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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Angiogram Is It Safe To Have?

Hi, tomorrow I have to have an angiogram, even though you have reassurances from the hospital everything will be OK with the procedure, I still cannot think positively about this, am I worrying too much about this? has any reader had this done? Thanks in advance for the replies.
Fri, 18 Dec 2009
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I haven't had the procedure done to me- but my father has had it done a few times, and I've had plenty of patients who've had it done. It's normal to have a certain amount of dread and fear over a pending procedure, and certainly one that will be checking out your heart. It's basically nothing more than a very fancy x-ray of your heart. The worst of it seems to be having to lie still after the procedure is done and over with. You will have an incision in your groin where they will thread the catheter through. Since it's a very large artery, they want to be very careful that you don't have bleeding problems afterwards. So you will have a large sandbag lie over the spot for at least an hour or so, and you will have to lie flat during that time. That's the part that drives my dad buggy- the staring at the ceiling bit. He's also not fond of the urinal, because if you have to have a wee, you can't get up to visit the toilet. Otherwise, there really isn't much pain to speak of. The opsite on your leg will be numb for several hours, and that's the only spot that will bother you. The next day you will probably have a bruise there, and think you have been kicked in the crotch by an elephant. I think what really may be bothering you is what you are afraid they will find, or that maybe it won't be fixable- more than the procedure itself. That would be normal as well. Just keep telling yourself that whatever they find is more than likely fixable. And it's easier to deal with what you know than it is to live in fear of finding out. My dad ended up with a bypass eventually, but that has been 15 years ago. Since then he's had three stents placed, and a pacemaker- all done via that leg incision. And he's still as ornery as he ever was. I can't give you magic words to take away all the fear and worry, I'm sorry. But what I can tell you is that the devil you know is a lot easier to live with and conquer than the one fear keeps hidden. Lets just hope the ceiling is interesting- but take a good magazine just in case. Good luck, and yes- you sound normal and it's really okay to be scared.

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Angiogram Is It Safe To Have?

I haven t had the procedure done to me- but my father has had it done a few times, and I ve had plenty of patients who ve had it done. It s normal to have a certain amount of dread and fear over a pending procedure, and certainly one that will be checking out your heart. It s basically nothing more than a very fancy x-ray of your heart. The worst of it seems to be having to lie still after the procedure is done and over with. You will have an incision in your groin where they will thread the catheter through. Since it s a very large artery, they want to be very careful that you don t have bleeding problems afterwards. So you will have a large sandbag lie over the spot for at least an hour or so, and you will have to lie flat during that time. That s the part that drives my dad buggy- the staring at the ceiling bit. He s also not fond of the urinal, because if you have to have a wee, you can t get up to visit the toilet. Otherwise, there really isn t much pain to speak of. The opsite on your leg will be numb for several hours, and that s the only spot that will bother you. The next day you will probably have a bruise there, and think you have been kicked in the crotch by an elephant. I think what really may be bothering you is what you are afraid they will find, or that maybe it won t be fixable- more than the procedure itself. That would be normal as well. Just keep telling yourself that whatever they find is more than likely fixable. And it s easier to deal with what you know than it is to live in fear of finding out. My dad ended up with a bypass eventually, but that has been 15 years ago. Since then he s had three stents placed, and a pacemaker- all done via that leg incision. And he s still as ornery as he ever was. I can t give you magic words to take away all the fear and worry, I m sorry. But what I can tell you is that the devil you know is a lot easier to live with and conquer than the one fear keeps hidden. Lets just hope the ceiling is interesting- but take a good magazine just in case. Good luck, and yes- you sound normal and it s really okay to be scared.