Introduction

For those that don't know, I had quintuple bypass surgery, also known as a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft or CABG, in August 2004. At the time, I was in reasonably good shape, hadn't smoked in over 4 years, and was only in my mid-40s - it was a shock, to say the least.

Leading up to the surgery, I'd had some chest pains, mainly when exercising, but nothing I took too seriously as they always seemed to subside within a few minutes even during continued activity. One evening while on my bike, the pains were pretty severe. Between that and the fact that a summer rain storm began, I cut the ride short and headed home. The next day, I called my doctor and within the week was recovering from the surgery.

I recovered well and was back to work in about eight weeks. Within six months, I was riding my bike up to 50 miles a day. And then more chest pains... An angiogram revealed that one of the bypasses had occluded and there was 50% stenosis in at least two other places. The doctor decided on only pharmaceutical changes - I had been taking only a baby aspirin in the morning and Zocor in the evening. The doctor increased the aspirin dosage to a full strenght (325 vice 81 mg), upped the Zocor to 40 mg, added Plavix, metoprolol and transdermal nitroglycerin to my morning cocktail, and gave me a prescription for sublinguil nitroglycerin... just in case.

Shortly thereafter, all seemed well again. By August, I was back in full riding form and began an exercise regime at the gym. Once again, however, I began experiencing chest pains. The day before Thanksgiving, I had another angiogram. At least 4 arteries showing 90-95% stenosis. Luckily, they are small ones and feed the back side of the heart. The doctor says I won't have a severe heart attack, if I have one at all. Easy for her to say, I suppose.

It's now April, and the frequency and duration of the chest pains continues to increase. I saw my doctor last week and had a stress test, which was clean. But the doctor will be sending my records to Washington Hospital Center to get another opinion on possible treatments. She doesn't really believe there is anything to do pharmaceutically without danger of causing other, more sersious problems; nor does she think that stents are an option as the damage is too severe and the vessels too small.

So there we are. I should find out next week if the WHC has any recommendations. In the meantime, I'll continue exercising (last Sunday, I rode 40 miles) and maintain a heart-healthy diet. I will post here occasionally as circumstances and motivation warrant.