36 years after KD and 3 years after CABG

[kdwife]

Here is the link to my original post: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2162 (33 years after KD, My Husband's Story).
Long story short, my husband had KD in 1978 and was diagnosed but untreated due to lack of treatment at the time. No one knew that he had 3 major aneurysms in his heart at the time. Those aneurysm in his arteries scarred over time and he had to have a triple by pass in 2010 at the age of 33. It is now 3 years after my husband's triple bypass from long term affects of Kawasaki Disease. He started having angina AGAIN in May of this year (2013) (36 years after KD). He went through the series of tests--chest x-ray, Echo, EKG, CT scans, Nuclear Stress Test--all showed an issue, but none of the tests could figure it out. We are living in a different state then when he had his triple bypass and the doctors seemed a bit more confused about his situation. He finally had the heart cath and his cardiologist got me from the waiting room and took me to a special room to show me the test itself. What she showed me was that 1 of the bypasses (where they used the vein graft) had totally scarred closed 100%. The artery there was also scarred closed 100% from his Kawasaki Disease aneurysm so there was no blood moving to his heart from that direction.
Now here is the interesting part.
When he first had the damage to his heart from KD and the blockages started forming, his body triggered a response called "angiogenesis" (at least I think that is what it is called from my research). Two of the arteries on the other side of his heart grew branches that extended to the side of the heart with the reduced blood flow. The 2 bypasses on other arteries with the grafts from his mammary artery and the radial artery were going strong so the new "natural bypasses" his body grew were also getting stronger and were keeping him alive.
At this point, the cardiologist explained to me that there is not much they can do to save the blocked artery that also has the blocked bypass. No hope for a stent. He is on meds to keep his other arteries open and will be doing rehab to make the natural bypass arteries stronger. He literally has 2 arteries doing the work of 3. Once again, I urge anyone who has had aneurysm from KD--or had KD prior to the treatments they do to protect the heart--to make sure your cardiologist is top quality, and to listen to your body. We were originally told that the bypasses should make it at least 10 years without any problems. Evidently everything with KD is uncharted territory. I was told multiple times that he is "a different horse" than what they are used to working on. I am thankful that God has performed the miracle on my husband and that I have a positive story to tell. I have no idea how long the other bypasses will last, but know that everyday is a gift. Good luck to all who are reading this who have experienced KD. The body is a pretty amazing thing.

[Momcat]

Thank you so much for this post!

[katbeevers]

Just wondering how your husband is doing these days. My son had KD when he was 10--he's now 13. He has gigantic coronary aneurysms (9mm-26mm). His LAD is 100% blocked but he also has some smaller capillaries(?) that his body created in response and as of yet has not heart damage. I am looking into what we can do naturally to improve his health. He is on so many meds that have bad long term side affects that I'd like to get him off or at least avoid any more! We are very thankful to God that he is doing so good and feeling great. He sees a cardiologist about every 4 months. Some things that I'm looking into are nitrite supplementation for vascular endothelial dysfunction and vitamin K-2 (because of his warfarin meds) possibly benefit for Atherosclerosis. I started researching the nitrite supplementation after the company I'm a consultant for (which is a botanically based health and wellness company) created a proprietary blend for athletes and it was recommended by a doctor for her heart health.

[Nancy]

Please don't add any supplements to your son's diet without consulting his pediatric cardiologist first

Nancy

[katbeevers]

Totally agree! I would not add a supplement without consulting his cardiologist first!