Episode 54: Heart Surgery IS Life and Death Serious

Welcome to Imperfect Heart, a place for you to join me, Jeff Holden, in conversations, discussions, and dialogue about our hearts and the impact myocardial bridges have on them. We'll talk with healthcare professionals, those in related fields that support our condition, and others just like us with stories of their myocardial bridge experiences. It's my intention for this content to inform, educate, entertain, and even motivate or inspire you in your personal journey on dealing with a myocardial bridge. Most importantly is to have you leave each episode with hope, knowing you're not alone and that what you're experiencing is real. Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever time it is, wherever you are. Welcome, Imperfect Heart Community. This episode is for everyone. Regardless of where you are on your journey, it's an update. It's a request and a call to action. There's so much going on with so many of us that I wanted to take an episode to simply share some observations. I've been speaking with many of you lately. There have been a lot of surgeries, robotic and sternotomy, full unroofing and partial with bypass. Some of us are years out from surgery, and others are fresh out of sterno protocol. I've had calls from doctors who wanted to discuss something that was said or something that could be done to help our community. But I really wanted to take a minute to share with you all that we must be patient. We must be understanding and we must continue to advocate for ourselves. I get as frustrated as you do when things don't go as I hoped. Man, I get it. I really get it. This past couple of weeks, we're hearing of people struggling post-surgery. I've had two calls of surgical procedures that ended up going vastly different than anticipated. And that's one of the points I want to make. So we don't get too comfortable with our unroofing procedures. No matter what, and I mean no matter what, this is heart surgery. Now I love seeing the thumbs up from those recently unroofed, their heart pillow in hand. I mean, it's really encouraging and it's great. It's uplifting, and they all add to give all of us hope. And we have to remember that heart surgery is very serious. It's not something we can take for granted. Not everything will go the way we expect it to go every single time. There can be unforeseen complications. Some of you have gone from robotic surgery procedures to needing a sternotomy. I've spoken with several of you who've had this most unfortunate surprise. I mean, I sincerely feel badly that had to occur. Knowing, however, that the overall unroofing procedure was completed, and in almost every case, you're now better than you were before, it's still a great outcome. But not many people really want to do the robotic surgery and then astronomy afterwards. It's a thankful, grateful outcome. Nonetheless, it's a frightening one that nobody plans on or expects. So we see all the thumbs up, the heart pillow excitement, and that's good. Let's just not forget the significance of what we're doing or what we're having done. It's still very serious. It's very real. It's very life-threatening surgery, and we're agreeing to have it done. And that leads to my second point. What's working for one of us is not necessarily what's going to work for all of us. I mean, if that were the case, nobody would have issues post-surgery. We'd figure it out, do it once, and it's the same for everybody. But we're now seeing some of us with microvascular disease or endothelial dysfunction, or in some cases, other bridged arteries, possibly creating issues. The explanation for some of this is that we just don't really know everything about these damn myocardial bridges or what they can cause. Without the provocative test, we may not know a lot. And I understand the need to move ahead in many cases. I get it. You do what you have to do, provocative test or not. But my point here is that we're all so very different in every way: size, shape, gender, ethnicity, body chemistry, other comorbidities like diabetes or heart disease, mental well-being, mental health. Each of these things and so many more make us who we are, but they also make us so unique and so challenging to work on from the doctors. So that means that what one of us did isn't necessarily the best for each of us. We have to trust those we've given our health and well-being to. And if we can't trust that person, that doctor, that cardiologist, we need to find a different person. Period. Don't waste time with someone who doesn't understand you. End of story. Move on. I need to share one person's story that came to me this week. She sent an email to a bunch of people, and it's unfortunate. She started her own podcast about the same time I started Imperfect Heart. Hers was called The Heart Chamber at the time. Her unroofing story alone was quite complicated, but her journey since has taken many twists and turns, and she shared them all ups and downs, and now it's taken a huge change as she finds herself in a very, very serious situation. Many of you know Boots Knighton. She's become a friend. She's a fellow podcaster and a staunch advocate for our hearts. She's not doing well, but she's still strongly advocating for herself, doing what she must to see if she can find a solution to her issues. So if we could all just take a minute to reflect on our situations, be thankful for where we are, and send some positive energy her way as she works through whatever it is that's going on with her imperfect heart. Besides, giving will make us feel better. So if we could send her a little love, a prayer, or just a good thought, I know she'll appreciate it. Our medical community is becoming more aware of these myocardial bridges, and they're becoming more receptive to our condition and the havoc it wreaks in our lives. Slowly, not quickly, over time, certainly not overnight, and certainly not enough, and not quickly enough for me. But we have to continue to get our stories told from both the medical community as well as the patient side of things if we're going to make a difference. I want to ask that if you would share your story for the benefit of others, please reach out to me. We need more stories from people like you, pre-or post-surgery, even if it was years ago, even better. Every single one of us had a unique approach, an original surgery, a short, a long, a shallow, or a deep ridge. Remember, no two are alike. And the more we can keep those stories coming, the more people see just a little bit of themselves in us, and that gives them the courage, the hope, to do what they need to do. And then they'll share, and more will become aware, and that what they're experiencing is real, and that they too can march down this path to improvement, to recovery from a condition that's held them back from leading a life they deserve to live. If you know a doctor, and he would be receptive or she would be receptive to coming on the program, please share their name and any information you have about them. I'll reach out. The more doctors that hear doctors on the program, the more we'll become believers that myocardial bridges are real. We can't slow our progress here. We have to keep pushing, sharing, and getting the story out, as we are. I'm here to help, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you think there's something I can do. Oh, oh, and let me add that I'll be sharing our stories from the book on an upcoming interview with Dr. Ronald Hoffman of Intelligent Medicine. He was only vaguely aware of this condition, but will be speaking with me for an episode on both his podcast and his radio show, which is heard on over 70 stations around the country. I mean, that's really cool. I'm so excited to do this. I'll put the link to his website in the show notes, and that episode of his podcast and the radio programs air on 7-1, July 1st, I believe it is. Finally, the book's now available at all bookstores online, and you can order it just about anywhere, including Barnes Noble. Of course, there's also an ebook, and I've just completed the audiobook as well. So now there's no excuse for our friend in the medical community to dismiss us because we can give them something concrete with other professionals that now proves our case. Our stories can be found just about anywhere. So thank you for your continued support. Thanks for your stories and for your, well, patience. From my imperfect heart to yours, let's find the rhythm of joy in positivity and gratitude and continue to prove this condition can be treated and lives saved. Thank you for listening to Imperfect Heart. It's my hope that this information helped in some way to improve your situation or will help you better understand this condition. More importantly, that it gives you hope through stories that there is help and you most certainly are not alone. If you've been diagnosed with a myocardial bridge, please be sure to join the private Facebook group, Myocardial Bridge Support Group. For more information about our program or to reach me directly, visit the website myimperfectheart.com. If you like what you heard today, please give a positive review, thumbs up, high five, whatever your app likes. And be sure to share with everyone important to you so they understand what it is you're dealing with. Please subscribe as well. Welcome each day with gratitude and positivity. Imperfect Heart is a production of Hear Me Now Studio.