IHD just caught up with me.

[FormerMember]

I crumped yesterday morning-pneumonia/ congestive heart issues. Seems I always choose a weekend to end up in a hospital. Doc tentatively dx'd IHD. Great. Something new to file for. VA will just be ecstatic to hear from me again.

Clear Prop.

[Tbird]

sorry to hear that brother. 

[Buck52]

Sorry to hear this my friend   you take care of yourself

we need ya Buddy & you have a lot of veggies to grow. this summer

get ya some good rest

Wishing ya a speedy recovery!

 

............Buck

[Carl the Engineer]

Godspeed my freind,

Hamslice

 

 

[GuaymasJim]

Asknod, time and time waits for no one!  Sorry to hear about the ticker.  Current medical consensus is that your odds of having IHD (as improperly defined by VHA/VBA) is directly proportional to your age: age 60=60% chance; age 70=70% and so on.

Here is some unsolicited advice.  Have an angiogram as soon as possible.  It is the diagnostic gold standard.  Refuse to have catheter access through your groin! 95% of post-procedure catheter problems occur at the groin. 95%!  Have the procedure(s) done using your radial artery at your wrist.  At the end of the procedure, they will place a inflatable bracelet over the access point to allow it to seal.  If that bracelet causes you any pain, ask that the pressure be reduced as much as possible.  An over-inflated bracelet can/will occlude the radial artery and it can never be used again nor can the ulnar artery on the same arm. You will be up and about and possibly home in a few hours.  During the informed consent appointment ask how many of these procedures (r-PCI) the operator has successfully completed.  They are required to tell you if you ask, but won't tell you if you don't ask.  If it is in single digits or even low double digits, ask for a more experienced operator!  Medical consensus is it takes at the very least 50 successful procedures to be qualified to perform the procedure(s) without strict supervision. If you are refused another operator, raise hell and seek to have the procedure(s) done elsewhere.  In fact, if you have access to non-VA healthcare, this is absolutely the right time to use it.

Done properly, even multiple (staged) procedures can be painless "non events."  Done improperly and both the adverse event and mortality rates increase dramatically.

PM me with questions!

[Mike_S]

What was found and how did they find it or test for it?

Of course, I agree to do anything you can that is invasive outside the VA. Stress tests and echo are fine IMO.

 

[Berta]

That is bad news Alex but IHD can be treated, and the good news is how happy VA will be to see that you are backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! He he

I am assuming that up to now you  got excellent VA health care and they just found out about the IHD so it might not be as bad as if could have been if they never caught it before and should have. I agree with Mike-S that VA cannot mess up an ECHO (unless they ignore the findings it reveals.)