Klarinet Archive - Posting 001181.txt from 1998/01

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Connie Josias illness
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 04:08:40 -0500

John Gates asks about Connie and the prognosis for additional treatment.
Since I had a heart attack about 18 months ago, I'll share with you
what is probably going to happen with Connie over the next few weeks
and months.

The first thing on Connie's agenda is to rest and get to the point where
he can undergo some additional tests that will put a little stress on
his heart. That will include a treadmill test that is designed to
insure that he can safely go home. If he doesn't pass that, then
he will probably have to undergo an angiogram which involves looking
at the heart while it is beating and pumping some radioactive dyes into
it. It is a rather scary moment because it gives rise to the sensation
that one is involuntarily urinating all over the table, even though one
is not.

That test will tell how much the arteries in his heart are clogged
and which ones are the more serious culprits.

In turn that could lead to a variety of procedures including
angioplasty (or the instertion of things into the heart arteries
that squash the fat preventing the blood flow) to by pass
surgery, which involves completely bypassing the stuffed up
arteries by taking veins from the leg and using them to shunt
the blood around the clogged arteries.

If the attack is mild, Connie will go home in a few days, rest for
several weeks and then undergo further tests before being allowed
to resume his normal activities. He will also have to take up
exercize and dieting as a substitute for practicing clarinet.

One very positive think about playing clarinet is that it acts
as aerobic exercise for the heart and the arteries are often
enlarged after 40 or 50 years of playing. At least that was my
case.

There are so many possibilities for any heart attack that other
than the above basics, it is best not to speculate about what
is going to happen until (a) they get him stabile, and (b) they
find out where the problem lies.

But both he and I are fortunate to live in these times. 25 years
ago most people died in their first h.a. Today, the rate is down
to about 1 in 3 dying. And the technology for fixing things is
wonderful. The angiogram and agioplasty is done while you are aware
and looking at the screen as the wires go right inside your heart.

I turned my head away. I did not want to look.

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================