Wednesday, January 18, 2006
I just realized I hadn't ever mentioned the results of the MUGA scan. I saw my cardiologist last week to discuss them. The MUGA gives an exact number, instead of the range that an echo gives. My EF is, therefore, 21%.
And while I'm relatively asymptomatic compared to most people with EFs that low, he finds it frustrating that despite all the meds and my reasonable weight and all that, we haven't managed to improve that to at least 30%. So he's referred me to an electrophysiologist with Johns Hopkins, to be evaluated for going back in and implanting that third lead on the pacemaker. As I mentioned when I started this blog, the EP who did it couldn't get the third lead in; the vein at the back of my heart was too "tortuous." Anyway, that was nearly 3 years ago; since then, surgeons have become more experienced at laparascopic implantation, and also there's a possibility that the doctors at Johns Hopkins might just be better than the ones back in Austin... anyway, he's gonna look at me and see if it might be possible now to do that.
If he judges that it's not, then we have to decide whether it's worth it to do a limited thoracotomy, cracking open a couple ribs to get at the heart - much less invasive and quicker recovery than cracking the sternum for open-heart, but a lot more trouble than laparascopic surgery, and it would actually require a couple of nights in the hospital and a couple of weeks of recovery time. And not playing a large saxophone that hangs from around my neck for a couple of months. So I'd have to think about that. Maybe wait until the summer, after the 4th of July concerts are over!
And while I'm relatively asymptomatic compared to most people with EFs that low, he finds it frustrating that despite all the meds and my reasonable weight and all that, we haven't managed to improve that to at least 30%. So he's referred me to an electrophysiologist with Johns Hopkins, to be evaluated for going back in and implanting that third lead on the pacemaker. As I mentioned when I started this blog, the EP who did it couldn't get the third lead in; the vein at the back of my heart was too "tortuous." Anyway, that was nearly 3 years ago; since then, surgeons have become more experienced at laparascopic implantation, and also there's a possibility that the doctors at Johns Hopkins might just be better than the ones back in Austin... anyway, he's gonna look at me and see if it might be possible now to do that.
If he judges that it's not, then we have to decide whether it's worth it to do a limited thoracotomy, cracking open a couple ribs to get at the heart - much less invasive and quicker recovery than cracking the sternum for open-heart, but a lot more trouble than laparascopic surgery, and it would actually require a couple of nights in the hospital and a couple of weeks of recovery time. And not playing a large saxophone that hangs from around my neck for a couple of months. So I'd have to think about that. Maybe wait until the summer, after the 4th of July concerts are over!
