Health

It wasn't bad at all. I'd been in the hospital for several days and had five docs arguing over a) what was really wrong with me, and b) when, or even whether, they were going to do a heart cath. I solved their problem by calling their bluff and having chest pain on Thanksgiving night. I made the cardiologist come in and do the cath at 11 pm! I was already a little goofy because I'd been given some Zofran for the nausea that accompanied the chest pain and he gave me something else, but I could still watch the screen and see the artery open up. That was pretty cool.

I knew what to expect because I'm a (retired) cardiology nurse and have cared for innumerable cath patients. Here's the deal. I don't know whether your doc will go in through the groin (femoral artery) or the wrist (radial artery). You can request the wrist if you get a choice; it's a whole lot easier on you. Either way, you'll most likely be given something to relax you a little plus something to numb the area (I won't lie, that's a big honking needle they use). Then the doc will go in with a very long catheter and under fluoroscopy, thread his way to your heart and look for the blockage(s). He'll use that plus some dye to open them up. That's the cool part if you elect to watch the screen---you can actually see them open and blood flow through again! But you don't have to watch, you can just drift off. Afterwards you'll go to recovery where a nurse will monitor your vital signs for awhile. If this is an outpatient procedure (some are) you'll go home after several hours with a sheet of instructions, prescriptions for some blood thinning drugs (most likely Plavix and aspirin) and maybe even pictures of before and after. (My husband had mine framed and they are on the wall outside his home office---he says to remind him that he almost lost me.) Good luck to you! You got this!!