How long does heart by pass surgey last?
Discussion
My mother in law had a triple bypass 12 years ago. She is now 72 and starting to have a few problems, breathing problems in the main and swelling feet etc. They took her back in to hospital yesterday for tests.
Tough question I know, but how long do such operations normally last before they too begin to wear out?
Tough question I know, but how long do such operations normally last before they too begin to wear out?
How long's a piece of string? No two cases the same.
Recently had a double bypass ~ two years ago ~ fellow in the same ward was having his 2nd bypass op. as his 25 year old jobbies had become blocked up due to poor diet and he still smokes!
Prior to my operation, the specialists called me in to discuss various aspects. Salient points:~
"We will stop your heart, deflate your lungs and a machine will take over. There is a one in fifty chance of not surviving the operation. Also a similar odds possibility of dieing up to a year afterwards. Not to have the operation could mean you die tomorrow or, live another twenty years ..."
Whilst recovering after my double bypass, I watched a lot of Freeview TV and one programme was memorable. One of James May's oddball looks at things included a view of such an operation. Indeed, his programme was arranged in the same Hospital and Operating Theatre that I had my op!
Although I had had the process verbally described to me by the specialists prior to my op, had I had watched that programme and all it's detailed visual content, I may have decided not to go ahead. That electric saw down the centre of your rib cage is bad enough, but those clamps holding the separated rib cage wide open to allow access to the organs within is something else to.
Still, glad I did. Despite well past my sell by date, I can now walk briskly for a mile or so with no sign of chest pains at all.
..
Recently had a double bypass ~ two years ago ~ fellow in the same ward was having his 2nd bypass op. as his 25 year old jobbies had become blocked up due to poor diet and he still smokes!
Prior to my operation, the specialists called me in to discuss various aspects. Salient points:~
"We will stop your heart, deflate your lungs and a machine will take over. There is a one in fifty chance of not surviving the operation. Also a similar odds possibility of dieing up to a year afterwards. Not to have the operation could mean you die tomorrow or, live another twenty years ..."
Whilst recovering after my double bypass, I watched a lot of Freeview TV and one programme was memorable. One of James May's oddball looks at things included a view of such an operation. Indeed, his programme was arranged in the same Hospital and Operating Theatre that I had my op!
Although I had had the process verbally described to me by the specialists prior to my op, had I had watched that programme and all it's detailed visual content, I may have decided not to go ahead. That electric saw down the centre of your rib cage is bad enough, but those clamps holding the separated rib cage wide open to allow access to the organs within is something else to.
Still, glad I did. Despite well past my sell by date, I can now walk briskly for a mile or so with no sign of chest pains at all.
..
Similar here...
Favourite uncle had a quad bypass 10 years ago.
He was told it would last about 10 years and surprise, surprise just as the warranty runs out he starts chest pains.
Been in and out of hospital for tests over the last few weeks.
Just waiting for tests to see if his arteries are clogged.
Hope everything works out ok, OP.
Favourite uncle had a quad bypass 10 years ago.
He was told it would last about 10 years and surprise, surprise just as the warranty runs out he starts chest pains.
Been in and out of hospital for tests over the last few weeks.
Just waiting for tests to see if his arteries are clogged.
Hope everything works out ok, OP.
Edited by Nolar Dog on Tuesday 10th February 17:02
bigTee said:
what happens when it wears out?
Is it fixable?
Yes, see above ...Is it fixable?
Following the operation, you need to exercise regularly. The grafts ~ In my case blood vessels removed from my left leg ~ scar twelve inches long ~ healed nicely ~ need to be exercised so that they can perform and supply the heart extra blood when demanded as required during more energetic activity ~ it's not enough to simply tick over on idle all the time.
I volunteered to have some magnetic images taken of my heart and blood system. I was in that noisy magnetic tube for an hour or so ~ they took around 2000 images ~ and by stringing images together, a 'movie' of the way the heart and blood system works. I had no idea how big those blood vessels can be and how they expanded when extra blood supply was required. The Aorta is a LARGE diameter vessel and any injury to that is often fatal ~ huge blood pressure is involved.
Those images will be of little benefit to me, but will help future generations on how to deal with, or, better still avoid heart disorders.
..
The rest of your life.
My Uncle had a Tripple in 1987 and it lasted until 2003 when he needed a stent in one of the new tubes.
However he had done little to kerb his eating and smoking, and only reduced his drinking to modderate levels.
He is still plugging on, However has stopped the pipe. and only stopped eating crap when he was diagnosed diabetic in 2005.
Exercise is teh key, as said above.
My Uncle had a Tripple in 1987 and it lasted until 2003 when he needed a stent in one of the new tubes.
However he had done little to kerb his eating and smoking, and only reduced his drinking to modderate levels.
He is still plugging on, However has stopped the pipe. and only stopped eating crap when he was diagnosed diabetic in 2005.
Exercise is teh key, as said above.
Edited by VR6time on Tuesday 7th April 11:17
Very much depends. No hard and fast rules, but anywhere between 10-20 years would be about right. Depends how many grafts, how they are plumbed in, if they are venous or arterial, risk factor modification etc etc.
They can be assessed through angiography (wire through artery in leg, inject dye and watch on an x-ray image intensifier and look for blockages) or sometimes cardiac MRI (like MGJohn had). Again, depends on where the problems are likely to be.
You can generally repair things. Either through angioplasty (same as angiography, but you can deploy a little chickenwire-like stent to hold a blockage open) or through repeat bypass. However, this all depends where the blockages are, what they are like, surgical risk factors etc. Cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons are some of the brightest in the business, and know these kinds of calculations backwards. Open heart surgery is no picnic, and you have to think about things very carefully before going down that route.
Interestingly, some data recently suggests that optimal medical management (i.e. pills) is as good as angioplasty or bypass in the first instance, but this is controversial and isn't widespread yet.
They can be assessed through angiography (wire through artery in leg, inject dye and watch on an x-ray image intensifier and look for blockages) or sometimes cardiac MRI (like MGJohn had). Again, depends on where the problems are likely to be.
You can generally repair things. Either through angioplasty (same as angiography, but you can deploy a little chickenwire-like stent to hold a blockage open) or through repeat bypass. However, this all depends where the blockages are, what they are like, surgical risk factors etc. Cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons are some of the brightest in the business, and know these kinds of calculations backwards. Open heart surgery is no picnic, and you have to think about things very carefully before going down that route.
Interestingly, some data recently suggests that optimal medical management (i.e. pills) is as good as angioplasty or bypass in the first instance, but this is controversial and isn't widespread yet.
dgb00 said:
Very much depends. No hard and fast rules, but anywhere between 10-20 years would be about right. Depends how many grafts, how they are plumbed in, if they are venous or arterial, risk factor modification etc etc.
They can be assessed through angiography (wire through artery in leg, inject dye and watch on an x-ray image intensifier and look for blockages) or sometimes cardiac MRI (like MGJohn had). Again, depends on where the problems are likely to be.
You can generally repair things. Either through angioplasty (same as angiography, but you can deploy a little chickenwire-like stent to hold a blockage open) or through repeat bypass. However, this all depends where the blockages are, what they are like, surgical risk factors etc. Cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons are some of the brightest in the business, and know these kinds of calculations backwards. Open heart surgery is no picnic, and you have to think about things very carefully before going down that route.
Interestingly, some data recently suggests that optimal medical management (i.e. pills) is as good as angioplasty or bypass in the first instance, but this is controversial and isn't widespread yet.
My first examination was an Angiograph in Cheltenham General Hospital. As soon as the image came up on the screen the specialist pointed to the two bulging Coronary Arteries where the blockages/restrictions were. The bulges were easy to spot as I laid on the examination table alongside the large screen. They can be assessed through angiography (wire through artery in leg, inject dye and watch on an x-ray image intensifier and look for blockages) or sometimes cardiac MRI (like MGJohn had). Again, depends on where the problems are likely to be.
You can generally repair things. Either through angioplasty (same as angiography, but you can deploy a little chickenwire-like stent to hold a blockage open) or through repeat bypass. However, this all depends where the blockages are, what they are like, surgical risk factors etc. Cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons are some of the brightest in the business, and know these kinds of calculations backwards. Open heart surgery is no picnic, and you have to think about things very carefully before going down that route.
Interestingly, some data recently suggests that optimal medical management (i.e. pills) is as good as angioplasty or bypass in the first instance, but this is controversial and isn't widespread yet.
Those 2000 MRI scans I volunteered for later on as they will provide information which will benefit others with heart disorders in the future. I was glad to do something in return for all the work and effort the doctors and staff gave me.
By chance, a member of another car Rover/MG Enthusiasts' site is also a member of an Inventors Club and a member of that club 'invented' those little expanding wire 'stents' which open up and support those blocked or reduced arteries. Remarkably simple but, effect idea. A simple mechanical solution to a serious medical condition.
After consulting with colleagues, my specialist advised me that stents would be less effcetive and so a double bypass operation was recommended.
Regular exercise after such an op is beneficial ~ some say essential. I tend to agree.
I do try to walk briskly whenever possible now and after say 100 metres, I become breathless. Then after say another 50 metres, I get a 'second wind' and breathing improves and I feel less stressed and tired. Then I can walk much further at a good pace for a mile or so. I could not attempt do that prior to the double bypass surgery without the onset of chest pains at some stage ~ pains I first put down simply to advancing years ... Wrong ... as one day walking briskly to my office from my car, I had chest pains you cannot imagine...
I'm close to the old three score years and ten and I put my Coronary Blockages down to neglect and abuse in my earlier years. That has an accumulative effect which will catch up with you some day ~ I was no exception. I was reasonably fit when younger even though I did very little exercise from about my mid-20s onwards. I had well paid but, stressful demanding jobs which I got stuck into as like most healthy youngsters, I thought I'd live forever.
The neglect and abuse took the form of irregular meals, I lived during the working day on strong coffee or tea and 40+ fags a day. Then in the evening I had a large meal. I do mean large! This went on into my thirties with no real signs of any problems ~ I still felt I could live forever so carried on.
Then as I approched my forties, I made changes, perhaps the most important one was done subconciously. I should have made firm decisions to make changes much earlier but I did not. They sort of just happened. Still, better late than never.
On 11th November 1980, with only one cigarette left in my packet, I started to panic as no doubt most smokers do when down to their last fag. Must get some more fags ~ sharpish. I smoked my last fag and something came up and I was busy for two hours. I had gone two whole hours without a cigarette. Two WHOLE hours ~ not done than for close on twenty years.
Two hours became three, then four ~ now still a little panicky with no fag "withdrawals", I stretched those initial two hours to the rest day.Then all NEXT day ~ still no fags ... I felt most odd at times ~ on top of the world sometimes then quickly mood swings and down in the dumps. Then up again.... just as quickly. Those two days became a week ~ then a month by which time very little signs of "Withdrawals"... I was a heavy almost continuous smoker remember.
My wife later told me of those rapid mood swings. She put up with them because she was possibly more pleased than I that I had quit smoking. Now, nearly thirty years later, I can only report one negative to my having quit smoking successfully. The negative being I rediscovered how good food tasted! The nicotine having destroyed much of my sense of taste ~ consequently my weight increased as I ate more than my share. Another complete contrast to my previous eating habits. I went from being a 11.5 stone smoker to a shade over 15 stone non-smoker in less than eighteen months. I consulted my GP back then who assured me it was better to be a stone or two overweight, than a heavy smoker. Perfectly understandable as 'we' could do something about my eating habits to reducemy weight to a more sensible level. I should have taken more regular exercise then too but, demands of the job again had the final say on that.
One evening, having arrived home at 8.30 in the evning after yet another stressful day, both myself and my wife who also had a well paid but very demanding job, fell asleep on the settee by 9 pm. Later we decided that something had to change otherwise burnout was on the cards for both of us. I decided to take a less stressful and time consuming job which allowed me to spend more of MY time as I wanted ~ I took a cut in salary but overall was better off ~ the expense account and company car went ~ I had my own new car which had all of 4,000 miles on the clock after three years ~ I could use all the petrol I wanted in my company car and always tanked it up meaning to use the car on my one day off each week. I rarely did ~ I was so tired after the stressful work I stayed home and the fuel was not used.
Within a year my wife also changed her job and guess what, the improvement in our quality of life meant we could think the unthinkable ~ Children ~ Prior to that we were typical Dinkies... double income no kiddies ~ so at the ripe old age of forty two I became a dad, my first son was born... saw the whole thing...... and later my second son ... the best things that ever happened to me. They are men now of course.
There is no doubt in my mind that had I not made those changes in my late thirties, I would have burnt out or worse as sadly happened to some friends at the time although i made those changes prior to those sad events.
If you have read this far and see any similarities in your life, think about them seriously.... nobody lives for ever but, with careful planning, you can have a good crack at it...
..
I do try to walk briskly whenever possible now and after say 100 metres, I become breathless. Then after say another 50 metres, I get a 'second wind' and breathing improves and I feel less stressed and tired. Then I can walk much further at a good pace for a mile or so. I could not attempt do that prior to the double bypass surgery without the onset of chest pains at some stage ~ pains I first put down simply to advancing years ... Wrong ... as one day walking briskly to my office from my car, I had chest pains you cannot imagine...
I'm close to the old three score years and ten and I put my Coronary Blockages down to neglect and abuse in my earlier years. That has an accumulative effect which will catch up with you some day ~ I was no exception. I was reasonably fit when younger even though I did very little exercise from about my mid-20s onwards. I had well paid but, stressful demanding jobs which I got stuck into as like most healthy youngsters, I thought I'd live forever.
The neglect and abuse took the form of irregular meals, I lived during the working day on strong coffee or tea and 40+ fags a day. Then in the evening I had a large meal. I do mean large! This went on into my thirties with no real signs of any problems ~ I still felt I could live forever so carried on.
Then as I approched my forties, I made changes, perhaps the most important one was done subconciously. I should have made firm decisions to make changes much earlier but I did not. They sort of just happened. Still, better late than never.
On 11th November 1980, with only one cigarette left in my packet, I started to panic as no doubt most smokers do when down to their last fag. Must get some more fags ~ sharpish. I smoked my last fag and something came up and I was busy for two hours. I had gone two whole hours without a cigarette. Two WHOLE hours ~ not done than for close on twenty years.
Two hours became three, then four ~ now still a little panicky with no fag "withdrawals", I stretched those initial two hours to the rest day.Then all NEXT day ~ still no fags ... I felt most odd at times ~ on top of the world sometimes then quickly mood swings and down in the dumps. Then up again.... just as quickly. Those two days became a week ~ then a month by which time very little signs of "Withdrawals"... I was a heavy almost continuous smoker remember.
My wife later told me of those rapid mood swings. She put up with them because she was possibly more pleased than I that I had quit smoking. Now, nearly thirty years later, I can only report one negative to my having quit smoking successfully. The negative being I rediscovered how good food tasted! The nicotine having destroyed much of my sense of taste ~ consequently my weight increased as I ate more than my share. Another complete contrast to my previous eating habits. I went from being a 11.5 stone smoker to a shade over 15 stone non-smoker in less than eighteen months. I consulted my GP back then who assured me it was better to be a stone or two overweight, than a heavy smoker. Perfectly understandable as 'we' could do something about my eating habits to reducemy weight to a more sensible level. I should have taken more regular exercise then too but, demands of the job again had the final say on that.
One evening, having arrived home at 8.30 in the evning after yet another stressful day, both myself and my wife who also had a well paid but very demanding job, fell asleep on the settee by 9 pm. Later we decided that something had to change otherwise burnout was on the cards for both of us. I decided to take a less stressful and time consuming job which allowed me to spend more of MY time as I wanted ~ I took a cut in salary but overall was better off ~ the expense account and company car went ~ I had my own new car which had all of 4,000 miles on the clock after three years ~ I could use all the petrol I wanted in my company car and always tanked it up meaning to use the car on my one day off each week. I rarely did ~ I was so tired after the stressful work I stayed home and the fuel was not used.
Within a year my wife also changed her job and guess what, the improvement in our quality of life meant we could think the unthinkable ~ Children ~ Prior to that we were typical Dinkies... double income no kiddies ~ so at the ripe old age of forty two I became a dad, my first son was born... saw the whole thing...
... and later my second son ... the best things that ever happened to me. They are men now of course. There is no doubt in my mind that had I not made those changes in my late thirties, I would have burnt out or worse as sadly happened to some friends at the time although i made those changes prior to those sad events.
If you have read this far and see any similarities in your life, think about them seriously.... nobody lives for ever but, with careful planning, you can have a good crack at it...
..
croyde said:
That's a great post MGJohn. Thanks.
You're welcome.Exercise: Something I should have mentioned in my post was the need to 'warm up' prior to exercise. One of the benefits of those 2000 odd MRI scan images I volunteered for was to illustrate how much all blood vessels expand and contract as muscles demand more from your blood supply. Those blood vessel responses are essential to supply the heart muscles which can be very demanding under certain circumstances. If the heart muscles do not get that essential supply from those Coronary Arteries at critical times due to blockages, that's when the problems show more seriously.
For instance, that Aorta is a very large diameter blood vessel ~ much bigger in diameter than I had imagined. Warming up progressively prior to more vigorous exercise is essential ~ not just for substitute footballers coming on with twenty minutes to go ~ ordinary folk needing exercise need to warm up ~ by ordinary folk I mean everybody needs regular exercise, not just sports men and women.
Unfortunately, the majority of occupations do not have anywhere an ideal balance of both mental and physical exercise. It's of little use if after spending say 8 or more hours at a desk, in front of VDU or, behind a steering wheel, you then go and work out in a gym ~ that's not ideal balance. That may appear OK and beneficial when you're young but, it's far from ideal as you need a proper balance throughout the working day, not two separate extremes.
If anyone reading this is sufficiently interested or has other concerns, ask your local GP surgery for any information on the subject. Plenty of info available there and on the WWW of course.
Above all do something about it now ~ tomorrow may be too late. Sadly, it can be for some.
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