Gryphon
Dr. Spots
UVA Health Center
Well, as it turns out they didn’t send me home today. They came in with my test results and said they want to do a coronary catheterization on me. It seems the test show that there are very possibly some obstructions in there that they think they might be able to do something about.
Now I don’t know about you, but I have never been comfortable with doctors qualifying their recommendations when it comes to invasive procedures. You know, like “possibly” and “might.”
But, I’m going to let them do it. Hey! In exchange for letting them run a plumber’s snake up my crotch and into my chest on the chance of finding goo blocking an artery or two, they let me lie in a bed next to a snorer and
cardiac catheterization
eat incredibly bland food. Who wouldn’t want a vacation like that? 
I’ve had the procedure performed before. Right after (during actually) my heart attack they did an angioplasty on me. They sent the snake up into my left anterior descending artery and inserted two stents. The idea was to push a big glob of goo that was obstructing my artery back against the artery wall and secure it there. A micro analysis of the goo revealed it was actually the remains of 3,575 cheeseburgers and 65 pounds of bacon.
Catheterization is a procedure to examine blood flow to the heart and test how well the heart is pumping. A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) 
into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. In my case it was into my femoral artery (leg). From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.
This test can measure blood pressure within the heart and how much oxygen is in the blood. It’s also used to get information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle. Catheters are also used to inject dye into the coronary arteries. This is called coronary angiography or coronary arteriography, Catheters with a balloon on the tip are used in the procedure called coronary angioplasty.
In medicine, a stent is a man-made ‘tube’ inserted into a natural passage/conduit in the body to prevent, or counteract, a disease-induced, localized flow constriction. A coronary stent is placed inside an artery most commonly to compress plaque back against the artery wall thus allowing freer passage of blood.
So, it looks like I’ll be laid up here a couple of more days at 
least. From previous experience I know that I am going to be immobile for a while. It’s like being hit in the hip with a sledge hammer. While some people might suspect this, I am not doing this as an excuse to avoid answering a comment in Weak Strong States. 
gryph
