More on my brother...dad's visit

I think this post is going to be a bit disjointed as I should be in bed but I'm up researching stuff.

My father has a blood condition where he has "thick blood" -- he has to take a blood thinner (not sure which one -- a la coumadin (sp?)) and evidently his half-sister had this when she was alive, and their mother (my Nana -- 2nd wife to my dad's father) also had it. Well, they found this with my brother, too. (His blood was so thick they could not do a blood draw.) He went for a test today -- not sure which one -- and they found that they "unblocked" whatever was blocked strictly through medication (which sounds like heparin to me but who knows). My father said that the dr. said that my brother has been wearing a monitor in the hospital and that his heart stopped beating a few times today for 3 seconds or so. That leads me to think potential pacemaker, but I'm no cardiologist.

Anyway -- he won't need to go for the catheterization at Mass General since he is now "unblocked". But the bigger question is if this "thick blood" thing was the cause of his heart attack. (I say it is impossible to know for sure, but a smoker with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and no exercise has a whole lot of other factors to consider besides the "thick blood" part.)

Anyway...my brother has had a high sugar history (type II) and I know that this "thick blood" thing happens with age, but it also happens with other disorders such as chronique fatigue syndrome, fibromalagia, and others -- I'm wondering if his dystonia goes hand-in-hand with this, and I'm also wondering if they are just looking for something to hang a hat on.

*sigh* Maybe I shouldn't worry as much but I do.