An Update on Mr. Milkweed

As it turns out, there really might be something up with Mr. Milkweed's heart. On Tuesday, both his GP and a cardiologist decided that the stress test and echo cardiogram showed signs of blockage in his left coronary artery. The word "quandary" was used, however, because Mr. M isn't having any physical symptoms outside of some arrythmia-- no shortness of breath, no nausea or dizziness, and no chest pains.

They only way to determine whether there's blockage there or not is to perform an angiogram, or a cardiac catherization. This isn't serious enough to be qualified a "surgery;" it is, rather, a "procedure," which is a term that sounds annoyingly vague to me and almost too casual, since there are certain risks involved. Still, if there is blockage, it needs to be dealt with immediately. Apparently, this situation is known as "the widowmaker" and is what claimed Tim Russert's life so suddenly.

Yes..."the widowmaker." I was just PLEASED AS PUNCH to hear that come out of Mr. M's mouth, LET ME TELL YOU.

He's going in at 11:00 on Friday for the catherization. The best case scenario is that there was a false positive with those other tests, and there is no blockage. He'll then be sent home around 6:00pm on Friday, and we'll be fine to continue on with our plans to go to Virginia next week. The worst case scenario is that there's blockage, in which case they'd actually operate right then to put in a stent and open up the artery. This second scenario freaks me out, because it would be actual surgery, which would mean more risks. Still, better to deal with the blockage now, if there is any.

Please do keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers. I feel certain there isn't any blockage, because he's asymptomatic. I'm hopeful he'll spend a groggy Saturday on the couch watching B-movies while I play with Eva and pack for our trip, and that we can quickly put this behind us.