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I had a heart attack!


washn'wear
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Yes - I have joined the stent club. My left coronary artery was blocked We were in Florida and I was supposed to get in touch with gspotters Belle and co. but as the week wore on I got foggier and foggier and more in pain in my chest--like holding your breath past the easy part to where it hurts, but you can't come up for air. We flew home--I thought it was an asthma attack all along...but got home and the inhaler didn't do squat. then had pain radiate (more like a fire) radiate down both arms so Daddyhoundog took me to our own Heart Hospital...amazing place - from walking in the door to being hooked up and tested I think it was 90 seconds. Anyhow my triponin (the enzyme your heart produces when you have any heart damage) levels were elevated confirming the attack.

for you more involved nerdy ones..it was a Non Q wave MI. (garden - just for you)

So anyhow - I am very glad to be alive.

I start rehab Monday - I am on like 5 different drugs and have to keep the nitro pills handy now.

I am 49 - had good BP, only slightly high LDL very good HDL and 50 pts higher on trygicerides. I don't smoke, rarely drink and work out and have been loosing weight....however I have had a lot of stress which I won't go into here. Mostly the point is if it can happen to me ( all my friends are totally shocked - I am the disciplined one haha)---it can happen to anyone.---

Think I am gonna start drinking that 4 oz of wine a day we are "allowed" to drink!!!

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Praying for a speedy recovery. I liked cardic rehab - good group, good exercise, very beneficial. I had a CABG back in 2002, but no heart attack. Found recovery from that easier than recovery from childbirth. And that wasn't too bad, either.

Yeppers, that stress can be a killer, for sure. Hope you get it under control.

PurpleDays

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Yes - I have joined the stent club. My left coronary artery was blocked We were in Florida and I was supposed to get in touch with gspotters Belle and co. but as the week wore on I got foggier and foggier and more in pain in my chest--like holding your breath past the easy part to where it hurts, but you can't come up for air. We flew home--I thought it was an asthma attack all along...but got home and the inhaler didn't do squat. then had pain radiate (more like a fire) radiate down both arms so Daddyhoundog took me to our own Heart Hospital...amazing place - from walking in the door to being hooked up and tested I think it was 90 seconds. Anyhow my triponin (the enzyme your heart produces when you have any heart damage) levels were elevated confirming the attack.

for you more involved nerdy ones..it was a Non Q wave MI. (garden - just for you)

So anyhow - I am very glad to be alive.

I start rehab Monday - I am on like 5 different drugs and have to keep the nitro pills handy now.

I am 49 - had good BP, only slightly high LDL very good HDL and 50 pts higher on trygicerides. I don't smoke, rarely drink and work out and have been loosing weight....however I have had a lot of stress which I won't go into here. Mostly the point is if it can happen to me ( all my friends are totally shocked - I am the disciplined one haha)---it can happen to anyone.---

Think I am gonna start drinking that 4 oz of wine a day we are "allowed" to drink!!!

I beat you by about two weeks...

I had mine on July 26.

Only my symptoms were very mild and subtle. When the minor chest discomfort didn't go away overnight, I called the VA and they told me to go to the ER right away... like you, I waited barely a minute before they took me back, took blood and did an EKG.

I ALSO don't smoke, rarely drink, do work out regularly (taking a break as ordered by docs, now however) and have lost about 90 pounds over the last 3-4 years. I'm 53. My BP and cholesterol has been under control due to meds...

I spent 4 days in the hospital at the end of July so they could give me a 72 hour course of Integralin (heavy duty blood thinner).

Day before yesterday, I had the first of two stents implanted. I expect to be able to go back to the gym (but not full speed) next week. In a couple of weeks, I will have the second stent installed... I already feel it's easier to catch my breath...

Wash n' wear, I'm so glad you got it taken care of before it was too late!!!

I resolved to not ignore the mild symptoms because of Tim Russert. He was working out regularly. He was doing the right things to control his BP and cholesterol. But he died anyway.

My family history made this situation inevitable for me... I'm very thankful it's all unfolded for me so well... and I'm VERY thankful for the state of medical technology today!!

.

I start rehab Monday - I am on like 5 different drugs and have to keep the nitro pills handy now.

You can get plastic or metal containers for the nitro pills (at any pharmacy) that you can keep on your key chain... I got a plastic one for 99cents...

And I also have to take plavix, 325mg aspirin and a beta blocker... in addition to the other BP and cholesterol meds I already had been taking...

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Thanks guys!

Yeah Rocky - I got the pictures...actually watched the whole procedure in the cath lab...I was pretty bad I guess - they wheeled me in on a Sunday morning after i got there Sa PM and called everyone in to o the procedure..

Yeah um lets see - Plavix, coreg, Aspirin (adult version), Lisinipril (sp?), Lipitor....and yeah - O will look for that little case for the nitro pills

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Thanks guys!

Yeah Rocky - I got the pictures...actually watched the whole procedure in the cath lab...I was pretty bad I guess - they wheeled me in on a Sunday morning after i got there Sa PM and called everyone in to o the procedure..

Yeah um lets see - Plavix, coreg, Aspirin (adult version), Lisinipril (sp?), Lipitor....and yeah - O will look for that little case for the nitro pills

yup that list of meds is pretty much the same as mine now... glad you're still here! :)

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Too Many of us 50 yr olds are experiencing this problem. it makes me get on my soapbox once again! Modern medicine says that the treatment is medication for a lifetime to thin the blood, plus a stent [that often clogs up again!]. "To effect a cure, you must remove the cause.'

Two years ago, I had high blood pressure, was 50 lbs overweight, had high tryglicerides, and was on thyroid meds taking .20 mcg everday. I was eating a whole foods, vegetarian, no added fat diet [McDougall Plan], exercising twice a day and the scale and my lab numbers kept climbing. WTH???? In tears, I finally went to see a bariatric [obesity] physician who told me that starch/sugar carbohydrates were the problem---say what??? So, we removed those completely and in one week, my blood pressure returned to normal, my tryglicerides came way down, I lost 8 pounds, and my thyroid started to work normally again. I continued on the plan to steadily lose the 50 lbs, reduce the blood pressure and trigylcerides back to normal, and reduced the thryoid meds from .20 to .10 mcg!

In the meantime, I found the book, "Going Against the Grain" by Melissa Diane Smith, and became enlightened about "whole grains" and their effect on many of us. Backed up by scientific research, professional experience, and her own health journey, Smith explains the surprising connection between a grain-rich diet and so many of the health problems plaguing us today, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, fatigue, and digestive disorders.

One statement stopped me cold---“Protect against diabetes, heart disease, and other insulin-related health problems” No one [not even my family doc] ever told me that the over-production of insulin had anything to do with heart disease!! Too much insulin has a direct correlation to high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

I mentioned this information to my family endocrinologist, who poo-pooed the idea because none of the studies show this, and finally I said to him, "Well, the typical studies don't tell you this, but one thing is true---you cannot argue with my lab or scale results!" He said, "Well---you are right there."

Today, I am judicious in how many starch/sugar carbs I allow myself per day. Like everyone else, I love pasta, potatoes, beans, and sweets, but I limit them to only 45 grams per day, if that. I shop for foods from the perimeter of the store, and buy very little packaged in boxes or bags. For me the change was easy because the results are so undeniable.

I encourage any of you to read that book, see what she has to say and give it a try.

BTW, one of my kids is diabetic and by following the low carb plan, had to reduce the daily insulin drastically. The blood meter registers the results immediately.

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Dear Washn'wear and Rocky,

I'm sooo glad that you are both with us.

You're both in my prayers, and PLEASE take care of yourselves too!

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Dear Washn'wear and Rocky,

I'm sooo glad that you are both with us.

You're both in my prayers, and PLEASE take care of yourselves too!

thanks Jeff, PurpleDays and everyone else... I am chomping at the bit to get back to the gym!!! I'm hopeful that I'll get the OK on Tuesday... I walked a bunch more today than I had in the last two weeks and felt great!!!

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Wash n Wear, Rocky, glad you are coming through this, Just curious...

Do either of you have a family history of heart disease? I know that is one possible important factor.

Most definitely.

My dad had bypass surgery when he was my age (53) and then died at 66 from heart disease. I also had a younger brother and sister who have each already passed away having succumbed to heart disease.

That's why I always knew this was inevitable for me. And it's one of the reasons I worked out regularly. That exercise routine having probably been the single most important factor that made this event nearly without either symptoms or actual damage to the heart. But there was no question from the EKG and the enzyme (tropinin) levels that I had a genuine myocardial infarction.

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Wash 'n Wear,

So glad you you have been able to tell us of this, instead of us "reading about it"! Thankful to God that you made it through, and now, you can begin to take measures that will help you avoid another.

And Rocky, I didn't know about your brother and sister, God rest their souls. I had a brother, Miles, who passed away some three years ago to some sort of a heart attack, so, I truly feel your pain there on that one. But hey, this thread's about the living! Congratulations on making it through W 'n W! :eusa_clap: :eusa_clap: :wave: :wave: :) :) :dance: :dance:

Edited to add the dancing cool guy with the sunglasses!

Edited by Jonny Lingo
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O will look for that little case for the nitro pills

Well, whatever you do, ... do NOT belch _too_ heavily after taking those pills. Might cause a rather unpleasant ... ummm ... *explosive* experience, doncha know. :redface:

;)

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