9 replies to this topic

[Wino]

Let's hope the 63 year old former president is okay. He is too young to leave us now.

By DEEPTI HAJELA and MARILYNN MARCHIONE, Associated Press Writers NEW YORK – Former President Bill Clinton, who had quadruple bypass surgery more than five years ago, was hospitalized Thursday to have a clogged heart artery opened after suffering discomfort in his chest.Two stents resembling tiny mesh scaffolds were placed inside the artery as part of a medical procedure that is common for people with severe heart disease.

http://news.yahoo.co...us_bill_clinton

[lvdkeyes]

He has been released from the hospital and seems to be doing well.

[Beer Chang]

Good news. Think Bill was an excellent POTUS.

[Bob]

Beer Chang, on 12 February 2010 - 07:26 PM, said:

Good news. Think Bill was an excellent POTUS.

Ditto. And he (and the US) were really blessed that he had Robert Rubin as his Secretary of the Treasury. Fairly good times and some fairly intelligent managing of the economy and budgets.

[Beer Chang]

Rubin did an excellent job in the Clinton administration.

But afterwards, he got paid big bucks by Citigroup as shareholder value was decimated.

[Wino]

If one of the bypass grafts has been blocked after only five year, means the old POTUS needs to change a few things if he plans to be with us a while longer. I am glad he has good healthcare coverage.

[Bob]

Wino, on 15 February 2010 - 04:17 AM, said:

If one of the bypass grafts has been blocked after only five year, means the old POTUS needs to change a few things if he plans to be with us a while longer. I am glad he has good healthcare coverage.

Actually, rather common that blockages occur within the 5-year-time period. A buddy of mine has had to go in for 3-4 stents (to reopen passages re-blocked) since he had the initial surgery about 10 years ago. What's weird to me is how unexcited they all get about it (and, like Clinton, they get a new stent and then are back to doing normal things within 24 hours).

[Wino]

Bob, on 15 February 2010 - 04:28 AM, said:

Actually, rather common that blockages occur within the 5-year-time period.

I thought those grafts were good for around 10 years. I guess diet and exercise makes a difference.

Bob, on 15 February 2010 - 04:28 AM, said:

like Clinton, they get a new stent and then are back to doing normal things within 24 hours).

Back to feasting at McDonald's?

[Wino]

This article tends to support the usual bypass graft lasting ten years.

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer Bill Clinton has a new lease on life, but there's no cure for the heart disease that has twice forced the former president to get blocked arteries fixed.

Treatments like the quadruple bypass surgery Clinton had in 2004 last about a decade on average. Then the blood vessels used to create detours around the clogged arteries start to get blocked, too.

No cure for heart disease, Clinton's case shows - Yahoo! News--

[Bob]

Oftentimes the blockages are on the stent itself.....scar tissue, plaque, or whatever tends to collect there because it's not smooth like most of the inside of the blood vessel. Some years back they started using some stents that had some chemical/medicine built into them which allegedly would prevent some of the buildup.

As I mentioned, one buddy has had 3 more stents within 10 years of surgery (although I'm not sure if this related to old blockage sites or new blockage sites). The biggest worry about the recovery is they want a patient to take it easy for a few days so the stitches near his groin don't open up cause him to blead profusely (or to death). The last time my buddy had a new stent, it was on a Wednesday afternoon and the turkey went bowhunting the next morning at 6AM (and it requires trekking some very rough terrain for almost a mile from his home). He's nuts but he had no problems.