Medical Technology is great

[kumquat]

DW was complaining about "heart burn" and other ailments for the last few days. On Friday, I was 400 km away working on DD's house. She (DW) got her cousin to take her to the local GP who didn't bother to put a stethoscope to chest or anything else but gave her an an-acid prescription. So, I get home Saturday. DW feels rotten. Sunday she says "take me to emergency". I did. She thought she had "stomach" trouble. Within 15 minutes, the staff determined that she was having a heart attack (not that surprising since she has SLE). Anyway, 3 hours and a stent later she is doing fine.

IFIRC, about 40 years ago, a friend had a similar experience. They stabilized him, watched him and he got better. A few months later, he had another and died.

We've gone from observation to cardiac bypass (yes, still needed in some cases) to angioplasty and stents. I was actually surprised at how quickly they dealt with DW. If you look (and not that hard) you'll find stories about the long wait times for medical procedures in Canada. 3 hours seems reasonable to me.

I doubt DW would be here (and in good condition) if someone hadn't developed/invented cardiac stents. Good for them.

However, as an equal opportunity observer, I wish my DB had never had venous stents for "liberation treatment" for MS. Maybe Dr. Zamboni should stick to ice rinks.

[clifp]

So I hope you are going to get a new GP. Glad to hear she is doing well.

[DblDoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kumquat DW was complaining about "heart burn" and other ailments for the last few days. On Friday, I was 400 km away working on DD's house. She (DW) got her cousin to take her to the local GP who didn't bother to put a stethoscope to chest or anything else but gave her an an-acid prescription. So, I get home Saturday. DW feels rotten. Sunday she says "take me to emergency". I did. She thought she had "stomach" trouble. Within 15 minutes, the staff determined that she was having a heart attack (not that surprising since she has SLE). Anyway, 3 hours and a stent later she is doing fine. IFIRC, about 40 years ago, a friend had a similar experience. They stabilized him, watched him and he got better. A few months later, he had another and died. We've gone from observation to cardiac bypass (yes, still needed in some cases) to angioplasty and stents. I was actually surprised at how quickly they dealt with DW. If you look (and not that hard) you'll find stories about the long wait times for medical procedures in Canada. 3 hours seems reasonable to me. I doubt DW would be here (and in good condition) if someone hadn't developed/invented cardiac stents. Good for them. However, as an equal opportunity observer, I wish my DB had never had venous stents for "liberation treatment" for MS. Maybe Dr. Zamboni should stick to ice rinks.

Glad DW did OK.

Canada tries to meet the same door to needle/balloon times for an acute ST elevation MI as established by the AHA here in the US. They have the same challenges as US ER's. This is also a good reminder that woman are much more likely to have atypical symptoms then men.

DD

[ls99]

That was a close call. Glad for the good outcome.

[eytonxav]

Technology is great, but I'm more concerned with how its applied, both in terms of correct use and to minimize cost.

Glad to hear your DW went through this situation and procedure OK.

[KingB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kumquat DW was complaining about "heart burn" and other ailments for the last few days. On Friday, I was 400 km away working on DD's house. She (DW) got her cousin to take her to the local GP who didn't bother to put a stethoscope to chest or anything else but gave her an an-acid prescription. So, I get home Saturday. DW feels rotten. Sunday she says "take me to emergency". I did. She thought she had "stomach" trouble. Within 15 minutes, the staff determined that she was having a heart attack (not that surprising since she has SLE). Anyway, 3 hours and a stent later she is doing fine. IFIRC, about 40 years ago, a friend had a similar experience. They stabilized him, watched him and he got better. A few months later, he had another and died. We've gone from observation to cardiac bypass (yes, still needed in some cases) to angioplasty and stents. I was actually surprised at how quickly they dealt with DW. If you look (and not that hard) you'll find stories about the long wait times for medical procedures in Canada. 3 hours seems reasonable to me. I doubt DW would be here (and in good condition) if someone hadn't developed/invented cardiac stents. Good for them. However, as an equal opportunity observer, I wish my DB had never had venous stents for "liberation treatment" for MS. Maybe Dr. Zamboni should stick to ice rinks.

I am glad that your DW is OK.
My DW had a similar event a week after she retired. She had chest discomfort so we went to her GP. They took chest-xray and blood test and we went home to wait for the results. The GP called us back and said to go to the Emergency Room. The GP is suspecting a heart attack (from the blood test). We went to ER where they did some tests, including the same blood test. After some hours, the attending physician sent us home. It turned out to be heartburn/acid reflux. The blood test turned out normal the second time.

[deserat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DblDoc Glad DW did OK. Canada tries to meet the same door to needle/balloon times for an acute ST elevation MI as established by the AHA here in the US. They have the same challenges as US ER's. This is also a good reminder that woman are much more likely to have atypical symptoms then men. DD

US desired standard is 90 minutes from door to 'balloon.' Makes a huge difference in outcomes.

Glad you wife did well - and, yes, medical technology is pretty cool. Been working with it now for 20 years....

[Meadbh]

kumquat, you can thank the government of Saskatchewan, which is working to decrease surgical wait times. Glad it's working!

Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative - Health - Government of Saskatchewan

[Moemg]

Glad your wife is okay . A heart attack is a scary event .

[Jay_Gatsby]

While I'm all for advances in medical technology, the best medicine is preventative medicine (i.e., take care of yourself as much as possible).

[Meadbh]

+1

[kumquat]

DW went back to the GP today. He seemed surprised that she felt better and had no "heart burn" since the "incident".

Don't know his future, but our friend (and my GP) isn't an option since she died at Xmas. Better nobody than knowdo nothing.

[obgyn65]

I am glad to read things turned out ok, kumquat.