Mom Update

This is a follow-up to Sunday's post. 

Mom had her cardiologist appointment yesterday, and she asked me to go with her into the exam room, which I was happy to do. I really like her cardiologist; he's pleasant, knowledgeable, seems to enjoy answering questions, and actively solicits patient feedback, all of which seem to be a rarity in medicine these days. 

Doc Cardio thinks mom is doing okay, especially for an 84 year old who had a STEMI, a catheterization, and a stent put into one of her heart arteries a week ago. (Based on the angiogram I saw, and my hazy recollection that the artery was a three-letter acronym that sounded like something non-medical, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was her Right Coronary Artery. I bring this up because a nurse friend asked me for specifics.) He also thinks that her blood pressure is still too high, which is no surprise as we've both been eating a steady diet of stress since February. No one has said anything about further procedures except "We don't think you need one," which is great news. The 50% blockage will just be monitored and treated proactively with medication and diet to reduce her BP and cholesterol, and she'll stay on blood thinners (likely for life) to prevent her stent from being obstructed by a clot. 

When I asked him how this blockage was missed, he explained what likely happened was that a random blood clot essentially "ran aground" on normal (say, 30%) aterial blockage and made like the Ever Given in the Suez Canal. Just to be sure, though, she has a low-level stress test scheduled for next week, and there are any other nasty surprises hiding in her arteries that will hopefully find them.