HEART TO HEART

So far only my Family and a few very close friends know what the late Seamus Heaney and the late David Frost have done to me.Oh! And about umpteen Health professionals.

It all began a couple of months back when the Irish Poet Seamus Heaney died of a Heart Attack aged 74, closely followed by the English TV Journalist David Frost who died two days later at 74 of a Heart Attack. It occurred to me, that at 73 yrs. of age, the two events might suggest a little caution. So, I put the suggestion to my excellent G.P. and he arranged for me to have a Stress Test at Hornsby Hospital with an associated Electro Cardiogram.

I lasted about 7mins 40 seconds on the tread mill, at progressively faster and steeper settings, ending up running up hill. The Doctor supervising the test noted a possible problem, and recommended a CT Angiogram. This called for a referral to a Cardiologist .The test was done in due course and indicated 3 locations of calcification on the arteries around the heart.

Back to the Cardiologist for his take on the results. Not what I wanted to hear.

The test had shown calcification of the main artery leaving the heart - and additional calcification of a lesser degree in two other places. He said that on the basis of these results, there is a 16% chance of an "adverse event"(read heart attack, stroke or death) within the next ten years without intervention. That intervention would take the form of a triple by- pass. This should promise a 15% minimum increase in life span and a 25% increase in physical capability after a thorough recuperation.

However, before definitely proposing that course, he wanted me to have an Invasive Cardio Angiogram. This proved to be an interesting exercise in which a miniscule probe is inserted through a puncture into a blood vessel in the groin under mild anaesthetic and then maneuvered up into the heart's arteries for an inside look via ultrasound. All the while I was laying there surrounded by Doctors and nurses in large numbers and an X ray pad on the end of a robotic arm was dancing around my chest like something out of a Disney space movie.

The result confirmed the earlier tests, showing one blockage - the main artery out of the heart at 75% blocked at its mouth or beginning, and two others further out, blocked at 60% and 50% respectively. The Cardiologist, not one to miss a chance to be more cautious, announced that the 16% was now 20%! And that he was now decided that the by- pass surgery should take place, but....just wanted to do one more Stress Test under his personal supervision before sending me to the Heart Surgeon. I did the Stress Test. He acknowledged that I did better than he expected, but confirmed that the surgery was required.

The Heart Surgeon proved to be a very impressive man - late 40s early 50s, very trim and disciplined, nice manner and good gentle sense of humour. He is married with several children and so has his feet on the ground - no airs and graces, though he is obviously used to speaking with authority and having things done professionally as he wants them done . He agreed with the Cardiologist but just wanted me to undergo an Ultrasound Examination of the Carotid Arteries (in my neck) to ensure that the problem was not present there also.

He had me fill out the Royal North Shore Hospital Admission Forms and leave them with him.

I had the Carotid Ultrasounds done and delivered the results to him after showing them to my G.P. The latter commented that they presented no problem for the Surgery .Then I received a call from the Hospital to attend a Pre- Admission Clinic last Monday. I did that, seeing about eight different people in 5 hours, and all with their different areas of interest. Seems that I proved acceptable. I was presented with piles of material to read, other bits to sign and a very helpful booklet on the whole subject including preparation, the operation and recuperation. (It seems they have done this before!)

The Cardiologist was appalled, and the Heart Surgeon amused, when I told each of them that from all that I had read, Bypass Surgery seemed like a planned catastrophe! No doubt it is a massive attack on the body I have been occupying these last 73 years, but a necessary one to avoid one of those " adverse events" and , after recuperation, to rev the whole thing up a bit. So there you have it.

I am in the hands of the Hospital and the Heart Surgeon as to the date of the operation, but it seems it will be fairly early in the New Year. The timing after that is 1 or 2 days in Intensive Care, then about 7 days more or less in the Ward, then about 6 weeks progressive recuperation back to virtually normal - which should be reached after 3 months or so.In the meantime, a very heavy burden on my dear wife Robyn, who will have a very heavy load to carry especially in the earliest stages of the recuperation.However, we have the assurance of help from family and our dearest friends.

I am determined to do my level best to get to the situation of normality as soon as prudently possible. I will keep you informed.