FYI...

[280plus]

My little foray down at the "cardio cath lab" last week cost a whopping $42,063.44. If I'm understanding this correctly, the two stents they implanted cost a wee bit over $10,000 EACH! They are little bitty springs fer cryin' out loud! Should I go back and tell them to take them back out? Or the question I always here, "Can't we do it a little bit cheaper?"

I mean, they fix up your heart and then send you a bill that'll give you a heart attack. Kind of a vicious cycle if you think about it.

LOL...

It'll be even more exciting when we find out what's covered and what isn't.

[Guest]

Sheesh, dude. I woulda done for like fifty bucks! Shop around next time, will ya??

[Werewolf]

My wife averages about 1 surgery every 3 or 4 years. In the recovery room she is always charged for AIR! We're not talking a breathing mask, oxygen, etc - if she gets one of those that shows up on the bill too. $5 for AIR! Sheesh!

The cost to get fixed is rediculous - way cheaper to do the preventative thing and just stay heelthy - that's my plan anyway. Now if I could just get the wife to cooperate!

[280plus]

I kinda let myself go between the ages of 25 and 35. At 36 I ran 5 miles in 49 minutes and did my best to stay healthy since then but I guess the damage had already been done.

That's ok, I forgot to tell you all about my friend Ed I ran into yesterday. He's 62. Dropped of a heart attack with no prior symptoms. The guy had a QUINTUPLE bypass! I figure his heart must look like a silly straw now.

I may take you up on that if there's a next time Barb...  

[Guest]

Barb: great reply!

280: sometimes it's just in the genes! We had a patient know as "Full Metal Jacket". Last count was something like 15 stents with 7 or 8 by-passes  in 2 surgeries a few yrs apart. After first CABG (coronary artery by-pass graft) he said "You know that consent form that has all the things that can go wrong: leaks, infection, stroke, heart attack, etc.? They say 'sign here; don't worry, it never happens!' I had 'em ALL!"

Had his first MI (heart attack) at age 28, IIRC. Was running >5mi/day, never smoked. Was fighting a house fire at the time. He's now 52 or 53 and the first male in his family to live past 45. Wanna guess what his hospital bill looks like?? See, that's why they fix you before they tell you the cost; so you'll live long enough to pay 'em off!

Seriously, continue to take care of yourself and you should be good for many more yrs! The single most important thing a cardiac patient can do it QUIT TOBACCO, all form, completely, if that applies to you.

Stay well, my friend!
Bob

[Werewolf]

280: sometimes it's just in the genes!

What doctors are learning is it's almost all the genes.

Ever take the heart disease at risk test? Look at the scoring - you get a crap load of points for ancestors and relatives with heart disease and only a few for eating crappy and not exercising.

As far as I know going back to the 1830's there's never been any heart disease in my family - none. If you don't die in a war or get killed by some funky bug then in my family you live to your 90's (and a few made it into their 100's). Guess what their diet was like - hard core southern food. Lots'a pork, BBQ, eggs, fried chicken, white gravy made from bacon fat,  etc. Vegetables are an after thought (except for mashed potatoes made with lots'a butter or corn). Obesity is the norm. I'm 54 and when I look into the mirror I'm starting to see my maternal Grandfather.

I'm starting to eat healthy but that's not because of my heart - it's because of stinkin' Gout - GOD that hurts (but there is a bright side - uric acid is a very powerful anti-oxidant - my doctor says that may be one of the reasons there's very little cancer either in my family).

[lee n. field]

Dropped of a heart attack with no prior symptoms. The guy had a QUINTUPLE bypass!

I wouldn't call having had a 4X bypass "no prior symptoms".

[BobR]

Dropped of a heart attack with no prior symptoms. The guy had a QUINTUPLE bypass!

I wouldn't call having had a 4X bypass "no prior symptoms".

I have a feeling he meant that prior to the bypass he had no symptoms.

Often the first sign of cardiac trouble is "sudden cardiac death".  Those are the ones who you read about in the obits who "died suddenly at home".

bob

[Big_R]

280:

Good to hear you're doing well.  Remember, without the two stents, you'd be talking open heart surgery, and the 6 weeks of recovery time.

Out of curiosity, what brand and model of stents did you have put in?  Did you get ones with the drug coating?

Ryan

[Leatherneck]

I go with the genes theory. Sure, you can find ways to induce heart disease, but adopting the old Greek motto of "In all things, moderation" should allow you to live as long as you're programmed for.

Strangely, we lost my big sister three months ago to lung cancer. Nobody in our family has ever had cancer. When it was diagnosed two years before, it was already Stage 4 non-small-cell carcinoma. She did the chemo under the care of her colleagues at NIH (ironically, she was a cancer research nurse there for ten years preceding), and that kicked her ass. So much so that when it reappeared six months ago, she chose not to go through it again. In effect, she chose to die. She was a very pragmatic person with a very rational approach to things (even though, Bless her, she was a liberal, and anti-gun to boot)

Co-worker with my exact demographics (white male, 62, no bad habits--boring) just got back to work after an emergency bypassx6. They re-routed six blood vessels in his chest to supply one side of his heart that, apparently, had figured out some alternative ways to get blood via reverse flow in some vessels. Four weeks after surgery, he was hiking up mountains that had made him rest several times before.

Live like you're gonna die.

TC

PS: 280, take care of yourself. Enjoy your newfound health. Tell the insurance company to suck one for me.

[280plus]

Thanks for all thw well wishes and info people!

I got the "Taxus Express2 Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System". To the best of my knowledge they are coated with Taxol to prevent clotting. Last time I saw the drug Taxol prescribed it was in massive doses for my father's cancer. It's what they use for his chemotherapy as far as I know. I was a bit "surprised" when I discovered that. Yup 10 years ago they'd have cracked me open for a double. Amazing technology. Though maybe a bit pricey.

I hope to be back up in the mountains myself real soon, gotta test out this new ticker. I go for my first long swim tomorrow A.M. Last summer I did ~ 135 miles in the neighbors pool. I hope to equal or best that this year. But the pool opened late so I'm already 30 miles or so behind.

[Antibubba]

f I'm understanding this correctly, the two stents they implanted cost a wee bit over $10,000 EACH! They are little bitty springs fer cryin' out loud!

Are they Wolff Springs, and if so, what poundage?  

[Big_R]

Congrats 280, you're the proud new owner of the best stent in the world.  That's all I'm at liberty to say.  You're right about the active ingredient being a cancer drug.  It works very well.  Good luck to you.

Ryan

[280plus]

Thanks BigR, good to know! So far so good!

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Congratulations on your newfound health.

If the stents cost 40 grand, what would the bypass surgery have cost?

[fallingblock]

Gee Whiz, Mark....

That's $21,031.72 per spring.

Guns are cheaper.

Hope the ticker is mending well.

[280plus]

Heck, that's not even counting the $3000 it took them to find out I NEEDED a spring...

Yes, the gun money coffers are suffering now I'm afraid.

I should ask my friend what his quintuple cost...

[cosine]

Hey, but money's not worth much if you're not warm and mobile. Glad that you're okay.


Edit: grammar

[280plus]

Yup, money ain't worth poop if you're too dead to spend it.