Coping with a serious heart condition at an advanced age.

Well folks, I mentioned on Facebook, that I would give you the run down on my heart condition.

I can only hope that people will read this and pay attention to the symptoms, actions and reactions associated with the various operations and medications associated with having heart disease.

I will preface this by saying that while I was still working full time, my job was always extremely stressful. I was generally in a middle or upper management position and my work was always in Quality Engineering in one form or another. My work carried me through working as a spy doing electronic surveillance and crypto repair in the Army Security Agency, then working in the Electronics Industry at companies such as; Memorex, Data General, Data Products, NEC Technologies, DCA Reliability Labratories, Technical Ventures, and several others. I generally thoroughly enjoyed my work and was pretty well compensated for it.

In 1992, after only a year of living in Georgia, I went into the hospital as an outpatient, because I wasn't feeling really all that well. My doctor scheduled me for exploratory angioplasty. The upshot of that examination was that I was not allowed off of the operating table, I was moved from Henry General up to St. Joseph's for an immediate bypass operation. I had six bypasses done all at once, as all six arteries were 95 to 100% blocked. I was told, that I was the first patient in the US to ever have six bypasses done at one time.

Since I am still here to talk about it, the operation went very well, and I recovered nicely, and believe me when I tell you I felt much better. Not nearly as tired and wrung out before the operation.

Over the years from 1992 to 2000 I was taking a minimal amount of heart medications, mainly beta blockers. The reason for the beta blockers was to reduce my cholesterol. My cholesterol count at one time was over 500, and the doctors want you less then 120. My triglycerides were over 1200 at one time.

And no, it wasn't because of my diet, I actually ate a very good diet, it was stress, big time stress causing the high counts, so keeping my cholesterol and triglycerides low was a major project.

At any rate back in 2000 I was carried out of work on a stretcher with my 2nd heart attack. This is the one that cost me 40% loss of heart function. The Doctors at the hospital told me that if I went back to work, the next time I was carried out of work, I would be dead. Soooo! since NEC Technologies was getting ready to close the plant down anyway, I decided that this was a good time to retire on 100% disability as prescribed by my Doctor. NEC had an excellent short term and long term disability plan which I promptly signed on too. At the same time, with my Doctors help I applied for 100% disability from Social Security.

Social Security granted me !00% disability which entailed me receiving full benefits, as if I retired at age 65 instead of age 64.

Since 2000 I have been in the hospital numerous times for a total of 15 stents, 10 angioplasties and 2 pacemakers.

Each time I had warnings that I was having a heart attack. The symptoms were my little finger and the next going numb and pain shooting up my left arm, then my chest would sieze up like a giant grabbed a hold of my chest and I couldn't breathe. Sometimes I could control it with taking nitro tablets, but I found out that if I had to take nitro tablets more then once a week, I needed to go see the cardiologist right away.

You can believe that I started paying close attention to any symptoms that smacked of a heart attack. I also learned to pace myself so I wouldn't overdo it and cause any angina(heart attack for those that don't know what angina means).

Both pacemakers damned near killed me with MRSA infections. So I will no longer allow any pacemaker to be inserted into my body. Thinking back on it now, I should have hired a lawyer and sued the hell out of the Doctor, Hospital and Manufacturer for trying to kill me with infected product. So much for hindsight.

If it weren't for modern cardiac advancements, and the 12 medicines I currently take, I wouldn't be doing as well as I do. If you think this comes cheap, you would be totally wrong. I pay out of my pocket $98.00 for Medicare Part B, $78.00 for Medicare part D(prescriptions), and $200.00 per month for supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare Part A and B do not cover. Medicare does not pay for 20% of your doctor and clinical visits, nor does it pay for dental or eyeglasses.

So If you are not already of an age for Medicare yet, be prepared, because it ain't a free ride.

so that's it from the gahillbilly for now.

PS if are thinking Medicaid, that's ok. Just remember, you cannot have any assets at all, and your total income must be less then $790 per month. That means no Life Insurance, No stocks, No Bonds, no house, and no car worth more then $990.00. Also, no jewelry, no art, and no savings account.


"(C) Copyright by Victor Winebrenner"