Hello all,
Sorry I cannot seem to post this to the "introduce yourself" thread, which would seem to be where it belongs.
My name is Larry, I am almost 62 and have been healthy all my life - aside from inherited high cholesterol. I recently discovered that I have 3 vessel coronary artery disease, with my LAD artery having both an 80% blockage above the D1l branch and a 100% blockage below that juncture (the other 2 main arteries are <= 50%), and several areas of moderately reversible ischemia.
I have lived a very remote, simple, off-grid life for the past 20 years, which requires a rather active lifestyle. Cutting and chopping firewood, hauling water, mixing garden soil, building rustic structures, loading/unloading propane tanks, etc. It is a life I love. I have also mostly avoided the medical industrial complex for most of my life, thanks to being rather healthy overall.
I started noticing decreased energy and fatigue a couple years ago, but it was just this past winter that I took a somewhat dramatic turn for the worse. My partner finally convinced me to get looked at, and after a stress test, cardiac CT and a cardiac cath, I was given this diagnosis. I have started on typical heart medications (beta blocker, calcium channel blocker, statin), but clearly if I want to be able to live the active life I have been living, I will need some sort of revascularization. Currently if I exert myself to any level, I get angina and increased fatigue. Both of which I could deal with, but my concern is of course doing further damage and causing a heart attack.
Medical care near me (the closest hospital is an hour and a quarter away) is not the best quality, but being on medicaid I don't have much of a choice. Having already consulted with a cardiac interventionist, I am waiting for a consult with a surgeon. More importantly, I am waiting to get a second opinion and consult with a cardiac team at a much better hospital about 3 hours away. Between my insurance (call me cynical) and the extent to which all medical professionals seem to be overwhelmed these days (particularly due to covid), that is taking much longer than I had hoped.
I am adjusting to my new reality of minimal activity (which is hopefully temporary), but at times I struggle with the emotional aspects of that. Which is really the reason I seeked out some online forum for communication and support.
However, I am also interested in hearing from anyone with similar CAD who has considered or had either CTO-PCI or MIDCAB procedures. Due to 100% blockage, typical PCI stenting is not an option, but CTO-PCI does appear to be. Also due to where my main blockage is, it would appear that MIDCAB (minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass) is also an option, if the expertise is available in my state (Maine). I assume typical on-pump CABG is also an option, but that one feels a bit more sketchy to me.
On a personal note, I am much less concerned with longevity than with quality of life. I much prefer non-human life to most humans, and I have lived primarily with my human partner and the non-human natural world for many years, avoiding the din of mass society as much as possible. Having to deal with it as much as I have recently has exacerbated the low level depression and anxiety that caused me to dramatically change my life 20+ years ago.
Well, I have babbled on quite long enough, and I apologize for the personal treatise. I appreciate that this site exists, and I look forward to whatever engagement makes sense. Thanks for listening!
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Larry Kostmayer
ME
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