Denise, my prayers to your mom for an easy surgery and a fast recovery. These surgeries are so routine now that most are done out-patient and everyone feels better afterwards. Not to worry.
My Dad had an angioplasty in 2001 and it was no big deal. I used to tease him that he was a 'walking clogged artery' because his cholesterol was sky-high and then he said that now he had the pictures to prove it! His arteries were like angel hair pasta!
Anyway, he had another angioplasty in 2004 and that too, was a breeze. But he didn't change his eating or exercise habits. He loved BBQ ribs and ice cream and he never exercised. And he used to smoke a few cigarrettes a day and was always overweight. As much as I wanted him to get healthy, he just didn't have the skills to deal with the essential pain of dealing with his emotions and NOT eating whatever he wanted. (We are a family of emotional eaters) So, I knew that my dad would probably not be around too much longer if he continued on the same path.
So, he took cholesterol meds and a dozen others, but the abuse of his body even after all the medical help was too much and he passed away last year from a heart attack after a colonoscopy. He was only 61.
My mother has some similar issues, plus she's a Type-II Diabetic and now she's a widow, so there's added stress for more emotional eating.
The sad part is that there was nothing I could do except show by example. I've always exercised and eaten healthfully (though when I eat emotionally, its the bad stuff) and I take my vitamins, etc. I went through a program to deal with my emot. eating so that I don't have to suffer through those health issues and can lose weight on MF.
I wish I could have made my parents eat healthier and exercise and take vitamins and do whatever to be healthy, but you can't make an adult do something they don't want to do, especially if they didn't learn to take care of their bodies when they were children.
I'm not saying that your mom is on the same path as my dad, but if there is any way to help her get the skills to take the best care of herself that she can, the angioplasty will be the first step towards a new and healthy LONG life.
Take care,
TT