|
The echocardiogram is the test of choice for evaluating pericardial effusion. A significant bleed would easily have been picked up by this test at discharge- that's why they do it. Your father may have been relatively asymptomatic until enough blood had built up to restrict the heart contractions, however, I find it hard to believe there was not enough pericardial blood to detect on echo three days post cath. You might want to ask your father's cardiologist to obtain a copy of the echo report for you.
With that being said, myocardial perforation is a known, although rare, complication of cardiac catherization. Even the best cardiologists will unfortunately experience a small percentage of complications. That knowledge doesn't help you or your dad at all, but the possibility of a complication like that should have been explained to your dad before the procedure.
My opinions only. I wish your father the best in his recovery.
__________________
For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel, looking, looking, ...breathlessly.
-Carlos Castaneda
|