Had the follow-up visit with the physician. Here is the situation.
My condition is described as "extensive calcified arteriosclerosis. At
least one significant fixed coronary narrowing may be present. The overall
risk of a cardiovascular event is very much higher than average."
If left untreated, we could expect 50% of people with this condition to have
a heart attack within the next ten years. My risk can be lowered
substantially with therapy.
My heart scan results warranted a phone call from the cardiologist at the
heart imaging to my primary physician. His recommended therapy is to take
an aspirin a day, take a statin drug until my LDL is down from 160 to under
70, continue current diet and exercise, and take another thallium stress
test every year or two to monitor function. Dr Becky and I concur. I can
do that.
If function becomes impaired, and we spot it, they can go in through the
groin with an angioplasty procedure to open up blood vessels and even put in
stents to keep them open if necessary. It sounds like if we pay the right
amount of attention to this we can keep the risk of heart attack relatively
low, make minor repairs as required, and maybe even avoid bypass surgery
altogether. That doesn't suck too much.
Not a discouraging situation at all.
