Just survived heart attack at age 38, follow up to Phil's post

[8a]

We was talking around 9 month ago, i had heart attack. My best wishes for you maldorf, big hug from spain.

 

[maldorf]

Well, the surgery went well according to the surgeon. I went in at 8 am and he didnt finish until 3:15 pm! So over 7 hours. He was able to ablate the bad areas to the point where he was unable to further induce V tach. That is great news.

The only downside, and I wasnt aware of this going into the surgery, is that he had to ablate right next to the AV node. So now my heart is totally dependent on the pacemaker to make my left ventricle contract. Before the surgery, it was only used less than 1% of the time. Its a bit scary to me to think that if something goes wrong with the pacemaker that my heart wouldnt beat. He did say that there is a small 10 to 15% or so chance that the AV node might start working again after all of the inflammation in my heart is gone. Right now my heart still feels crappy. I was basically in V tach for 7 hours straight. He had to defibrillate me 4x during the surgery. They do that to get it back into sinus rhythm and give the heart a rest. If they dont give it a rest things can go south fast.

Overall I am happy about the results. The surgeon is very good at this surgery, it is his specialty. Crazy to think that he was in the OR with me for 7 hours straight, no break! I asked him what he did about going to the bathroom and he said he just doesnt have to go. No adult diaper!

Hopefully the small crappy feeling I have in my heart still goes away. In 30 days I go in to see if it is still having to pace, and if it is not then that means my AV node is back up working again. I hope it is. If it is not, then I will need to go in for yet more surgery. I will then have them take out the 2 year old defibrillator I have and put in a brand new dual chamber pacemaker/defibrillator. They will have to run another lead into my right ventricle then. Running the lead is the only difficult part. The cost on these things is insane. Yesterday' surgery billed at $75,000. The new defibrillator will be another $80,000. My health insurance company must hate me.

Thanks all for the prayers! I was thinking about the guys on the board while I was waiting to go into the OR. It made me feel better knowing that you were rooting for me. It appears to have been a success.

 

[maldorf]

Being fairly physically fit still helped a lot he said. Even with a 20% ejection fraction I am not showing the typical signs of heart failure that some do. I am looking forward to going back to exercise again. It is going to be 1 week off from everything. Then I will do a week or two of just cardio on the treadmill. I will have to start out really slow to be safe. So about 1 month from now I will try weight lifting again. Slow on that of course too. I still squat. I think the fact that I havent given up on exercise is one of the reasons I am still alive today.

 

[maldorf]

One thing I am noticing now, my pecs are really sore. Must be from the 4 defibrillations. Got a chest workout in during the surgery!

 

[muscle96ss]

Well, the surgery went well according to the surgeon. I went in at 8 am and he didnt finish until 3:15 pm! So over 7 hours. He was able to ablate the bad areas to the point where he was unable to further induce V tach. That is great news.

The only downside, and I wasnt aware of this going into the surgery, is that he had to ablate right next to the AV node. So now my heart is totally dependent on the pacemaker to make my left ventricle contract. Before the surgery, it was only used less than 1% of the time. Its a bit scary to me to think that if something goes wrong with the pacemaker that my heart wouldnt beat. He did say that there is a small 10 to 15% or so chance that the AV node might start working again after all of the inflammation in my heart is gone. Right now my heart still feels crappy. I was basically in V tach for 7 hours straight. He had to defibrillate me 4x during the surgery. They do that to get it back into sinus rhythm and give the heart a rest. If they dont give it a rest things can go south fast.

Overall I am happy about the results. The surgeon is very good at this surgery, it is his specialty. Crazy to think that he was in the OR with me for 7 hours straight, no break! I asked him what he did about going to the bathroom and he said he just doesnt have to go. No adult diaper!

Hopefully the small crappy feeling I have in my heart still goes away. In 30 days I go in to see if it is still having to pace, and if it is not then that means my AV node is back up working again. I hope it is. If it is not, then I will need to go in for yet more surgery. I will then have them take out the 2 year old defibrillator I have and put in a brand new dual chamber pacemaker/defibrillator. They will have to run another lead into my right ventricle then. Running the lead is the only difficult part. The cost on these things is insane. Yesterday' surgery billed at $75,000. The new defibrillator will be another $80,000. My health insurance company must hate me.

Thanks all for the prayers! I was thinking about the guys on the board while I was waiting to go into the OR. It made me feel better knowing that you were rooting for me. It appears to have been a success.

Glad you made it home safe. You had originally said that you expected to be home last night; so I was worried when you didn't post yesterday and was hoping everything went good and you were just tired and out of it from the anesthesia.

Those bills for $75K are part of our corrupt system. If you didn't have insurance, you would have to pay that. But the insurance company has contracts on reimbursements with hospitals, providers, etc... and will pay pennies on the dollar on that 75K.

 

[maldorf]

Glad you made it home safe. You had originally said that you expected to be home last night; so I was worried when you didn't post yesterday and was hoping everything went good and you were just tired and out of it from the anesthesia.

Those bills for $75K are part of our corrupt system. If you didn't have insurance, you would have to pay that. But the insurance company has contracts on reimbursements with hospitals, providers, etc... and will pay pennies on the dollar on that 75K.

Yeah, it has been 3 years since my last surgery and my wife told me I did not stay overnight. I could not remember.

I think insurance will probably allow about $40,000 on that bill. What it was last time. Our bill will be about $7000. If they phone me, they usually offer 40% off if I pay by credit card over the phone. They are desperate to get people to pay their bills. Many must not pay. I can also probably call in on my own and get the same deal. That works out well because it counts as $7000 out of pocket paid even though I don't pay that much.

 

[aphextwin]

Hey Maldorf,

I was thinking about you brother. I've been in my own world but was wondering when exactly you were due for surgery. Glad to hear your surgery was successful.

 

[Needmassquick]

Being fairly physically fit still helped a lot he said. Even with a 20% ejection fraction I am not showing the typical signs of heart failure that some do. I am looking forward to going back to exercise again. It is going to be 1 week off from everything. Then I will do a week or two of just cardio on the treadmill. I will have to start out really slow to be safe. So about 1 month from now I will try weight lifting again. Slow on that of course too. I still squat. I think the fact that I havent given up on exercise is one of the reasons I am still alive today.

Really happy for you maldorf. So at 20% you don't feel frequent shortness of breath or exercise intolerance?

 

[maldorf]

Really happy for you maldorf. So at 20% you don't feel frequent shortness of breath or exercise intolerance?

No, not at all really. What I did have was going into ventricular tachycardia, which is worse. Hopefully that's going to be gone now. I have a very large amount of scar tissue now in my heart, and that was the cause.

 

[maldorf]

The future for severe heart failure patients. My surgeon told me that there will be pumps implanted that are about the size of my defibrillator. Amazing.

The past, present and future of the device keeping alive Carew, thousands of HF patients

A look at the past, present and future of the LVAD, a heart pump implanted in baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew and thousands more heart failure patients.

www.heart.org

He feels that heart transplants are not going to be the future. Just too hard to find a heart and too many problems with it.

 

[maldorf]

There were 3 people there in rooms adjacent to mine that just had surgery for LVADs. One was only 19 years old.

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

Well, the surgery went well according to the surgeon. I went in at 8 am and he didnt finish until 3:15 pm! So over 7 hours. He was able to ablate the bad areas to the point where he was unable to further induce V tach. That is great news.

The only downside, and I wasnt aware of this going into the surgery, is that he had to ablate right next to the AV node. So now my heart is totally dependent on the pacemaker to make my left ventricle contract. Before the surgery, it was only used less than 1% of the time. Its a bit scary to me to think that if something goes wrong with the pacemaker that my heart wouldnt beat. He did say that there is a small 10 to 15% or so chance that the AV node might start working again after all of the inflammation in my heart is gone. Right now my heart still feels crappy. I was basically in V tach for 7 hours straight. He had to defibrillate me 4x during the surgery. They do that to get it back into sinus rhythm and give the heart a rest. If they dont give it a rest things can go south fast.

Overall I am happy about the results. The surgeon is very good at this surgery, it is his specialty. Crazy to think that he was in the OR with me for 7 hours straight, no break! I asked him what he did about going to the bathroom and he said he just doesnt have to go. No adult diaper!

Hopefully the small crappy feeling I have in my heart still goes away. In 30 days I go in to see if it is still having to pace, and if it is not then that means my AV node is back up working again. I hope it is. If it is not, then I will need to go in for yet more surgery. I will then have them take out the 2 year old defibrillator I have and put in a brand new dual chamber pacemaker/defibrillator. They will have to run another lead into my right ventricle then. Running the lead is the only difficult part. The cost on these things is insane. Yesterday' surgery billed at $75,000. The new defibrillator will be another $80,000. My health insurance company must hate me.

Thanks all for the prayers! I was thinking about the guys on the board while I was waiting to go into the OR. It made me feel better knowing that you were rooting for me. It appears to have been a success.

So relieved to have you back on the board maldorf. We were certainly pulling for you. Your positive outlook and motivation in life is highly inspiring to say the least.

Blessings and Good Vibes

 

[Bandy0974]

Great to hear that things went well with your surgery Maldorf. You sure do have a lot of guys on the board supporting you. A lot of love here.

 

[DarrenG29]

Glad to see you posting all well after the surgery speedy recovery dude all the best

 

[maldorf]

It's hard for me to know now that my life depends on my pacemaker going off each and every heart beat and if it stops working my heart will stop beating immediately. Before the surgery it was there as a backup. If the VT is gone now then it's worth the sacrifice. My surgeon had to make that decision.

Maybe I will get lucky and my AV node will start working again. 30 days should tell. I sure hope it does.

I'm paranoid now because I have foamy urine. Not sure what's up with that. Going to try to get ahold of my doctor. It's the weekend, so that makes it more difficult.

 

[warlock]

It's hard for me to know now that my life depends on my pacemaker going off each and every heart beat and if it stops working my heart will stop beating immediately. Before the surgery it was there as a backup. If the VT is gone now then it's worth the sacrifice. My surgeon had to make that decision.

Maybe I will get lucky and my AV node will start working again. 30 days should tell. I sure hope it does.

I'm paranoid now because I have foamy urine. Not sure what's up with that. Going to try to get ahold of my doctor. It's the weekend, so that makes it more difficult.

First of all, I'm really glad to hear the procedure went so well. You were in my thoughts the whole time. Like many others have stated, you're an outstanding member to the board and we all appreciate you more than we can say.

I know people who have had pacemakers for probably over 40 years and have never had an issue. I'd think that the pacemakers available nowadays are even better and more improved. You seem to have a great surgeon in your corner. Try to relax and know that everything is fine now. Hopefully the AV node will start working again. Stay positive and keep the spirits up.

 

[DarrenG29]

it must be difficult and a little scary but the best advice I can only give is do not stress you will be okay keep positive like above said bud your a fighter and you will keep on fighting

 

[maldorf]

it must be difficult and a little scary but the best advice I can only give is do not stress you will be okay keep positive like above said bud your a fighter and you will keep on fighting

I'm feeling even better today after a good night's sleep. My heart still feels a bit funny, but I think that's just from the irritation of the surgery.

For now I will hold some hope that the av node will start working again. If not, a new dual chamber pacemaker will make me feel even better.

 

[TripppleP]

Yeah, it has been 3 years since my last surgery and my wife told me I did not stay overnight. I could not remember.

I think insurance will probably allow about $40,000 on that bill. What it was last time. Our bill will be about $7000. If they phone me, they usually offer 40% off if I pay by credit card over the phone. They are desperate to get people to pay their bills. Many must not pay. I can also probably call in on my own and get the same deal. That works out well because it counts as $7000 out of pocket paid even though I don't pay that much.

Every hospital has the billing department. It goes to show you how much money is flowing that a staff of employees can be paid to try and collect from people for their services. And, they are employed because a large percentage of people don't or can't pay their bills. Its a huge tug-o-war game for money versus everyone involved.

Glad you are doing well after surgery. <----

 

[maldorf]

Every hospital has the billing department. It goes to show you how much money is flowing that a staff of employees can be paid to try and collect from people for their services. And, they are employed because a large percentage of people don't or can't pay their bills. Its a huge tug-o-war game for money versus everyone involved.

Glad you are doing well after surgery. <----

I think the hospital is backed up on billing too because I'm pretty sure we still owe $1700 from a trip to the ER late last year. Bill still hasn't arrived.

Maybe covid-19 has affected things in that way.