My cousin's husband, AP, is one of those people who didn't practice healthy habits his entire life, and is now paying the price at 79. Years of obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, and poor dietary habits now find him facing a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft. While the outcomes are generally positive for his age group, his multiple comorbidities (chronic kidney disease, COPD, pacemaker, clotting issues, diabetes, etc.) make him a less-than-ideal candidate for the procedure.
His primary complaint is not being able to walk more than short distances without experiencing shortness of breath. Were I in his situation, I would look at it this way:
In his current state, he might live 5 years or more. He's already past the average life expectancy for males. While his quality of life is certainly suboptimal, the post-procedure risks are high. Total kidney failure requiring dialysis, new atrial fibrillation issues, and low cardiac output syndrome could leave him much worse off than he is now. Even if all goes well, it's not like he's going to come out feeling 20 years younger. The only winners are the doctors and hospital who will probably see anywhere from $150,000 - $400,000 out of his stay. (Probably on the higher end as he will need longer ICU observation post-procedure.)
My decision would be NOT to put myself through this for a roll of the dice that is probably not in my favor.
Loading comments...