my 81 year old father-in-law..heart question

[ProudGrandma]

My father-in -law, who is in relly great health for an 81 year old man (I mean, he camps, he plays golf, he mows the grass, he goes for walks with his wife, etc)...had his annual drs appointment last week. He was told by his family doctor that he must have had a heart attack some time and that they wanted to do the dye-test to see what his arteries look like. We got a phone call last night and they said they had good news and bad news...the good news is that his heart is in very good condition and the bad news is that 4 of his arteries were about 90% blocked and that they want to do open heart surgery. He has never had any major health problems, no high cholesteryl, nothing like that....so we are wondering whether or not this really is a good move for him...we have never had any expereince with this sort of thing before...and they live 14 hours away from us....should we encourage him to get a second opinion? Is there a more natural thing he can do first to see if it makes a difference. Right now, he is active and happy...and open heart surgery on an 81 year old will totally take everything out of him...we are afraid. PLEASE guide us here...we don't know what to think.

 

Kathy

[OrganicAnn]

A second opinion doesn't hurt. You might suggest he also consults with a gerontologist - doctors who specialized in older people. Supposedly they look at the complete picture (surgery impact, other medications, all conditions etc) whereas a cardiologist that will just try to solve the one problem - his heart.

[ProudGrandma]

A second opinion doesn't hurt. You might suggest he also consults with a gerontologist - doctors who specialized in older people. Supposedly they look at the complete picture (surgery impact, other medications, all conditions etc) whereas a cardiologist that will just try to solve the one problem - his heart.

 

that is a gerat idea...never thought of that...thanks.

[Orthodox6]

:grouphug: !

 

I'm sharing my experience, not to suggest what you should do, but to provide a possibly comparable, and I hope encouraging, anecdote.

 

My father just turned 87. When he was 81, he still mowed his own 1/2-acre lawn, went up on the roof of the house to make minor repairs, cleaned the house regularly, executed carpentry jobs, and so forth. His overall health was excellent. One day he went for a routine stress test, and flunked it royally. The doctor told him not even to go home, but to go straight to the hospital. He underwent quadruple by-pass surgery.

 

I went to stay with my parents for three weeks, five hours away from home. My mother was in the early stages of Alzheimers at that point (now far worse) and unable to do anything for my father. I watched my father recover quickly and well from his surgery.

 

Now Dad is 87. He stays off of the house roof [ ! ] but still cooks, cleans, shops for groceries, and is very active for his age.

 

I would talk with his doctors -- telephone consults, then decide how/if you can arrange your life to allow you to go stay with him for a few weeks (that is, if he has the surgery). As this is your f-i-l, are there other children of his living closer than you do, who could be there with him?

 

Again, don't panic. Just think things through in detail, get your f-i-l's input, too.

 

:grouphug: !

 

Antonia

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for your story...that does give me some comfort...this grandfather is known by my kids as "the fun Grandpa" because he plays with them almost non-stop while we visit...and I it would "kill" him not to be able to do this, plus all of the other stuff he enjoys doing. So, thanks again....I appreciate it.

[3peasinapod]

I think a second opinion wouldn't hurt, and the geriatrics doctor would be a fine move, although his regular physician can look at the whole picture as well. How soon do they want him to undergo surgery? There is a difference between a healthy heart and unhealthy veins, though. 90% blockage is far along and shouldn't be ignored. I hope that helps.

[Tap]

I work in pharmacy and see a lot of people post op. One thing that many, many people say is that they feel better almost immediately after heart surgery. 90% blockage is significant. If they can do the procedure and open those arteries he may feel even better than he does now. He will need to let the wounds heal, but there isn't any reason to believe that just by having the surgery that he will be worse off.

 

If the condition is ignored, I would expect his health to start crumbling irreparably in the next year or two, and if he has another heart attack he may not make it this time.

 

 

I always get a second opinion on my surgeries or significant treatments. It also helps to help choose your surgeon if you have more than one to choose from.

[usetoschool]

Totally anecdotal but my grandpa was always in good health and ended up having bypass surgery in his late 80's and then went on to live to be 98 (just passed away totally peacefully two years ago). After the bypass he went on all kinds of trips, including China, and lived by himself until he died.

 

A second opinion never hurts but like the pp said, he felt so much better afterwards. We know a man in our age group that had bypass surgery last year and said he didn't realize how bad he felt until he felt so much better after the surgery. The surgery could be a good thing.

[ProudGrandma]

thanks so much for all of your posts...I really appreciate them. I hope and pray that he, will indeed, feel better after it is all said and done. What would be a "normal" recovery rate for someone like my father-in-law??

[Sandy in Indy]

The usual recovery time for open-heart surgery is 12 weeks. It takes that long for the breastbone to heal properly. (At least, that's what they told us when my dh had his triple-bypass.) DH felt great long before that time, and I had to practically tie him to the chair to make sure he didn't overdo. It is crucial for the breastbone to heal properly. (I had a relative who ignored this...it didn't go so well.)

 

It sounds like your f-i-l is in great shape. I'd have far less concern about him undergoing surgery than someone who's 81 and sitting in a chair all the time.

 

He'll probably do great, and you'll be amazed at the difference in him.

[G5052]

I work in pharmacy and see a lot of people post op. One thing that many, many people say is that they feel better almost immediately after heart surgery. 90% blockage is significant. If they can do the procedure and open those arteries he may feel even better than he does now. He will need to let the wounds heal, but there isn't any reason to believe that just by having the surgery that he will be worse off.

 

If the condition is ignored, I would expect his health to start crumbling irreparably in the next year or two, and if he has another heart attack he may not make it this time.

 

 

I always get a second opinion on my surgeries or significant treatments. It also helps to help choose your surgeon if you have more than one to choose from.

 

I wouldn't delay this. People with this level of blockage can go down very, very quickly. You need to be picking the doctor and hospital and getting this scheduled. Second opinions are fine of course. A friend of ours just had this done, and they ended up with their second-choice surgeon and hospital because the first-choice guy was arrogant and seemed to gloss over details that the wife knew were important (she's a V.P. of Nursing at a major hospital).

[sheryl]

My father-in -law, who is in relly great health for an 81 year old man (I mean, he camps, he plays golf, he mows the grass, he goes for walks with his wife, etc)...had his annual drs appointment last week. He was told by his family doctor that he must have had a heart attack some time and that they wanted to do the dye-test to see what his arteries look like. We got a phone call last night and they said they had good news and bad news...the good news is that his heart is in very good condition and the bad news is that 4 of his arteries were about 90% blocked and that they want to do open heart surgery. He has never had any major health problems, no high cholesteryl, nothing like that....so we are wondering whether or not this really is a good move for him...we have never had any expereince with this sort of thing before...and they live 14 hours away from us....should we encourage him to get a second opinion? Is there a more natural thing he can do first to see if it makes a difference. Right now, he is active and happy...and open heart surgery on an 81 year old will totally take everything out of him...we are afraid. PLEASE guide us here...we don't know what to think.

 

Kathy

 

 

Kathy, My Dad will be 85 this Nov and is a looooong time cardiac patient. Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio (my birth state) is an internationally recognized facility for heart patients. I don't know how far you are from him b/c as I type this I forgot to look to see if you added it in your info line. Anyway, I would strongly suggest a 2nd opinion if this is a little regional/not real top notch dr/hospital type of place. Is their equipement old, are they "up" with tests and procedures?

 

If they are not, I'd look for a 2nd opinion fast with a larger hospital that specializes with heart patients. HTH. Sheryl