The blue line starting in Nov 2005 shows the daily pedometer readings - I started to wear one to check how much exercise I was having. My coronary health deteriorated rapidly between December 2005 and March 2006 - there was a sustained upward trend in blood pressure and a catastrophic loss in physical capacity - 3000 steps a day was a lot. I had an angiogram and IVUS (intra vascular ultrasound) inspection in March where it was determined that the plaques were both bulky and diffuse, one of the right coronary artery branches being at least 80% blocked. A second stent was fitted (the first, also in the right coronary artery, being fitted 24 months before). The improvement after a month was very little - in other words the problem had not been resolved.
The $64,000 question is then - what happened afterward? It is now over 2 months since the treatment was completed and the general level of activity has been sustained, less walking but a lot of other activities (we are planning to move house soon so there is an awful lot to do). I have now started an exercise bike regime - about 25 min/day at a light setting, equivalent to 200kcal and 9km distance. Fatigue effects have gradually lessened as the fitness has increased and - dare I say it - the tone and condition of the heart has improved since July. In particular, if I do too much on any one day I can recover quite quickly whereas 6 months ago I would have been out of action for days, confined to the sofa and forced to watch the world go by. I am once more part of the world!
I hope to post more reports periodically with updates - good, bad or neutral. My experience thus far is - if you have coronary vascular disease and your cardiologist agrees that EECP is a valid treatment - go for it! It will not harm you and you have a 75-80% probability of it doing a lot of good.
HP Masher - 24th September 2006
¶ 8:58 pm
