My heart attack

[Olbidness]

A few days before Thanksgiving I had a heart attack. The cardiologist placed a stent and I was released the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I'll not be going back to work for some time or maybe never. I had planned on working until this spring and then retire. This new development may move that timetable forward.
I've worked rotating shift for my entire adult life and it's not conducive to maintaining my health. Eating healthy, taking meds and exercising will have to be my focus now.
I've run the numbers and my expenses and it appears to be doable.
I've got a conservative nature and I'm not sure I would ever have "enough" but this is a wake up call.

 

[MichaelB]

Good that you made it through this crisis and are on the road to recovery!

 

[Spokane2303]

Best wishes!

 

[MRG]

Scary. Glad you are doing well.

 

[FiveDriver]

Good Luck to you Sir !! Your Health is now your number 1 priority.

 

[Ronstar]

Sorry it took a major health scare to hasten your retirement. Take care of yourself and enjoy!

 

[Ready]

Sorry to hear but glad to know you are on the road to recovery!

 

[Danmar]

I would also offer "good luck" and am glad you are on the mend. Is there anything you would have done differently given your current condition? Cheers.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Good to hear about the recovery. You can generally adjust your spending much easier than your health. Enjoy your next chapter, make it fruitful.

 

[Helen]

I'm glad you made it through! If you wouldn't mind sharing, how did you know you were having a heart attack?

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement!

 

[audreyh1]

Wow - it's so good that you were close to retiring anyway, so you already had most of your ducks in a row, and now can focus on your health. Best wishes on a complete recovery.

 

[Olbidness]

I would also offer "good luck" and am glad you are on the mend. Is there anything you would have done differently given your current condition? Cheers.

I knew there was family history of heart disease in my family. I looked into getting a stress test as possibility to head off this type of problem. Everything I read said it wasn't a necessity. I wish now I had. Hindsight is 20/20.
I had been holding off until age 55 to have access to retiree health care, and to have unfettered access to my 401k. I don't think working another year or two would move the needle on my net worth much, and given the type of work I do might sacrifice enjoyable years.
I'm still coming to terms with what my condition will allow me to do. Too early to tell yet.

 

[Rosie]

Very glad you're here to tell us about it. Wishing you all the best.

 

[haha]

Best of luck. I am very glad that you are recovering well.

Ha

 

[Olbidness]

I'm glad you made it through! If you wouldn't mind sharing, how did you know you were having a heart attack?

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement!

My pain was concentrated in the middle of my back not much in chest. I've had back problems in the past so that's what I thought it was. I went to the ER and all seemed OK until some tests came back and then I had 10 people around me stripping my clothes off, pushing meds into me. Then down the hall in the bed, the nurses at trot, to the cath lab. Wam bam thank ya ma'am.
The cardiologist was very good, and told me after the procedure that I'd beaten what was known in the biz as the "widow maker".
All and all a hell of an experience that I would't recommend.

 

[Nemo2]

Hopefully, in 30+ years, you'll be relating this episode to people with a chuckle, and saying that, in retrospect, it was the disguised blessing that was the start of your new life.

Good luck!

 

[Sunset]

Wow... how lucky you went to ER.

Check to see if you have disablilty insurance at work and if so apply for it. Quite possibly you will qualify and it will bridge you to the 55 or later age you were looking for.

My dad had a stroke and went on LTD, first they start you on STD then after 6 months or so you either are better or move to LTD.
Important point besides getting an income is the years still counted towards pension (as if you were at work).
If this is something you opted to take at work and paid for yourself (it's cheap) and the employer did NOT pay, then all benefits are tax FREE.

Due to my Dad's experience, I always signed up for it.

 

[Dawg52]

I'm also glad you got through it and on the road to recovery. Since you are close to retirement anyway, I would certainly take it to the house and start enjoying life. Best of luck.

 

[Dash man]

I'm glad you're on the road to a healthy recovery! Last March I had a Coronary Calcium Score CT scan done which showed me to be at high risk of a heart attack within ten years. A 400 score is considered high risk and mine was 1036. It's a predictor tool and not diagnostic. My cardiologist had me do a nuclear stress test and a carotid ultra sound. My worst blockage is 50% in my carotid artery, but I definitely have both coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease. No heart attack or stroke yet fortunately. Major lifestyle changes with regular exercise and only healthy eating, though I admit to cheating once per month to maintain sanity. Best wishes for your health! I'll be monitoring mine closely. I've lost 35 pounds since the diagnosis and 30 more before that.

 

[donheff]

Glad you made it through and that you saved and are ready financially to stop work. A lot of people don't prepare for retirement and get a very rude awakening.

 

[Olbidness]

I looked up what my short term benefits are, 10 weeks of full pay, 16 weeks of half pay, 48 vacation days after Jan. 1

Long term disability benefits are a mystery to me as I've never used them before.

We usually get a bonus around March and a get a nice bump to retiree medical every April. I'll see how this thing plays out.

 

[NW-Bound]

Heart problems tend to sneak up on people and catch them unprepared. And there is no effective screening for it as I could tell, or perhaps it's expensive that it is not commonly administered.

Man, when we get old, all kinds of problems start to pop up. I am glad to see the OP takes proper action, and get the right treatment in time. What if it happens when you are not close to a hospital? A lot of things in life happens due to chance. And we tend to over worry about the stock market and money matters.

 

[W2R]

A few days before Thanksgiving I had a heart attack. The cardiologist placed a stent and I was released the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I'll not be going back to work for some time or maybe never. I had planned on working until this spring and then retire. This new development may move that timetable forward.
I've worked rotating shift for my entire adult life and it's not conducive to maintaining my health. Eating healthy, taking meds and exercising will have to be my focus now.
I've run the numbers and my expenses and it appears to be doable.
I've got a conservative nature and I'm not sure I would ever have "enough" but this is a wake up call.

I looked up what my short term benefits are, 10 weeks of full pay, 16 weeks of half pay, 48 vacation days after Jan. 1

Long term disability benefits are a mystery to me as I've never used them before.

We usually get a bonus around March and a get a nice bump to retiree medical every April. I'll see how this thing plays out.

So glad that you are doing well after such a scary experience. It sounds to me like you are close to retirement, since you planned to retire this spring anyway. If it was me, my first thought would be to use up the 10 weeks of full pay, 16 weeks of half pay, 48 vacation days, and that would take you into next summer when you could then retire. Good luck on this decision.

 

[mystang52]

FWIW: Many years ago a co-w*rker mentioned to me he had a serious heart attack some 10 years prior. He looked and (told me) felt "fit as a fiddle."
Another good friend of mine had a serious heart attack some 10 years ago (I didn't know him, then) and is doing absolutely fine. I know this because he told me the story during one of our weekly bike rides.
Glad to see you dodged this bullet, and apparently don't have financial stressors so you can enjoy your earlier-than-anticipated retirement. As you wrote, now all you need to do is look after yourself.

 

[Walt34]

The cardiologist was very good, and told me after the procedure that I'd beaten what was known in the biz as the "widow maker".

That's what I had, although I never had the actual heart attack. But the LAD was 90% blocked when I called my doctor when I had to stop and catch my breath several times mowing the lawn. I hadn't had to do that the week before so I knew something bad was going on.

Admitted to the hospital that evening, stress test then next morning, cardiac cathertization and two overlapping stents the day after that.

Almost every nurse commented that I called before the actual heart attack. Apparently most people wait until they're on the floor. But had I not been exercising mowing the lawn I wouldn't have noticed anything. At rest or just walking around I felt fine.

Glad to hear your event turned out well. I also worked 18 years of rotating shift work and that probably was a contributing factor.