Finding Out

It was early June 2007 when I was working in Quebec city on a software implementation proof-of-concept that I started to feel chest pains. At first it only occurred when I was walking up hill at a good clip, but then it started to occur any time I was under stress. This particular proof-of-concept had a contract contingent on its success and every day was stressful. Internally I began to get frightened--I just knew that something wasn't right.

Upon returning to Ottawa one weekend I discussed it with my girlfriend and we were able to set up an appointment with a GP in short order. My meeting with the GP along with blood tests from a lab indicated a possible heart murmur, slightly higher than average cholesterol and slightly lower than average red blood cell count. My GP recommended me to the Ottawa Heart Institute and an Echocardiogram (sonography of the heart) and Stress Test. In the mean time I was traveling to Quebec city every week to start delivering on the project (we completed the PoC and won the business).

The purpose of the echocardiogram was to get a better look at the valves and the stress test was to determine if there might be other issues, like blockage in the arteries. After both tests I met with my Cardiologist. She confirmed that the murmur identified by the GP was a valve malformation that was most likely congenital. What she found puzzling was my angina like symptoms because my stress test had no indications of heart problems. In consultation the cardiologist and I decided to move ahead with a second test called a CT scan. A radioactive dye is fed intravenously and technicians use a CT scan device to capture pictures of the heart, it s arteries and its valves.

When I was 17 I was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease. During that period I was subject to a early version of the CT scan where a significant amount of iodine (the dye used at the time) was fed into my body. Only once all the dye was in my blood stream did I start to have breathing problems and the discovery that I was allergic to radioactive dyes. The reason I bring this to light is that CT scan I was about to undergo uses the same dyes and there's all kinds of precautions to take. I was terrified because I remember the sensation of not being able to breath, I remember the adrenalin shot and I remember the 5 days on a benadryl drip. The CT scan for heart patients is a pretty cool innovation. Typically, hospitals go to an Angiogram right away to look for arterial plaque. An Angiogram is a day surgery procedure that uses a catheter inserted into your femoral artery that moves up close to the heart and injects dye directly into the hearts arteries while an x-ray camera captures it all on video. With the CT scan, there's no surgery. The result aren't as conclusive, but if you're looking for indicators it is a much less invasive way of taking a look. Probably a lot cheaper as well. My CT was almost invalid because they couldn't get my heart rate down. I was so nervous about the dye allergy. It ended being nothing. As I found out later the dyes used now a much improved from the one used 20 years ago and all the preparations were simply a precaution.

My CT scan results were a bit of a shocker. The scan indicated that I had 1 artery with 80-100% blockage and 2 other arteries with 20-50% blockage. As I mentioned the CT scan is not meant to be a conclusive test, simply an indicator. With that information we again decided to take a closer look and I was scheduled for the full angiogram.

The results from the angiogram were a little hard to take. The angiogram confirmed that 1 artery was 100% blocked and another was 70% blocked. There was a possible 3rd blockage but it seemed to be less of an issue. I was sitting up in bed in recovery when the Cardiologist told me the news. I remember first thinking "ok, now we know so what do we do to fix it". My second thought was "holy shit, what did she say". After those first two internal thoughts, I simply said out loud "Ok?". The Cardiologist then went on to say that I was going to need bypass surgery and she was recommending me to a surgeon at the institute. She also mentioned that surgeon was a valve specialist because the thinking was valve repair may be an option at the same time as the bypass.

My next step was to start telling people. Who do you tell first, how do you tell them and what do you tell them? One decision I made early on was to not keep my examinations, tests and their results a secret. The only place I did keep it a secret was with my folks. As I mentioned when I was 17 I had Hodgkins disease (cancer of the lymphatic system). Since that time I have always been careful share any health information with my folks because they get worried pretty quickly. I informed my girlfriend, then I informed my boss and friend, then I started informing others, including my mother and father. I'm a 37 year old, fit, healthy living and hard working person. Pretty much everybody was shocked. I now had 6 weeks to transition the company I manage and get my personal information together. Surprisingly I was upbeat. I think the big reason is that I had full support from my family, my friends, my boss and we had a plan. Bypass and valve replacement is not something new and the OHI was the place in Canada to get it done. My meeting with the surgeon was scheduled for the end of January.