Had a Heart Attack

[FUNFER2]

Hello all, last week I had a heart attack,.... but I'm back.

The Lord blessed me and my family. If you are religious, I'll ask for your prayers.

Thank you !
Kevin

[RodKnock]

Heart attack? Wow. And you're back after a week? Was it serious? I'm glad you're doing better.

[patrickt]

Well, we're glad you didn't box out the hard way, but this is exactly why we warned you in your "Thoughts on this Side Oiler" thread. Thoughts on this Side Oiler for sale ? Remember?

[john chesnut]

Thoughts and prayers for you and your family. I've had 2 of them. It's an eye opener for sure. Take it easy and take care of yourself.

[FUNFER2]

Pat, don't know what you mean ?

Rod, it was hard for me to detect. I have 24/7 head pain since I took a fall at age two, along with neck & shoulder muscle tension headaches and have three vertebra fused when I broke my neck racing, but when it went down to my elbow, I knew it was different. I also have chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, so I have pain just below my chest bone, and a heart attack has pain in that area as well.

So, after 52 years I'm used to pain, but after 3 hrs or so and trying tums, alka seltzer and milk for my heart burn, I woke my wife up and she said we're going to the hospital ! She probably save my life !

No heart damage accrued. Two were near blocked, one 60% and the other was clean. When I turned 50 four years ago, I went through the entire heart work up and everything was good, so having this blockage is still a shock.

It does run on my mom's side and I'm diabetic, but I smoked since I was 17. I haven't had a cigarette since last Wed !

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by john chesnut

Thoughts and prayers for you and your family. I've had 2 of them. It's an eye opener for sure. Take it easy and take care of yourself.

Thanks John !

Did you have a bypass on either attacks ?

[Tommy]

From what I was told, if there was not permanent heart damage, then it was technically not a heart attack. Your heart was under distress, but the symptoms alerted you to action before it was damaged. .... I had a triple bypass in 2001 at age 53. I now know I had been having symptoms for about five years before that. I reported them to my family doctor and took and passed three stress tests during that time. I now suspect my family doctor declined to refer me to a cardiologist so he could keep collecting fees as my physician. I now reccomend that anyone with symptoms that might indicate heart distress see a cardiologist right away.

I did not like the bypass procedure and recovery, so I swore to change my lifestyle so I wouldn't have to do it again. The biggest source of my problem was a poor diet. I went on and have maintained a low fat diet and stay as active as my body will allow. I haven't had any cardio problems since then, so in my case, lifestyle was an important factor in my heart disease.

Good luck with your recovery. I hope you're feeling much better very soon.

[FUNFER2]

So sorry to hear, not only your attacks, but also the issue with your doctor !
I hope and pray, that he's not that cruel and heartless.

My sister asked my Doctor about that and he said it was a attack. The blockage was severe enough and also said I may need a open heart someday. The luck ones may never need it, but a lot will. My uncle had 3 stunts back in 1998 but has remained very well. Hopefully I will too.

Exersise is so tough on me because of my headaches. Think of even low impact swimming, and what it would do to your headache or migrain. I was a gymnast for 6 years and football player for 7, but around age 23, the pain started to be too much, and had to stop working out.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

[Tommy]

I don't know what my former family doctor was thinking, but my exposure to the world of medicine has convinced me to view doctors in much the same way I view auto mechanics. Some are competent and fair. Some are fair but not very competent. And some are more interested in their own situation than their patients. The only way to know which you're dealing with is by word of mouth or by seeing how they handle things. The tricky part is staying alive while you find out. .... I hope you've got some good ones.

[twobjshelbys]

Wow
Take care

[Dimis]

Glad to hear you're already bouncing back!

Clearly the cobra lords are trying to motivate you to get that cobra of yours done before it's all too late.

[Ron61]

Darn Kevin,

I am sorry to hear about that but happy that it wasn't worse. Most of my family had heart trouble and that is what they died of. So I am aware of what it is like and I wish you all the best and you are in my prayers.

Ron

[undy]

So sorry to hear this Kev. You need to take better care of yourself. Keep away from them cancer sticks too. You have a lot of things working against you and your good health. Give me a call if you want to talk. -Dave

[moore_rb]

Originally Posted by FUNFER2

If you are religious, I'll ask for your prayers.

Originally Posted by FUNFER2

I smoked since I was 17. I haven't had a cigarette since last Wed !

Any prayers coming your way will be that you never touch another one, ever again...

wishing you a long, smoke-free life...

and, thanks for posting such personal news- it's good for the rest of us to get a little perspective, every now and then, that life and health are gifts not to be squandered... Glad you're still with us.

[86Sebring]

Hang in there!
I stopped smoking Oct. 12th after having downed a pack a day for 40 years.

[maurice19]

Good health to you, Kevin

Maurice, 4 stents and one total blockage

[john chesnut]

Kevin, I"ve had Stents. I hope to avoid bypass surgery.
My last heart attack happened on a Friday night while I was driving. I pulled into a parking lot and told my wife that I thought I was dying. This was when all of the Obama Care was happening and my insurance company had just gone out of business. For the first time in my life I didn't have medical insurance. Because of that I was reluctant to go to the hospital.

We were in Lawrence, MA. My wife googled a hospital and drove me there. I remember getting to the emergency entrance. Then I woke up in the operating room. The Dr told me that I had just survived the "Widow Maker". This is a complete blockage of the LAD. The hospital had a cardiac team that was leaving to go home but stayed when I arrived.

The good news is that I survived. I did lose 25% of my heart. I'm thankful for every day. My medical bills were 67K. Ouch.

Both my Grandfathers had heart issues. 1 died at 72 from a heart attack. The other survived a heart attack in his early 60's.

My father passed a stress test in his late 60's. 3 weeks later he was in the hospital and had quad bypass. I don't trust the stress test.

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by john chesnut

I don't trust the stress test.

That's two of us. ... More specifically, if the stress test says you have a problem, then you probably have a problem. If the stress test doesn't indicate a problem, that means nothing to me.

[RodKnock]

What is the "stress test"?

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

What is the "stress test"?

Stress Test

P.S. I think many doctors like to use the stress test procedure because it can be done in their office and offers little risk provided the patient doesn't have a heart attack or stroke during the test. The gold standard (IMHO) is the angiogram. It is done in a hospital and involves inserting a device into a main artery to make it possible to get accurate images of the blood flow through major arteries to the heart. It is a riskier procedure, but provides much better information IMHO.