This Year Should be More Productive!

For me, 2011 was highlighted by two events. The first was a trip to the global HRD Conference in Mumbai to talk about Leadership and the Long Term Perspective. This was very well received and I came home with a plaque, trophy, video and terrific memories. The second event was in July when I flew to Vancouver for the WFS conference and The APF meeting. A great time with old and new friends in one of my favorite cities.

But to quite an extent, the year was dominated by health events, both for my wife and for me. She had a full knee replacement (her second) and I had three heart procedures and a lot of powerful medication. So a lot of the year was spent with my wife and I looking after each other. But there was a powerful message about the future that came along with these medical events, as I have been watching the future unfold.
When I was young, many older people suffered from serious pain due to arthritis in their knees and hips or from simply wearing the joints out. That meant that most of the rest of life would be in a wheelchair or bed. In the 1970s, knee replacements occurred, but it was still early. The technology improved in the ‘80s and 90’s and today the procedure is very common. Still quite painful, but far better than the alternatives. Yet, we know that the future will bring new alternatives, better results an less pain. For example, will future knee and hip procedures simply involve “growing” new cartilage?
Also, when I was young, (1940s and 1950s) it was common for people in their forties and fifties to have heart attacks and die, or have crippling strokes. By the 1970s, coronary bypass surgery was becoming practical and popular. In this surgery, the patient’s body was opened with a long cut (and subsequent scar), then the rib cage was “cracked” open so the surgeon could cut the clogged arteries and splice in a piece of vein, usually taken from the patient’s leg. The procedures and the technology improved and in the 1980s and balloon angioplasty became an alternative to surgery. In balloon angioplasty, a wire (catheter) is fed through a large artery (usually in the groin) of an awake patient and monitored on an imaging machine. When the device reaches the blockage in the artery, a balloon at the end of the catheter is inflated, squeezing the blockage open. In the 1990s, Stents were added to the procedure to hold the artery open, and in the early 21st century, chemicals were added to the stents. In 2001, almost 2 million angioplasties were performed worldwide, and in early 2011, I was the beneficiary of all this technology when a stent was placed in one of my coronary arteries. I was awake and observed the procedure, and experienced no pain. In fact, the only negative effects I experienced related to this procedure were from the medications; blood thinners and Beta blockers.
As a futurist, I found this evolvement of heart procedures fascinating. Of course, the question is “What comes next? How will care for blocked arteries evolve?” The movement toward healthier diets that help avoid clogged arteries is already underway, and primary care doctors regularly monitor patients (particularly as they grow older)with regular blood tests. Statins have made huge contributions, and some in the pharmaceutical industry feel that surgery for blocked arteries will eventually give way to treatment with pharmaceuticals. That may well happen, but the industry still has a lot of work to do (in my opinion) in the areas of dosages and side effects. Personal genomics should have a substantial impact on both areas.
Paralleling the angioplasty technology was a procedure developed for treatment of irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia), and in particular, atrial fibrillation (which may lead to a stroke). Going beyond pacemakers, ablation also starts with a catheter entering the heart a blood vessel (this time through a vein). This is technology of the 1990s, and is also performed with an awake patient. In this case, the specialist guides the catheter to a point in the heart wall that appears to be disturbing the normal rhythm of the heart, then “zaps” that area with an electrode in the catheter, destroying the defective area. There are variations growing from this procedure, including “cold” ablation and ablation on outside of the heart wall.
I had this procedure done twice, once at the beginning of the year and again at the end, again with no pain. The sensation of feeling energy surge throughout my body when my heart went back to its normal rhythm was indescribable! This procedure has only been available for about 15 years, and is reliant on the advanced imaging systems of recent decades and some the experience developed with angioplasty.
Again, for a futurist to be able to be witness to the changes in medical care over the years through the experience (and deaths) of friends and relatives, then to benefit from the evolution of these procedures and technologies is exciting and gratifying. Yes, all this slowed me down (there were also two cataract surgeries)some for the past year, but I feel really healthy now and am charging into the new year. Watch for a new version of the It’s YOUR Future eBook—I’m adding color. Also watch for a Turkish translation, followed shortly by a Spanish translation, with other translations to follow.
So 2012 is off to a good start! Hope to see you all in Toronto!

Download the Personal Futures Workbook at www.personalfutures.net. It’s Free!
Follow me on Twitter @urfuturist.