It was about 13 years ago when I first I heard heart surgeons talk about what they called "pump head." They were talking about the cognitive deficits that they had seen among people who had heart bypass surgery. People who were once very sharp suddenly couldn't remember where they left their keys, or couldn't balance a checkbook. But I also learned that many people were never told about this possible complication before they had the surgery.
Today, a Wall Street Journal column addresses the phenomenon, building on the speculation that Bill Clinton became a pump-head after his heart surgery - something his aides deny.
The WSJ reports:
"Symptoms include short-term memory loss, slowed responses, trouble concentrating and emotional instability. In a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001, researchers at Duke University Medical Center tested 261 patients before and after bypass surgery and found that 53% of them had significant cognitive decline when they were discharged -- and 42% still suffered from it five years later.One explanation is that when a patient's blood is pumped through a heart-lung machine during bypass, tiny air bubbles, fat globules and other particles may enter the bloodstream. The pump can also damage platelets, which form clumps, and clamping the aorta loosens bits of plaque. That debris can travel to the brain and clog tiny capillaries, forming microscopic strokes."
Bottom line: in a true shared decision-making encounter, a physician should talk about the possibility of pump head or bypass brain with anyone considering bypass surgery.
I had mine done in Dec. At first I had plenty of cognitive problems and mood swings. The mood swings were the worst ranging from a simple funk to feelings of not actually being alive or wondering how one would tell for sure. Its like my mind was trying to account for the time I was hooked up and my heart wasn't beating. Since you are chillin :) during that time your brain activity is probably really low as well. Tomorrow will be 6 months and I'm good as gold now. My creativity and intelligence hasn't suffered any and memory mood etc is fine as well. If your loved one is going through a bypass operation make sure you talk to them and find out how they are feeling. And get them to get on the net and find out the experiences of others. Once you find out lots of people have the same 'weird' thoughts its not so hard to just let it pass. I had stents in 2001. Lost the weight and got the lipid down to 201 before having the bypass. When I got out of the hospital they added a statin and now my numbers are 'perfect' as my doc said last week. 151 for total cholesterol. My LDL is 87 it needs to come down 17 more points but doc says it will continue to drop most likely. My diabetes is gone since I lost some weight from walking daily. My blood pressure is 118/72 and pulse is 55-60. I had to go to several doctors before I could find one that would try and fix me up with stents the first time. They kept saying I was too far gone but I kept looking and finally found one. My plan was to do that to buy some time to relearn how to eat and get into exercise of some kind. It takes time to get that done. Many failures for me. I thought I'd never get those numbers or my weight in check. In Dec I couldn't go any further. Even minimal exercise caused angina. But my EKG was fine and at the local ER they said I was just having a panic attack and high blood sugar. The next time it happened I had my wife drive me to one of the best heart hospitals in the country located in Austin. They didn't see anything either but with my history they kept me and did a cath the next day. Took all of 5 minutes. One look and he looked up at me and said its bypass time. And he's one of the best stent guys out there. Hates to turn you over to the chest poppers. So I've done everything they said to do. We'll see how this goes. I sure feel better. Better than I've felt since the early 90's. I'm 55 so I look forward to many more years. In addition to the walking I also video remote controlled car races on the weekends. That gives me an additional block of exercise each week. Then during the week I have the tapes to edit and post to the internet for the guys and gals that race to watch. That takes care of the number one killer in my opinion which is boredom. I asked my Dr just before they wheeled me into the room about 'pumphead', and he looked a little shocked that I knew so much about it, his words were everyone leaves something on the table. The most eye opening thing of the whole ordeal was the number of helicopter flights into that place each night. You hear that heart disease is the #1 killer and these huge numbers of patients. But you see hear and smell it when those choppers come in at all hours. I'm glad I had it done finally I sure feel better and I'm hoping the path I chose leads to a longer trouble free outcome. Remember if you are reading this prior to having it done yourself that the struggle has just begun when you leave the hospital. Make your goal to be happy and fully back into living your life without thinking you are less capable by 6 months and don't get too worried if you are in a funk for a week or more at a time. Just don't let it get out of hand and tell someone you are going through a valley so they can kinda keep an eye on you. It can be a wild roller coaster as far as mood goes. But like I said 6 months is the goal and it should settle out by then. Getting all worried about a funk that lasts a few days just raises your overall stress level