We are out of the Cath lab and back in the Cardiac ICU.  The cath went a lot better than previously thought.  Going into the cath lab, it appeared that the pulmonary veins were narrowing, thus causing the heavy, fast, and deep breathing he was displaying.  With the 4 pulmonary veins closing off, blood is unable to get from the lungs to the heart.  We had no clue what news the cath procedure would bring or the ultimate outcome would be.

Upon word the cath procedure was done, we spoke with Dr. Martin.  She was the doctor performing the cath.  She instantly told us she had "good news" for us.  She proceeded to tell us that only 1 out of the 4 pulmonary veins was closing off.  This was much better than all 4 of them closing off--as previously thought and feared.  Although it is not great news that the vein is closing off, it is better that only one of them is doing so.  The body is able to function with 3 of the veins if the one does close off.

During the cath procedure, Dr. Martin did balloon the vein, re-opening it.  The probability of the vein re-closing is very high.  The time period is unknown for when/if it does/will.  We will probably be watching the vein closely for weeks to come.  Unfortunately, there probably won't be any visual signs of it closing off.  As for the heavy breathing, it is believed to be due to a lower dose of Lasix.  They have increased the dosage and his breathing has improved significantly.  We will be staying the night in the CICU, for monitoring purposes.  Tomorrow, he will be evaluated and hopefully will be able to be home in a short time!