[Ethrane]

An AP story said he had initially gone in with chest pains on Thursday. He then spent the night at home in Chapaqua and went back in on Friday where it was decided that he would have open heart surgery. What is strange is that they let him go home. No doctor or hospital is going to let a 58 year old man, with chest pains, go home.

Au contrair mon frere..

Ifhis pain resolves, his EKG is normal (no signs of ischemia), and his initial set of cardiac enzymes is normal (no sign of infarction or CHF), they most certainly MIGHT let him go home with arranged follow-up for further testing.

They might recommend he stay, but if he wants to go home, who's to stop him?

[leadpenny]

I realize he could walk out but it seems someone would advise against it. What about the blood thinner? If he got the blood thinner on Thursday, isn't there a danger of not being able to stop the bleeding in the event he even just gets a minor cut at home?

[Riley]

Occupation: Anesthesiologist

Anesthesiologists are my favorite people in the hospital. We call them 'the bartender'. :-) I have much to thank them for. On my third heart op, (angioplasty with a stent) I was kept out of it enough that I felt nothing, but awake enough that I could competently discuss the fine points of single-malt scotch with the surgeon while he was working.

That's elevating your work to an art form.