I look forward to more similar postings like this one. Does Your Blog have a RSS I can subscribe to for more information concerning this?

I am sorry to hear about your story. I also intend on starting up posting on this blog again. Good luck to you.

I just turned 46 in April. On July 4th, 2009, I began having chest pains with very little exertion. Concerned that it may be cardiac in nature I went to hospital and failed my stress test miserably. To the cath lab I went, it was there that they discovered two lesions – Mid LAD (90%) and branch artery 55% blocked. What really hit home in your story was the cardiologist asking you whether or not you wanted CABG or stents. I too was asked verbatim the same question and was looped on Valium and Versed. Of course I opted for the stents although now have deep regrets. I was and still am very angry that I wasn’t informed that the LAD A.K.A. “The Widow Maker” does not fare very well to stents in the long term, so now I’m faced with the fear of in stent thrombosis and the very real possibility that the stents will block up with plaque. Had I been informed, I would have opted for minimally invasive CABG or standard CABG. The physician should speak to the patient BEFORE the procedure when possible.

In my case I was shocked. I quit smoking 11 years ago (but was dipping snuff a lot until I had the surgery…still miss it too), my LDL cholesterol was 81 and HDL was a whopping 75! My doctor always told me I had “longevity syndrome” because of the high HDL. I’ve been taking 3 grams of niacin/day for 10+years and watch what I ate. At 6′1″ 200lbs. I felt great…never saw this coming. Dr. now has added to the niacin 40 mgs. of simvastatin (Zocor). No side effects thus far. I have never had high blood pressure, it is always 100/68 and I’m not diabetic.

I now walk 3 to 4 miles per day at a brisk pace, quit smokeless tobacco and gave up most animal products other than fish. I quit drinking in 1988, but my wife has been encouraging me to take a couple of drinks/day for the cardioprotective benefits. The only problem is I have an addictive personality and fear becoming dependent on alcohol. I too have battleed clinical depression and anxiety having suffered a bout in 1985 and 1989. I stopped taking the antidepressants in 2003 and thank God I have never had a relapse. I do take alprazolam t.i.d. for the anxiety and have no intention of stopping. (Another reason I avoid alcohol).

Hope you’re doing well Gerald. God Bless!!

John

My grandfather had Alzheimer’s, and I have read scattered studies about treatments for Alzheimer’s involving nicotine (something to due with increased serotonin, I believe), but usually the studies are disregarded due to the stigma associated with everything associated with tobacco along with the supposed cancer risk nicotine (although I would be willing to take the chance of cancer if it meant avoiding the symptoms of Alzheimers).

On a similar note, since collaterals can be created by blood pressure cuffs on the extremities, I wonder if a slight blood pressure increase due to smoking (or the nicotine) could also cause collaterals?

It sounds like a crazy idea, but I tend to be interested in crazy ideas.

As an aside, my grandfather’s siblings had either heart disease or Alzheimers, which makes me think that the two diseases might be one disease that simply appears in more than one form.

I do firmly believe that my heart disease, if caught earlier, could have been treated with drugs. There is is strong evidence that getting your total cholesterol below 100 and your LDL below 70 with normal HDL can reverse plaque buildup in some patients.

The ACE inhibitor was more likely a reaction to a sudden plummet in my potassium – a rare but deadly side effect.

I have heard of other patients who have what are called silent heart attacks. This usually occurs in diabetics, but it can also occur in the general population. While working out just the other day, I ran into a worker in the medical field whose father died and during the autopsy they discovered he had about three heart attacks during his lifetime.

It seems all too common that someone undergoing this sort of ordeal almost always seems to have suffered an “unnoticed” event (heart attack, etc.) at the exact time they are first diagnosed (as you describe in your first treatment). I always wonder how many people are having something like a cardiac event without knowing at an earlier age and recovering without medical intervention (although their heart muscle may be scarred, etc), but the damage accumulates over their lifetime until they are diagnosed later in life.

Did your other treatments, medical conditions, or reactions to treatments play a significant role in your medical condition? Should your reaction to an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure control been a signal of possible heart disease?

Do you have any thoughts on whether your heart disease could have been partially treated in the beginning by adjusting your diet, exercise regimen, and/or pharmaceutical treatment? In other words, do you think that a stent or bypass was the only option?