKG was abnormal and I also have family history of heart disease.. so the arm was ruled out for heart which the fingers are still numb after 8 days and occasional pain in it..a few days of being in the hospital I was transported to another hospital which specializes in cardio and then they did a heart catherization(which I was awake the whole time) they said they were giving me some meds to relax but that was a joke..I was laying there and all of a sudden I get a splitting headache so I told them and the dr said it was because he just gave me quite a bit of nitros, so the nurse proceeded to rub my head..after a while later I told them that my back was hurting bad so they administered feorinal and then said they were going to give me more relaxing meds..I said make it strong because I haven't relaxed from the first dose..so that was how my procedure was...afterward he tells me and my family that I have a 50% blockage at the opening of the left main and a little further down on the left main on 2 separate sides there is a 20 -30% blockage..he said if I was 82 not getting around he would treat it with meds but because I am only 57 and fairly healthy he suggests a bypass..so I go see the cardio surgeon this Wednesday to see what he has to say and to give him my decision of whether or not I should do the surgery, especially because of the heart disease of my family and for the past 7-8 months I have been very sluggish and tired with some mild chest pain that I pass off as indigestion, and also at night I regurgitate while I am sleeping quite often..I am really scared as to what to do so I was hoping I could get some opinions..thank you to all that took the time to listen to me..

Nancy

[Nancy1229]

I could possibly live like that for the rest of my life, but on the other hand it is the main artery and if it were to become any more blocked it could kill me instantly..he is taking into consideration my family history where my mom died at 45 from a blockage and my dad had heart disease at the age of 44 but end up dying from colon cancer..the dr is taking into consideration also that my enzyme is too high and my EKG is abnormal and in the past 6 - 8 months I have had some big major changes to my sypmtoms..and he did explain to me about the 75% blockage which he said that they change this percentage all the time but he is concerned because it is at the main artery with a little further down on the same artery is 2 separate blockages with 30% blockage...so that is why he wants me to talk to the cardio surgeon and see what his best idea would be...thank you for the opinions..very much appreciated!!!

Nancy

[ed34]

Maybe they did the procedure properly, using FFR. It is becoming more obvious that pressure differences across blockages are not entirely obvious by just looking at the size. The flow sensor in many cases has shown small blockages can give far more problems than large ones.
It seems that some hospitals have a standard policy that if a blockage is at the proximal LAD or left main stem, then bypass is the option. I don't think they would have stented you at the time unless you had over 300mg of plavix at least an hour before the procedure.
To go through the discomfort of a bypass for a 50% blockage seems a bit overboard and perhaps you should go to another hospital for a different opinion. I think medication would definitely work with a 50% blockage to keep you comfortable, but it won't remove the blockage. I think they are simply taking your family history into account and ASSUMING the blockages are going to get a lot worse in the near future.

[Flycaster305]

I've had a lot of angiograms, the procedure you experienced and it sounds like you didn't get enough goofballs beforehand to relax you.  It is completely normal to be awake during the procedure, but it is uncommon to care what is happening.  The Nitro drugs are used to expand the heart arteries.  They also expand the brain arteries and that is the discomfort you felt.  Like Erijon, I'm suprised that a 50% blockage would cause concern to suggest a bypass.  I do know that where the blockage occurs in the artery changes the approach, however.  
At the meeting you have with the doctor I'd keep my ears open, and if bypass is still recommended with a 50% blockage, I'd also get a second opinion.

[erijon]

I'm confused, it's always been my understanding that there is usually no intervention until a blockage is greater than 70%, eve then I would think a stent would be the first step, depending exactly where the blockage is. Perhaps the cardio is concerned about some factors he didn't fully explain. I don't want to second guess you doctor, I am not qualified to do so, I'm just telling you what my understanding is.

There are others here that are much more knowledgeable on this than me, hopefully they will chime in as well. I think I would be looking for a second opinion.

Good Luck,

Jon