Bypass

[windsurf]

Well, here I am one week post-op after a x6 cardiac bypass surgery. In recent years, my risk per lipid, c-reactive protein, and hoomcysteine testing was in the much lower than normal category. However decades prior of a high stress job and bad dietary habits probably laid the groundwork for the blockage. I had completed a spinning class training program with a motivated group including triathletes from last September through late April and ex-pro cyclist leader had us on a progressive program that included sprinting and hill climbing sections that often kept my heart rate in or near the max zone. I thought that was a good litmus test for cardiac health. It wasn't. This May, when I returned to outside riding, I found that hills that I breezed last year were now resulting in shortness of breath and an achy throat. I thought I was developing exercise induced asthma. Well, I found out the evening of June 3 during a team tennis match at an away club that it was my heart. I went down in the second set and when the lights came back on I was staring up at many faces. In response to my "what happened," a rescue squad guy bellowed down, "Your heart stopped!" the good news (miraculous) is that a cardiologist was playing two courts over for the opposing side. He immediately initiated world class cpr and was soon aided by a pediatric intensivist who was playing somewhere else in the building. They kept my vital organs and brain perfused with blood and oxygen for the 12 minutes it took for the rescue squad to arrive and shock me out of v-fib (not consistent with life) with a defibrillator. Both I and the cardiologist had subbed in that night. Had this occurred anywhere but a hospital, I would have been a goner. The cardiologist (read that HERO) called ahead to have the cath lab ready as I was expressed through ER. He determined that I had complete blockage in the trunk of the left main coronary artery and some lesser blockage in branches and also in branches on the right side. I now have all new plumbing and am still on the preferrred side of the surface of the earth. God and fate determined that I would have this event under circumstances where I could be saved. I came home last Monday evening and have been out and about though I am patiently waiting to get my energy level back (severe anemia after the surgery, though the red count is on the rise). Many changes all of a sudden.

 

[mews]

Windsurf, you have either used up all your luck for several years, or you should immediately go buy a few lottery tickets!

Glad to have you still with us, and I hope you have a good recovery.

ta,
mews

 

[W2R]

Wow!! Windsurf, I hope your recovery is speedy. You are indeed lucky to be alive. I would imagine that you think of that every day, after such a close call!

 

[Martha]

I am so glad to hear you are OK. A good reminder that so much is out of our control.

 

[Dawg52]

I'm very happy for you. Very few are lucky enough to have medical people that close by when a heart attack occurs. I'm sure you will enjoy smelling the roses more than ever from this point forward. Looks like you are good to go for many more good years!

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Windsurf, glad you made it through the ordeal and that you are on the right side of the grass. Cardiac bypass is not fun. Went through that in 2004. I still know that everything is not perfect but I have annual tests and my cardiologist says blood flow in the heart is good. However, there was damage to my heart from the attack but he says it was not in significant areas. Still sometimes I get short of breath. Best wishes on a speedy recovery.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Amazing. Thank heavens for the situation allowing iimmediate rescue care. Glad you're OK.

Men (more often than women) often misinterpret or ignore symptoms of heart disease. When you're otherwise fit, as you seemed to be, you get a sense of invulnerability to heart attack. Stress tests can help, but they are not advised for otherwise fit, asymptomatic people since so many of the abnormals are "false alarns."

So, if you have any exertional symptoms of concern, get checked out. "Atypical" symptoms warranting attention include arm pain (esp. left inner upper arm), throat pain, mid back pain (between the shoulder blades) that is absent at rest and occurs with exertion, lightheadedness beyond your usual response to strenuous exertion, vomiting, jaw pain (lower jaw) - heck, any exertional symptom that's new.

Well, excuse me as I go count my blessings and take a lesson from Windsurf's ordeal.

 

[KB]

Windsurf, Glad it worked out the way it did and that you're on the mend now.

 

[ls99]

Wow. It is good to be lucky and be in the right place at the needed time. Glad you get walk on daisies instead of pushing them.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Glad you're on the mend, windsurf.

I had a less dramatic version of your story. Six years ago, I noticed a diminishing ability on the treadmill and when I developed shortness of breath just walking 1/2 a block, talked my way into cardiology. Just one stent got me back to normal.

 

[dex]

That is one of the reasons I had that test where they inject you with radioactive solution to see the condition of your arteries. I did this just before quitting.

I would recommend the procedure to anyone before retiring.

You are very fortunate such qualified medical help was nearby.

 

[windsurf]

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. Much sage advice and wisdom in the posts above.

 

[FinanceDude]

GREAT NEWS!!! Take time and appreciate all the litle things in life. God gave you a 2nd chance at life........

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

That is one of the reasons I had that test where they inject you with radioactive solution to see the condition of your arteries. I did this just before quitting. I would recommend the procedure to anyone before retiring.

Nuclear stress tests are more sensitive and specific, but also much more expensive and involve radiation exposure. And they are not perfect, almost always leading to catheterization if any abnormality is found, some of which are erroneous.

The choice of what flavor stress test is best involves numerous factors: the baseline EKG, reason for testing, pre-test likelihood of coronary disease, etc. Nuclear studies are not the screening test of choice for many. Similar comments would apply to stress echocardiography.

The main thing is to take symptoms of this nature similarly.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Dang. I bet that was some scary stuff. Not many of us get a 2nd shot. Good luck!

 

[DblDoc]

Glad to hear you are doing well. These are the situations for which so many train and prepare for. I am surprised the club didn't have an on site Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). Anyone with BLS training will know how to use one (they are "automatic") and are increasingly present in many locations including planes, gyms, malls and places where many people gather.

Amazing. Thank heavens for the situation allowing iimmediate rescue care. Glad you're OK.

Men (more often than women) often misinterpret or ignore symptoms of heart disease. When you're otherwise fit, as you seemed to be, you get a sense of invulnerability to heart attack. Stress tests can help, but they are not advised for otherwise fit, asymptomatic people since so many of the abnormals are "false alarns."

So, if you have any exertional symptoms of concern, get checked out. "Atypical" symptoms warranting attention include arm pain (esp. left inner upper arm), throat pain, mid back pain (between the shoulder blades) that is absent at rest and occurs with exertion, lightheadedness beyond your usual response to strenuous exertion, vomiting, jaw pain (lower jaw) - heck, any exertional symptom that's new.

Well, excuse me as I go count my blessings and take a lesson from Windsurf's ordeal.

I second RIT's advice. More often then nought the patients I see having an acute coronary syndrome have a history of concerning symptoms for some period of time before presentation with "the big one". The underlined statement is especially targeted at women whose symptoms are frequently "atypical"

DD

 

[DangerMouse]

Lady luck was certainly smiling on you that night. BTW did you ever smoke at all? Was your bad diet high in fats/meats or just lacking in veggies? I am curious as to how you got to the place of having to have the bypass.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Lady luck was certainly smiling on you that night. BTW did you ever smoke at all? Was your bad diet high in fats/meats or just lacking in veggies? I am curious as to how you got to the place of having to have the bypass.

Don't mean to ambush the reply from Windsurf and I am very interested in what he has to say, but as an important side issue most people don't realize that a high percentage of heart attack victims have none or few of the traditional (i.e. known) risk factors -- up to half in some studies. Normal cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, CRP and BP, nonsmokers, no family history, not obese, etc etc.

In our ignorance we focus on reversing the factors we know about, but even with all those controlled, the disease will still be with us. OTOH, even very high risk means roughly 1 to 2% per year.

 

[shoe]

Windsurf, that you were snatched from the jaws of mortality is a certainty. I join the others here in wishing you a flawless recovery. If it was me, I'd change my name to Lucky Bastard!

 

[Alan]

Windsurf, glad to hear that you survived a very scary experience and thanks for sharing your experience on the forum. Your report plus the responses from others teach us all to listen to our bodies and recognize the symptoms.

 

[windsurf]

Why I developed the blockage will always be a mystery. Start with the proposition that half the people who have heart attacks have normal cholesterol. In recent years, mine was better than normal (high hdl, low triglycerides). Inflammation within the arterial walls seems to be the culprit. The development of plaques is not, I don't think, from ingesting cholesterol and the proper types of fats but from factors associated with inflammatory conditions like diabetes, periodontal disease, certain types of foods and other lesser known causes. Eskimoes who traditionally lived on much fat (but the right kind) didn't develop heart disease. For the past five years or so, I have eaten predominatly animal protein and generous amounts of vegetables (I don't count potatoes as a vegetable) and fruits. On the other hand, perhaps a quarter of the time, I defaulted back to sandwiches, pizza, pasta and the like. However, this damage was probably done over decades. I used to run a lot and thought that gave me license to chow down on pasta, pizza, cookies and the like superimposed on a rather typical diet. I was in a very high stress occupation and too often carried some excess lard around my waist. I was probably border-line pre-diabetic for some of those years. Like I said in my first post, I have had reassuring lipid and inflammatory marker test results for the past several years. If I hadn't interpreted the recent onset of throat pain and shortness of breath on my bike rides as exercise induced asthma and went in for a cardiac workup, I would still have needed surgery but not on an emergent basis. Now my primary mission will be to keep the new plumbing patent. Again, thank all of you for your kind thoughts and encouragement.

 

[dex]

Nuclear stress tests are more sensitive and specific, but also much more expensive and involve radiation exposure. And they are not perfect, almost always leading to catheterization if any abnormality is found, some of which are erroneous.

The choice of what flavor stress test is best involves numerous factors: the baseline EKG, reason for testing, pre-test likelihood of coronary disease, etc. Nuclear studies are not the screening test of choice for many. Similar comments would apply to stress echocardiography.

The main thing is to take symptoms of this nature similarly.

Thanks -I thought I was covered - If I have a hart attach while hiking alone in the wilderness; I'll be thinking of you.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Thanks -I thought I was covered - If I have a hart attach while hiking alone in the wilderness; I'll be thinking of you.

God forbid.

Sorry for the full disclosure. I'll try to be more misleading in the future .

If it makes you feel better, the ability to reach 10 METS during a stress test or exercise in general, is associated with a very low likelihood of a heart attack in the subsequent years. 10 METs is running at a 10 minute mile pace. Ask you cardiologist what maximal MET level you reached.

 

[Moemg]

Sorry about your heart problems but luckily it all worked out okay !

 

[Free To Canoe]

Windsurf,

Glad that you survived! Best wishes on a continued good recovery and staying out of the hospital.
Certainly this post is a great benefit to many people including myself. Thank you for making the effort even though you are ill.
I suspected that medicine is making less progress than people think on the predicting heart attacks. This post confirms it. It is better to have the straight facts than a lot of BS IMHO.
The 10 METs thing is interesting. I want to find more info on it.
I am surprised that the cholesterol screening has so little a correlation to the event.
My father was having problems and seeing a cardiologist. He had a attack right after visiting him and passed away. Once you understand that there are many things that are not within the doctor's control, it is hard to be angry about it.

Hard to make predictions, especially about the future. This is why I am glad I am ERed and trying to make the most of my life (whatever that means).

Free to canoe