A chocolate box of cardiologists

Off to another cardiologist today.  Dr James Wong. So far, out of the cardiologists I have seen, he is my favorite.

Although I wasn't that keen on the information he delivered. Given my Aortic Aneurysm is just under the threshold for surgical intervention, one of the aims of treatment is to extend the amount of time I stay under the threshold as long as possible. And having a blood pressure that comes in under the 130 systolic mark is his desire.  Unfortunately I have had a run of measurements between the 140 to 150 mark. Thus a new pill, to lower my blood pressure, has been added to my medication list. Sigh. Another marker of age.

I'll be seeing him again in late March after I've been on the medication for a while. Plus I'll be having an echo cardiogram to see whether the measurements from the original echo cardiogram have changed at all.  And while I like his bedside manner, the only disappointing feature for me was that, when asked the odds of my having had surgery for my condition within the next ten years, (Aortic Aneurysm plus Bicuspid Aortic Value with mild to moderate regurgitation)  the body language said it all.  There was significant emotional leakage which suggested my odds for avoiding surgery sometime in the next ten years, all else being equal, are no better than 50:50 and likely to be worse than that.

Having said that, given I don't have private health insurance, it seems that once the threshold which indicates surgery is required has been passed, there will be no lengthy waiting. It seems that for the combination of conditions  I have, that when the threshold has been passed and I am through the gate, Dr Wong assured me that you head towards the front of the public health system queue.  Which is oddly both reassuring and a piece of information that is mildly worrying.  My emotional equilibrium has been given a challenge today and I will be keen to see how long it takes for me to return to an even keel. From my previous experience with the initial diagnosis it may be up to two or three weeks before my equilibrium is restored. It may be a good thing to focus on poker study for two or three weeks and give live poker a miss.  I will ponder on this in the near term

And for anyone who may want to delve into the guidelines for surgical treatment of Bicuspid Aortic Valves with Aortic Aneurysms, Pubmed is a useful place to search. I found one article that seemed to be a fairly good summary of the issues that need to be considered.