FEAR BLACKMAILING OF PATIENTS AFTER ANGIOGRAPHY

Most of the time it is seen that angiography leads to some type of invasive surgery, either in the form of angioplasty or bypass surgery, unless the patient specifically refuses for it or the blockages are negligible or absent. Most of these surgeries are not performed on the merit of the cases. These surgeries, one need to realize, cost a lot and are major sources of money providers in the hospitals.

Usually after angiography, once the blockages are found, the angioplasty doctors/surgeons start pressurizing the patient to go in for an angioplasty or bypass surgery. To emphasize their point, they start telling them “you are sitting on a time bomb, which can explode any time”. The patient fearful of the fact that he has blockages gives in to their demands and deposits money for it. If the doctors find the patient unwilling, they then catch hold of the relatives. The family members are as it is very scared and give in to their demands. Doctors tell them, “it is an emergency”. Please deposit the money and then we will schedule the procedure. But if the doctors realize that the patient or the relations will never be able to cough up so much amount of money, they advise medicines and tell them that, whenever the money would get deposited the surgery would be performed. Till such time continue on medicines and exercise. The punch line in this whole set up is that these procedures are performed for money only and is not a solution to the disease. A patient who ends up on the angiography table is so fearful that he falls prey to the demands of these hospitals/surgeons and ends up with these unnecessary surgeries/Angioplasties.

  Watch out for these terms from your cardiac surgeon or interventional cardiologist   

·         You are carrying an atom bomb.

·         You are sitting on a time bomb. It can burst any time.

·         You are sitting in a room where the bulb is fused and there is a cobra inside.

·         You are driving a car without brakes.

·         I do not want to hide anything, but you are in a bad shape.

·         You do not get down of your bed, strict bed rest to be followed.

·         Next moment you can be dead.

·         It’s a wonder that you are still surviving.

·         There is good news and a bad news. Good news is that you are lucky that you reached the hospital on time. Bad news is that you have 80% critical blockage.

·         Don’t go home – get admitted immediately

·         Bed rest till operation takes place.

·         If I discharge you – you would not be able to reach home even.

·         Puts one hand on shoulder of son. Sympathizes. Very bad situation. Nothing can be done.

·         You are driving a car with a flat and punctured tyre – your only option is to change.

·         I don’t know how you reached the hospital. If you were little unlucky you would not have been.

 

Hope you liked this blog!     

This article is written by Dr. Bimal Chhajer  (Heart Specialist India)