2022. Following assessment of the angiograms of my heart by Cardiac Specialists at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham in 2020, its was decided that a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft be undertaken. This took place in February 2022 during the covid pandemic.
Back ground: Following a heart attack in 1999 a double stenting of my right ventricle was undertaken at the QE Birmingham. For 13 years my heart functioned reasonably well with brief doses of angina. In 2014 the breathlessness and angina increased and additional stents were prescribed. Three more were inserted. This reduced the effects of angina for a couple of years but unfortunately they returned and intensified in 2019. The Cardiac team carried out an angiogram to assess the heart condition and found that the stents were operating well in the left ventricle, however the right side of the heart was not operating efficiently. A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft was prescribed. This coincided with the onset of Covid 19 in the UK and the lack of iCU beds for elective surgery. In June 2021 a bed was procured and pre op screenings were arranged on 29th July. Unfortunately The blood test revealed a diagnosis of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. More info here. Treatment with an oral drug Imatinib was required. The Bypass was put on hold until Haematology cleared the procedure which came through in November 2021. The double bypass operation was not possible until February 2022 when it was successfully carried out.
The following pages capture the procedure and my artistic responses.
