Heart Cath danger and anxiety

[JudithD23]

Hi,

I just spoke with a person affiliated with the bicuspid av site that said my husband, Tom, should not get a heart cath since he has an ascending aorta of 4.4cm. And he's scheduled for 6am tomorrow morning to have this procedure. Do you think we should cancel this?

I'm panicing. Thanks for any response.

Judith

 

[ALCapshaw2]

My recommendation is to call the Cardiologist (or his nurse) and ASK about the risks of a Heart Cath with a dilated aorta.

As I recall, some of our members have had caths with aneurisms (with no problems) and some have declined.

Hopefully others will voice their experiences.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Tony]

I had a cath with an aneurysm in the ascending aorta in 2002. All went well.
My cath took 90 minutes to complete. The nurses said I got my monies worth since they typically take 30 minutes.

What credentials does this person who says it should not be done have?

 

[Jeff S]

I had a cardiac cath done last October with an aneurysm even bigger--around 5. The doctors never told me anything about the extra risk involved with getting a cardiac cath with an aneurysm.

I have read on this board about the elevated risk involved. I also remember reading that most surgeons require the cardiac cath being done before the surgery. It seems like there were only a few surgeons who would do the valve replacement surgery without the cardiac cath results.

I have to say I'm almost glad I didn't know about all this before my cath. I would have been even more nervous than I was.

I do believe my cardiologist took more time with my procedure than the average. By the way, I had no problems with the cath. They sealed it, and I went home that afternoon.

Jeff

 

[Superbob]

My experience was similar. I had an aneurysm in the ascending position that actually turned out to be larger (5.3) than expected before surgery, and I had a cath with no difficulty. Don't recall being told of any risks beyond the normal. It went without hitch.

 

[Philip B]

Heart Cath Risks

Heart Cath Risks

My heart cath was done last February and as it turned out my ascending aorta had a 5.8 cm aneurysm. They did the scan stuff and noted the size of the aneurysm after my heart cath.

It would be a good thing to visit with your cardiologist regarding his/her assessment of the risks associated with the cath and your concerns.

I've never had too many positive thoughts about the procedures associated with heart caths. Sticking wires and stuff into one's beating heart never seemed like a good idea to me. I wish they could develop some kind of less invasive method for getting the information that they need.

One of the things that encouraged me to ignore my aortic valve issues for twenty-seven years was a bad experience with a heart cath. The guy I shared a room with actually died while they were doing his heart cath.

For me, agreeing to last February's heart cath procedure was almost as traumatic as agreeing to OHS.

Ask lots of questions and share your concerns with your cardio doc.

-Philip

 

[JudithD23]

Thanks to all of you who responded; I'm feeling less panicky now. All of the heart surgeon's we're considering to date (that just includes the Sacramento area and Stanford) all want the heart cath done before they meet with us. With the exception of Dr. Ingram, whom we already met.

The woman I spoke with does not have a medical degree, to my knowledge, but she has witnessed live operations and videos of operations, and I'm sure has an incredible amount of information. Plus, her husband has had several replacement surgeries, so she's speaking from experience. I was somewhat furious with her, it was as though she were saying that if you don't use one of the surgeons on the website, then you are being negligent in your choice.

I hope I'm not opening up a hornet's nest here.

Judith

 

[Curtsmum]

Best of luck, hope all goes well for your husband, will be thinking of you.

 

[Magic8Ball]

not sure if this is too late but i had mine done with a 5.8.

Its one of those necessary risks so that they can judge if you need bypass etc at the same time...not sure if there is anything else they can use to get a picture of your arteries.

As for the choice of surgeon, everyone will tell you that they found the best, when in fact we just found the best fit for us. Look where you want and choose who you want.

Regards.

 

[JudithD23]

Tom had his heart cath yesterday morning, and thank God, everything went well. His cardiologist couldn't go through the av because it was so small. Good news is that Tom's coronary arteries are clear so he won't need a bypass. Both the cardiologist and the potential heart surgeon said that the ascending aorta has no aneurysm, and that at Tom's physical size a 4.4 cm enlargement is not unusual. The surgeon said that you really don't know, 100%, what's needed until you're in there and operating.

We're still checking with two other surgeons this next week. However, there are two people who have posted on this forum that have used Ingram, so I'm feeling confident about him. Tom would just go with him, but I'm insisting that we check with these other heart surgeons.

Right now we're thinking that we would like the surgery done on Feb. 5th, Tom's birthday. He feels, sooner rather than later is best, and I agree.

Thanks to everyone and we'll continue posting. I'm hoping to get Tom online here and I think maybe he'll start up now, especially with the Pre-Surgery posts.

Judith

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I'm glad to hear that Tom's cath went well Judith.

It sounds like you have a Good Plan (seeking multiple opinions) and are making progress in identifying what needs to be done. Hopefully once you have interviewed the other 2 surgeons, you will have a better 'feel' for how you (collective) want to proceed.

Keep up the Good Work!

'AL Capshaw'