My dad went for an angiogram today. His family has a very strong history of heart disease (his younger brother had a quintuple bypass a year or two ago, his older brother had a stent(?) put in last year, his mom had a quadruple bypass at sixty…you get the picture). Oh, and he (and I) have genetically high cholesterol. Like REALLY high. You’re supposed to be under four or five and he’s at thirteen. (I’m around nine). Anyways, he’s been having some chest pains and stuff and we’ve all been really worried about him. As great as having free health care is in Canada, it’s not the best. They are “reactive” as opposed to “proactive” so his doctor hasn’t been willing to get him the tests he needs to find out where things are at. My uncle (his older brother) finally got tired of it and paid for Dad to have an angiogram done at a private clinic in Vancouver. He had the procedure today and even though the saline stuff make him puke, it’s pretty good news. He has some calcified lumps but there is no more then a 40% blockage anywhere. This means that he can step up his exercise program without having to worry about over doing it. The big thing now is to focus on weight loss. He’s actually starting to count calories (the first time he’s EVER paid attention to stuff like that) and he’s getting serious about exercising. I’m hoping to help him with the latter. Even if it’s just a short walk, we’re going to try and keep each other accountable. Wish us luck!
~Heidi
1 comment:
That's great news. We have a little heart disease in my family too - on my Dad's side. I remember my dad had a heart attack in his 40's and more recently he had to have one of the balloons inserted to clear a blockage. It's all good here too though. We're lucky to have great health care (not free though like you Canadians - we pay for our health insurance).
All things going well, my dad should live as long as his dad (into his 90s)
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