Angiogram

Posted on September 14, 2004 in Coronary Gratitude

Thank you to everyone who sent their good wishes for my health. As you may have gathered from reading my blog, I will be undergoing an angiogram this Friday. What this means is that they will insert a catheter in my femoral artery and then run it up to my heart, using a tiny fiber-optic television camera to guide them. Once there, they will release a special dye into the coronary arteries and watch its progress via x-ray.

If they discover a substantial amount of plaque, they will perform balloon angioplasty immediately following the completion of the procedure. If there is damage to the artery, they will pull out and set me up for bypass surgery. If the plaque coating is light or the problem is due to a defect, they will put me on medications.

I will be awake throughout the procedure, possibly enjoying the grand tour on television. They will give me a sedative at the beginning and a local in the area where they cut to insert the catheter. I am told that aside from some mild discomfort at the point of entry and a brief warm flush when they inject the dye, I won’t feel the eel moving through my inner ocean.

Again, thank you to everyone who wished me well. I remain sanguine about the outcome and will have the story for you on Saturday or Sunday.