Troy Oakley Health Update

As of this morning, Vicki Oakley reports that Troy’s condition is slowly, but steadily improving.

A little over a month ago, the entire horse community was shocked to hear that renowned Quarter horse trainer Troy Oakley had been rushed to Baylor Heart Center in Plano, Texas with symptoms resembling a heart attack. Only later did doctors discover that Oakley was suffering from a Type A aortic dissection. After six hours in surgery and eight days in intensive care, Oakley was discharged and is now back at his home in North Carolina.

 “He is much better, but he is very weak,” Vicki says. “I think his pain is getting better and right now his weakness is probably holding him back more than anything.”

She says that Oakley is able to walk around the house some everyday, as long as he feels able.

“I think he is out of the woods now,” Vicki says. “The main priority is keeping his blood pressure under control.”

Vicki says that stabilizing his blood pressure is the chief concern of his doctors. According to a description given by the Columbia University Medical Center, “an aortic dissection, or dissecting aneurysm, is a tear within the inner lining of the aorta.”

The type of aortic dissection Oakley suffered from is considered to be the more common, but more dangerous of the two. This is because a Type A dissection occurs in the ascending aorta, the major blood vessel that supplies the brain. While a Type A is considered to be a surgical emergency, with a mortality rate of 3-5% per hour after the initial onset, Type B, which involves a tear in the descending aorta, can be treated with medication.

“What they repaired was the large aorta headed towards the brain,” Vicki says. “Now the aorta going toward his stomach is weak, but they can’t repair that, they can just control it with blood pressure medication.”

As far as a timeline for his recovery is concerned, doctors predict Oakley will be able to return to normal activities in two or three more months, Vicki says.

“He has improved a lot, he just doesn’t think so,” Vicki says. “But I can see him getting better.”

In fact, Vicki reports that Oakley has been catching up on his football as a way to alleviate the boredom of bed rest.

Vicki also commented on the outpouring of support their family has received from the horse community.

“We have had so many calls and letters, it makes you feel good that people you haven’t heard from for years are calling to see how he is doing,” Vicki says. “You don’t realize how much you need that or how much it means to you until it happens.”