Yesterday's Medical Day - Again

HEART: Yesterday was my appointment with a cardiologist at KU Med Center as a result of a CT scan showing a large amount of plaque in my heart arteries. As I said earlier, I was in some ways more concerned with this than I was with the lung spot. I knew that even if the lung spot was cancerous, the size and location would make it very treatable. I could tell by looking at the amount of the plaque on the screen and comparing it to the size of the tumor which I knew was 1/2", that it wasn't good. I appreciated Vivian going with me yesterday! First we saw the resident who was just great!  He spent a very long time with us explaining everything in simple English and answered all of our questions. They also had some nifty show and tell heart models for explaining stuff.  Then we saw the main doctor. I knew his name but did not know that he was the Director of Cardiology for the hospital. Again, the head doc took time to answer questions, talk about treatment, etc.  So...what did I learn:
[1] I do have a lot of plaque with most of it being in the LAD artery which is the Left Anterior Descending Artery of the heart. That is the most important artery for the heart and is on the outside of the heart.  I also have smaller amounts of plaque in 2 other arteries. The plaque I have is the "hard" kind and if you have to have it, the hard kind is better since it is stable and doesn't break off like the soft kind does. I do have some blockage but we don't know how much yet. The fact that I have the plaque is not a surprise considering how I was raised as they pointed out. These deposits can develop in childhood and continue to thicken and enlarge throughout a person's life. This thickening, called atherosclerosis, narrows the arteries and can decrease or block the flow of blood to the heart. I am now officially classed as having Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The plaque I have cannot be reversed but medication can help it from getting worse. I am at risk for a heart attack but not a severe risk.  It can also explain why I am "tired" all the time.
[2] The next steps are to change my cholesterol medication and start taking a Baby Aspirin. Then I go back to the hospital on June 19th for a Echo cardiogram and then a Nuclear Stress Test which are both non-invasive. It will be a long day at the hospital.   The Nuclear test is in 2 parts about 3 hours apart.  Depending on the level of blockage, I may then have a heart catheterization to get a better look and put a stent in if the blockage is over 70%. The heart cath won't be the same day unless it is an emergency.   We would like to avoid the heart cath because it requires contrast dye which that is very hard on my remaining kidney and would require that some special measures be taken for the kidney. However, I did find out that the heart cath is usually done through the groin but can be done through the arm. The are doing the echo cardiogram to check how the heart is filling and emptying blood as another possibility on the tiredness and being short winded.  He is also doing a blood test for thyroid. I am so grateful to my new PCP doc here for suggesting that we do the Cardio Scan as a preventative test. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known there was a problem until after I could have had a major heart attack or after the lung spot had spread.
[3] By the time we left, 1 1/2 hours later, I felt that I was in very good hands!   I'm not too thrilled with the findings but not surprised since heart disease is prevalent in my family.  The good news is that I don't have high blood pressure and have not smoked. I go back to the Genealogy saying that "We are the sum of our ancestors" and that certainly applies here with the genetic disposition for heart disease. Those fried potatoes cooked in bacon grease that I grew up with sure were good.... The only thing I can do at this point is continue to loose weight, eat a healthy diet, take my meds and exercise. I'll still have a cheeseburger and French fries every week but just not several times a week like I did before Weight Watchers. 8-)     Beyond that, It's up to the Man Upstairs...

LUNG BIOPSY:  While we were talking to the head doctor, the resident was typing all the notes into the computer.  He turned around to Vivian and I and said "The results of the biopsy were just posted and it is not cancer".  I was so focused on heart issues that I don't think it really hit me until later that I didn't have to worry about that issue also.  The tumor is fibrous and could be the result of a lot of things one of them being Histoplasmosis which was the guess of my PCP doc.