Hello From the Hospital

[Tekward]

A brief recap:
- I felt unusual chest discomfort during a Thursday workout.
- It persisted for two hours so I decided to go to the hospital and play it safe. I did not have other symptoms, but I know that people tend explain away health issues.
- To my surprise and disappointment the blood test found enzymes indicative of a heart attack so I was admitted.
- Friday the heart catherization procedure found an artery blocked 70% and a stent was implanted.
- I should be home today and feel very fortunate since both my parents passed very suddenly at younger ages.
Please take your health seriously, listen to your body, and take care of yourself.
(Yes, this will shift my SS strategy.)

 

[MichaelB]

Thank goodness you followed up on your discomfort and went to the hospital. Wishing you a fast recovery.

 

[razztazz]

You will be back to normal in no time. I read this as saying any heart attack you had was small. Just by coincidence today is 3 years since my heart attack. I was mowing the lawn instead of at the gym. My symptoms were too easily explained away, ha ha. And I don't mean I was BS'ing myself. They just weren't anything that had me scared enough to think of a heart attack. So after a nap and cold shower (which 4 out of 5 doctors don't recommend for people suffering a heart attack) I decided to go to the hospital. Three stents and two days later it all worked out except I am left with less than 50% of normal heart output, a pacemaker, and an ICD. But today I washed and waxed the car.

 

[Walt34]

Welcome to the club. Nine years ago I had similar symptoms and was greeted with the same surprise after a very brief stress test ("you have a problem"). By the next morning I had two overlapping stents opening up a heart artery (LAD) that was 90% blocked. I missed the heart attack by "that much" as Maxwell Smart would have put it.

So yeah, listen to your body.

 

[Katsmeow]

Thank goodness you decided to play it safe. Good luck with the recovery.

 

[ERD50]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. Wow, a stent sure seems so much easier to handle than full open heart surgery, you plan to be out in a day or two, that's great! Quite a while ago I read that the stents may only help for 5 years or so (may be better now), but from what I've seen, I'd rather have a stent redone every 5 years (if they can be redone?), than to go through the split-sternum recovery.

-ERD50

 

[audreyh1]

Good for you for taking your discomfort seriously and going to the hospital! Wishing you great health.

And thanks much for sharing.

 

[MarieIG]

What a great move on your part to go to the hospital to have yourself checked!

Best wishes for a complete and speedy recovery.

 

[powerplay]

Happy to hear you went to the hospital and got treatment. Nest wishes for a full recovery.

 

[marko]

Good to hear that it wasn't more serious! So smart/lucky to get checked out right away.

 

[Zona]

Glad you sought treatment and were proactive — thank you for the post and reminder to us all to listen to our bodies! Hope you are back at home and feeling much better soon!

 

[disneysteve]

Glad to hear you listened to your body and went to the hospital. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

It's amazing that you can recover so quickly from what I always thought was a major surgery. What exactly was the discomfort and was it in your left arm? I'm always frightened I might miss the signs since I tend to brush off illness and figure taking a nap will solve the problem.
Take care and hope you're feeling better very soon.

 

[disneysteve]

Wow, a stent sure seems so much easier to handle than full open heart surgery

Open heart surgery is becoming increasingly rare. Stents have largely replaced bypass surgery. TAVR now allows heart valve replacement without opening the chest. It's really quite remarkable.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow! Good thing that you went to the hospital. Best wishes for a full speedy recovery.

 

[mn54]

just out of curiosity did you go to the E.R. or did you call your M.D/clinic. to request an evaluation?

 

[Tekward]

just out of curiosity did you go to the E.R. or did you call your M.D/clinic. to request an evaluation?

I went to the ER and had blood results within an hour. In two more hours I was an inpatient with the procedure scheduled for Friday. Home after two nights, roughly 48 hours after walking in the ER.

If I had waited for an office visit it would have been weeks.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Hope you have a quick recovery and thank you for reminding us all to act quickly if/when something bothers you.

 

[Dreamer]

I am also glad to hear that you listened to your body and took your health seriously. I wish you a speedy recovery.

My DH had what is called the widow maker 09/22. We had him to the hospital within 6 minutes and he had a stent put in. He also did several weeks of cardiac rehab. He cardiologist gave him the all clear to going back to normal life and said he should be off of the blood thinners in Sept 2023. He will probably be on his other meds and aspirin the rest of his life.

 

[rodi]

I am glad you listened to your body.

Even the healthiest people can get serious health issues. I have a friend who recently had a stroke. She's 50 and super fit. She's doing great 2.5 weeks later... but it wakes you up.

 

[skyking1]

Well done and thank you for sharing the right way to take care of yourself.
I had my trip to the hospital and cath lab, but there was no occlusion bad enough to repair.

 

[Koolau]

Welcome to the club. Nine years ago I had similar symptoms and was greeted with the same surprise after a very brief stress test ("you have a problem"). By the next morning I had two overlapping stents opening up a heart artery (LAD) that was 90% blocked. I missed the heart attack by "that much" as Maxwell Smart would have put it.

So yeah, listen to your body.

Yeah, I went in with chest discomfort. No heart attack, apparently, but a big blockage. The stress test I had to do was really painful. I thought I was having a heart attack, but they said keep going. They finally got an indication (don't understand the electrical signal stuff) and they told me (finally) to stop. Got three overlapping stents. Felt good afterwards. There was never any doubt in my mind when I first felt the discomfort. It wasn't "pain" as such, but I knew what it was. SO, it can be subtle. If in doubt - go to the ER. So far, so good 5 years later.

 

[Sunset]

chest discomfort ?

Can folks who have had this expand on this more, I hear that and have no idea what is meant.
Is is like a squeezing, ache as if after being punched hard ?

I had sharp pains around the heart, for a few days now and then, so went and saw a cardiologist, did the stress test and echo cardiogram , turns out I'm fine, but I don't know what it will feel like when it happens.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you a good recovery.

This week my wife’s sister went to see her GP because she had been feeling a little dizzy at times, difficulty in breathing and after a 4 mile walk around her hilly village to “test” her fitness felt a tightness in her chest. The GP referred her to a 24 hour walk-in clinic at the hospital where tests showed she had pericardial effusion (fluid build up around the heart). They admitted her to the main part of the hospital where fluid was drained via a needle into her chest cavity and she spent 3 nights in hospital. She was home on Friday we had a video chat on Saturday.

 

[Midpack]

Like everyone else has said, glad you acted, and that you are doing well all considered. Thanks for the reminder.