Living with Angioplasty

I had chest pain over 12 months ago every morning as I set off on my 7 to 10klm walk before work. Being concerned I approached my doctor who believed it was my asthma being worsened by seasonal influences but all the same sent me for heart stress tests and lung x-rays which proved to be all clear further validating his original diagnosis. A month walking in Italy without pain last November had me thinking the same as the doctor. Once back in Australia the pain returned on my walks but as before but only on steep inclines. I tolerated my condition for a further 6 months and during that period I stopped walking and my fitness level fell.

Consequently one day in early August (5 weeks ago) I was walking the dog when I struggled on even level ground and far worse on slight inclines. Once again I was off for stress testing which returned an all clear. This time my doctor put me through a breathing test which didn’t prove anything and he sent me off finally to a cardiologist who immediately thought it was angina. Two days later I was having an angiogram which showed a 90% blockage of the LAD and a 60% blockage of a major branch, 2 days later I had 3 stents inserted and whilst I’m still tired on a few occasions almost 4 weeks after the procedure I am alive to write this story.

Whilst I’m not bitter towards my doctor his persistence in regards to it being seasonal asthma could have cost me my life. The moral of the story is “listen to your body,get a 2nd opinion, stress tests are only 80 to 90% accurate and enjoy every day that you’re given”