Health:
I wish to thank Jim for sharing this as I found it quite
informative and interesting. There is much we all share in common within the
PCN, but for sure we all are aging with an eye toward health issues. Sharing posts with things you have
experienced or learned is very much encouraged and I will print them. Thanks.
From: Jim Horan
Date: 1/27/2014 4:16:32 PM
Subject: Medical Issues
Hi Mark:
Just about to turn 71 and have been dealing with some medical issues
that have been resolved for the time being. And I thought your PCN
Group may be interested. Plus you may need some fodder for the
newsletter.
FYI I live at an elevation of 8200’ and have been here permanently
since retirement in June, 2000. Active all year long: skiing 75/days
a year, hiking, fishing, camping & workout at the local Rec Center 3x
week. Still the same weight and height when I graduated high school
in 1960…5’8” and 170 lbs.
Here is the timeline for what has occurred:
1) Mid-November, 2013 visit a new physician (Internal Medicine) to see
if he and I were going to hit it off. Turns out we did not since he
subscribes to the vegan diet and I do not. However, BP was tested
and it was 150/90. Yes very high and I had not been keeping track of
it up to that point.
2) Start keeping a BP log AM & PM (typically higher in the
PM). Use a machine made by Omron. Can be purchased at
Amazon.
3) Visit to our local cardiologist (a lady out of Dartmouth Medical
School). Diagnosis…hypertension. Orders all the
appropriate blood tests: CBC, lipid, liver, thyroid & Vitamin C.
4) All tests normal except Vitamin C was low. Hard to
believe since outdoors all the time but usually covered up with some form of
clothing &/or sunscreen. Started taking 2000 IU of Vitamin D3
daily besides my other stuff. Will retest in 3 months.
5) Have an overnight (at home) Oximetry test done to test the O2 level
in my blood. Levels should be around 95 but mine were in the
mid-80’s and sometimes in the high 70’s. This can be caused by high
BP or sleep apnea.
6) Cardiologist orders an O2 generator for the house and tells me to
use it at the rate of 3LPM via a nasal cannula.
7) Then another more sophisticated lipid test called a Cardio
IQ. Breaks down all that stuff in the normal lipid test to more
exact measurements. All normal.
8) Cardio lady orders a Sleep Study test to be done at the Vail Valley
Hospital on 12/26. Results of that test were mild/moderate
obstructive sleep apnea. That sleep study was done while on room
air, then with 3LPM supplemental O2 and then using CPAP (Continuous Positive
Airway Pressure). Looks like the nose cones we wore back in the
70’s. Can cover either mouth & nose or just your nasal passages. My
apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) was 11.03 on room air and 0.00 on supplemental O2.
9) Cardio lady orders an echocardiogram/treadmill stress
test/echocardiogram. Results negative but cardio lady thinks it
could be a false negative.
10) Right after #9 in for a Calcium CT. Results showed very
high calcium scores in all 4 coronary arteries. Not
good. Calcium attaches itself to the plaque in your arteries.
11) Drugs…forgot to mention. She started me on Losartan
(25mg) (generic for Cozaar) on 12/20 for BP control. 1x daily in
AM. BP now under control (122/76 this AM). Then on 1/3/14
started Lipitor (20mg) 1x daily before bed. My LDL is 106 and she
wants it down to 60-70. Retest lipids in 3 months.
12) Cardio lady wants me to see local ENT guy who I know very well
(this is a very small valley) to verify results of Sleep Study with an actual
exam. His finding is mild obstructive sleep apnea (he eliminated the
moderate portion). And he said “it would be in my best interest to
use supplemental O2 at night at the rate of 2LPM”. So I am doing
that.
13) Was having nose bleed problems but got that resolved by putting a
humidifier on the O2 generator and trimming the nasal cannulas a little bit
(suggested by the ENT).
14) So I have mild obstructive sleep apnea but not significant enough
to use CPAP. Supplemental O2 does not remove the obstruction but
keeps my blood oxygenation level up. How do I know
that? Just had another Oximetry test with use of supplemental O2 and
readings were in the mid-90’s. So the heart is not pumping harder
during sleep as it was before.
15) Cardio lady still not happy with echo results. She
wanted me to go directly to the cardiac catheterization procedure (the “gold
standard") but opted for a Cardiolite Stress Test (Jan. 23). This
is nuclear medicine stuff. You light up like a glow
worm. Results…I do have CAD but not obstructive. No
“balanced ischemia” which means she did not see obstructive disease in multiple
heart arteries. That is very good!
So now what? Press on and live my normal
life. Some retesting in 3 months (lipid and Vitamin
C). Annual checkup with cardio lady and EKG (which has always been
normal BTW).
I never had (or even thought to have) all this “baseline” testing
done. But it all got started with that high BP back in
November. My ski buddy is a Medical Oncologist (age 65) and he
agrees everyone should have some type of baseline done.
I honestly think my “cardio lady” (BTW very attractive also) may have
saved me from an untimely cardiac event or stroke.
So now daily drugs and supplemental O2 at night which would probably
not be necessary if I moved back to ATL. I don’t think that will
happen. My kids and grandkids and ex-wife are all there.
Also if any shortness of breath or chest pains (which I have never had)
I will go direct to the cardiac cath table and I already have an interventional
cardiologist lined up in Denver who does these daily.
All of this test crap can be Googled to get more info. You
are also welcome to email or call if you would like some more exact info.
What did I learn from this? High Calcium scores don’t mean
anything until you get some other tests done. Some tests can fool
you with a false negative. Anybody my age has some CAD and may have
sleep apnea. Does your significant other say you snore a
lot? Check it out. Sleep Apnea can kill you very easily
either by heart attack or stroke or both.
Oximetry test cost $125 and is paid for by Medicare.
Thanks for reading and listening. If this helps one person
out it was worth the effort getting this email out.
Best,
Jim
(767/ATL/ret June, 2000)
Jim Horan
Vailmtneer@comcast.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Full post disclaimer in left column. PCN Home Page is located at: http://pcn.homestead.com/home01.html
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