Medical Question / Rant...
 

As many of you know, I had been out of work for 2 1/2yrs on an injury.... I then went to work as an Instructor in December of '08.... Well, I also posted around this time that I had made the selection in a couple of Gov't jobs.... Well here's the deal... I was given a start date of Jan 18th to go to work with the VA... so, I put in my 2 weeks notice at the college and planned on going to work for the VA... but wait, they do not schedule my physical till a day or two before my report to work date.... My last day at the college was the 16th.... So, I go for my physical and they find problems with my ekg.... so they send me for a nuclear stress test, the results come back showing that I possibly have a blockage... During this time I also get offered a position with ICE.... so I go for the physical... same thing, problems with the EKG... so I see a cardiologist on Monday who tells me that he wants a sonogram of my heart which I have done yesterday, and they want me to go have the procedure where they put the camera up the artery in my leg to view the arteries leading to my heart.... Mind you, I had heart surgery at an early age, and I told the doctors that I have never had a regular EKG reading in my life... The cardiologist seems to think that scar tissue could be part of the problems with the readings that they are getting back... so, what should I do? Do I risk having this procedure just to qualifiy for a job??? I mean my cholesterol was at 124 in January, and a couple of weeks ago it was at 83:confused: What would ya'll do? In the mean time no job....

wow, that sucks. Unless it's a dream job, I'd tell them to stick it before I had them run a tube up my leg to my heart.

VA position not so much.... ICE position, I have worked my whole life for this type of position....

My problem is that I have heard stories of plaque breaking off the walls of your arteries when they are pushing this thing through which could give you an immeadiate stroke/heart attack. They also keep you awake during this procedure... I will have to drive five hours oneway by myself to have this done... don't think they keep you overnite as I believe it is an out patient type procedure.... I would probably be forced to drive to my hotel after this is done.... and I hate driving in San Antonio....

You will NOT be driving home from an angiogram. It's usually a day-procedure, so you're going to have to figure out someone to take you home (or a local hotel overnight).

I'm not a cardiologist, but even if you've always had unusual EKGs, if something looked unusual on both an echocardiogram as well as some sort of stress test, then that's far more important than any chronic EKG abnormalities. Yes, there's risk to an angiogram, but it sounds like you've got two cardiologists who are finding abnormalities with preliminary tests, and both want to get the more definitive test.

Really a health related issue, regardless of job opportunities. IMHO
best wishes with your decision.

Bingo.

At what Noah said, you got a "second". You could keep getting tested until you get the result you want but that does not make it the right one.

I will probably go ahead with the testing... just a little freaked out is all...

coupla things, risk of complication on the order of 1%, mainly bleeding. Stroke very rare.

It's not a camera they're putting in the artery. It's a tube that they inject contrast through and take movie xrays through the entire body, looking at the heart arteries.

If there's nothing there, it'll take 15 minutes.