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Comment by maryrosecook | Hacker News Reader

I posted this because I thought the HN community might find the doctors' problem solving approach interesting.

No kidding - it sounds like House MD was on the case. She was lucky to survive.

It is interesting that she had cardiac surgery as an infant. It does remind me of the situation of an acquaintance where the patient had cardiac problems as an infant/toddler that were fixed and then essentially moved on until they suddenly dropped dead (while apparently fit and healthy) in their early twenties. One one hand you'd think gee, maybe if you had such a rough start they would follow you up with a super-duper checkup every few years or so. On the other hand, I guess when the invincibility of youth sets in, no apparently healthy person wants to go to the doctor and relive their past.

Edit: sorry - s/she/you, didn't realise the HN comment was by the original author.

I'm terribly sorry to hear about your friend.

I have had cardiac check-ups at least once a year for my whole life. In several instances, new problems were found at one of the check-ups and the wheels were set in motion to mend things. Further, when I was in hospital for the cardiac arrest, the bulge in my aorta was discovered by accident.

I live in the UK. Perhaps the NHS are more will to keep tabs on people than private health services in other countries.

Doctors in the US usually over-test people due to lawsuit fears.

Getting paid more for over-testing probably has something to do with it too.

Not really. My parents (both physicians, just like a sizable part of my extended family) do not believe in unnecessary medical procedures, much like almost every other doctor. You don't become a cardiac physician unless you actually care about the people and what you do, trust me. Cosmetic surgery pays much more, holds less risk, and is less demanding if you're just in it for the money. In addition, most cardiac tests don't award the physicians any monetary value aside from decreasing malpractice risk through negligence.

That happened to the best friend of an old school friend of mine, too. Not even 30, prime of his life, just released first indie CD with my friend, everything going splendidly then suddenly - playing basketball one day, just falls over dead. The ambulance was there within a minute or two from the hospital right down the road - nothing they could do. No previous symptoms that anyone knew about.

It's customary to end an anecdote like this with a short "morsel of wisdom" summarising the above but shit, what can you say to that. Go to the doctor, folks. Checkup once every 2 years. Could save your life.

It's funny feeling like the doc has you open in gdb or something. I had my aortic root and a valve replaced a few years ago. However, I had been monitored for years prior, so I avoided the surprise you got. Anyways, glad you came through ok. The trauma of surgery becomes just another inconvenience from the past with a year or two of hindsight.

I glad you posted because I'm human and it's a great story. Just get better and write some more.

I was struck by how half way through the article, the foreign object is revealed. Shouldn't something like that be kept in check by regular checkups? Maybe an MRI scan?

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