wolf in sheep's clothing

my mother-in-law has coronary artery disease (CAD). one of the 3 main blood vessels supplying oxygen to the heart muscle is 80% blocked but she has never complained of chest pain, a cardinal feature of the disease. instead, she has had a nagging tummy ache for some months which her family doctor attributed to consuming traditional chinese medicine for her persistent joint pains. a course of anti-ulcer pills provided symptomatic relief.

my heart specialist friend, whom i shall call B8, checked her up & put her on a exercise treadmill test. the results suggested that CAD was likely. a subsequent coronary angiogram, where dye is injected into each of the main arteries & real-time images are caught on xray films, revealed the offending blocked vessel. next up was a balloon angioplasty, where a fine catheter whose tip has an inflatable balloon was inserted to break up the obstructing plaque & subsequently to dilate the narrowed vessel. it was only after several nerve-wrecking attempts lasting over 2 agonising hours (&, may i add, 3 costly catheters later) that a sweaty B8 finally emerged to proclaimed that the procedure was a venerable success. and for good measure, he even inserted a stent, an expandable metallic wire-mesh, at the site of the previous blockage to maintain patency to the vessel, giving it a new lease of life, so to speak.

as any cardiologist will tell you, CAD can mimic anything from a tummy ache, to a backache, shoulder tip pain & numbness of the arm, just to name a few. a chameleon of sorts, it often baffles & deceives the clinician as to its true, potential deadly nature. who knows how many people have succumbed to this a vicious wolf in sheep's clothing, thinking it's just a minor ailment.

it is my personal observation that we are getting CAD at a progressively younger age. how often have i seen patients in their early 40s going under the surgeons' knife for coronary artery bypass surgery, often a last resort when angioplasty has failed to relieve the blocked vessels?? too many for close comfort!! blame it on the constant brainwashing from fast food comercials, or stress from 21st century living, or that we just don't care about the abuses we subject our bodies to.

still, my mother-in-law is one fortunate woman. she has been innocently living with a ticking time-bomb & she goes on with life thinking all she has is a vague abdominal colic. i'm glad & she's glad that i have a colleague who shows conscience & compassion, & has the skill & temperament to match. whoever said doctors are mercenaries hasn't met B8. i like to think that i'm doing my part for healthy living & avoiding a coronary- eat with temperance, exercise frequently, yadda yadda yadda. but just to be on the safe side, i have B8 on my speed-dial.