A woman from Pine Bluff who went to see her doctor about her gallbladder ended up a candidate for open-heart surgery to fix an aneurysm.
First, doctors performed an angiogram to see how well the heart is functioning.
"I went in to have a stress test and prior to the test, they did an ultrasound of the heart and valves and found that I had an aneurysm and a leaking valve," says Lawanda Hayden.
While concerning, the diagnosis was not a complete shock for Hayden, as heart problems run in her family.
"Thursday, I will see Dr. Meadors who is a heart surgeon and he will decide what we need to do. Go from there. Probably surgery," she says.
First though, doctors need to make sure her heart is functioning properly, so she is having a less invasive procedure known as an angiogram.
"In this particular case today, we were looking for blockages which is normal reason why we do this," says cardiologist Dr. Scott Rypkema. "Today we did a left heart catheterization which involves taking a catheter, which is a hollow tube, kind of looks like a piece of spaghetti. We put it into the thermal artery in the groin and snake it up to the heart. We inject dye through it and that dye goes into arteries around the heart to look for blockages. When we find someone who has a blockage, we'll have to put in a balloon, inflate the balloon and then put a stent in to keep the artery open."
In general, the risks of an angiogram are low, as less than 1 percent of people will have a serious complication and the procedure usually takes about 30-45 minutes.
Hayden's procedure took a little longer because of the aneurysm.
"Today, we have really good news. She doesn't have any blockages so she won't need bypass but she does have the heart valve and aneurysm that will have to be repaired surgically," Dr. Rypkema reports.
"I feel like they are all watching out for me and it's going to be OK," Hayden says.
Heart problems do run in her family. Her brother and sister both were diagnosed with aneurysms.
Now, she's going to wait until after heart surgery to attend to her gallbladder.
First, doctors performed an angiogram to see how well the heart is functioning.
"I went in to have a stress test and prior to the test, they did an ultrasound of the heart and valves and found that I had an aneurysm and a leaking valve," says Lawanda Hayden.
While concerning, the diagnosis was not a complete shock for Hayden, as heart problems run in her family.
"Thursday, I will see Dr. Meadors who is a heart surgeon and he will decide what we need to do. Go from there. Probably surgery," she says.
First though, doctors need to make sure her heart is functioning properly, so she is having a less invasive procedure known as an angiogram.
"In this particular case today, we were looking for blockages which is normal reason why we do this," says cardiologist Dr. Scott Rypkema. "Today we did a left heart catheterization which involves taking a catheter, which is a hollow tube, kind of looks like a piece of spaghetti. We put it into the thermal artery in the groin and snake it up to the heart. We inject dye through it and that dye goes into arteries around the heart to look for blockages. When we find someone who has a blockage, we'll have to put in a balloon, inflate the balloon and then put a stent in to keep the artery open."
In general, the risks of an angiogram are low, as less than 1 percent of people will have a serious complication and the procedure usually takes about 30-45 minutes.
Hayden's procedure took a little longer because of the aneurysm.
"Today, we have really good news. She doesn't have any blockages so she won't need bypass but she does have the heart valve and aneurysm that will have to be repaired surgically," Dr. Rypkema reports.
"I feel like they are all watching out for me and it's going to be OK," Hayden says.
Heart problems do run in her family. Her brother and sister both were diagnosed with aneurysms.
Now, she's going to wait until after heart surgery to attend to her gallbladder.
