Don't ignore the symptoms!

[bbjohn]

I’ve been wanting to share this with everyone for some time, but I wasn’t sure quite how to say it. I know that sounds odd for a writer like me. Anyway, here goes: I wanted to tell everyone that, in early January of this year, I became one of millions of Americans to survive a heart attack.

Mine was mild as far as heart attacks go. However, I was told that, if I hadn’t recognized the symptoms and called someone, it could've been a lot worse.

I was working in my office one night when I began to feel pains in my chest. At first, I didn’t think too much of them. I have anxiety, and it often manifests itself in chest pains. This time, however, the pain kept growing. Then, it spread to my left arm.

I recalled reading that chest pain that spread to the left arm was one of the symptoms of a heart attack in progress.

I felt my pulse, and it was like 130 beats a minute. I stood up, and I got dizzy. I knew those were also signs of a heart attack.

“This can’t be good,” I said to myself.

I called my brother, who’s a paramedic with the local air ambulance company. I told him my symptoms.

“Here’s what I want you to do,” he said. “Hang up the phone and call 9-1-1 right away.”

I did as he said and the ambulance soon arrived at my office. They looked me over and took me to the hospital. It took four nitroglycerine tablets and a shot of morphine to make the chest pains bearable. They were also trying to bring my blood pressure down. It had soared to 250/140 (It’s a miracle I didn’t have a stroke!).

The next day, I had surgery to clear out blockage in a small artery and to have a stent implanted. The cardiologist explained everything to me, and he answered all my questions. The way they do it now is they can send a catheter up an artery from the groin area and do all the work by remote control without having to open the chest. The procedure itself took less time than it did for the incision to close up as I was in the recovery room.

I saw a video made of a scan of my heart as the procedure was performed. It was fascinating to see how this one little artery seemed to dead end. Once the blockage was cleared out, I could see all the blood vessels filling up.

I’m a lot better now, though I still can’t go back to work full-time. I’ve made some lifestyle changes. Among other things, I’ve cut a lot of fat out of my diet. I’ve done this by substituting low-fat and non-fat items for much of the food I eat.

Just as an example, I love the breakfast sandwiches at McDonald’s and Burger King. However, those things are expensive and loaded with fat. I’d already found I could make them at home. I quickly found ways I could substantially cut down the fat content.

I substitute turkey sausage (9 grams of fat per patty) for pork (19 grams) or beef (13 grams). I use not-fat cheese instead of regular cheese, which has 5 to 7 grams of fat per slice. For scrambled eggs, I use Egg Beaters (no fat) instead of scrambled egg patties (5 grams per patty). I found most buns have 2.5 to 3.5 grams of fat each.

By using non-fat and low-fat substitutes, I cut what would’ve been 25.5 to 35 grams of fat to 11.5 grams of fat. That’s quite a drop.

I’ve managed to lost almost 20 pounds in the last two months. With the cardio exercises I’m doing, I’ll probably be in the best shape I’ve ever been in.

The main point I want to make is this: learn what the signs of a heart attack are and don’t ignore them if they happen to you! Granted, some heart attacks strike without warning. However, most of the time, you body will give you plenty of notice.

I should mention the symptoms for women are often different than those for men. You ladies need to learn the symptoms, too, and to act when you feel them happening to you. A heart attack calls for quick action. I’ve been told that, if i hadn’t acted when I did, I might not be writing these words now.

Don’t worry about “bothering” someone if you feel these symptoms. It’s better that you act and have it be a false alarm than to have you not act and be dead.

Most emergency services feel the same way the police chief in my town does about being bothered. He often hears people saying they wonder if they should bother the police about something.

“Bother us!” he said. “We want to be bothered!”

Don't ignore the symptoms. The life you save could be your own.

Big Bad John

[Electric Katfish]

Glad you made it Sweetie!

[PM2K]

Thanks for your story. You may have saved a few lives if only by making people think about it.

I myself was diagnosed with suicidially high blood pressure back in 2003.... I went to give blood for the first time ever, and the nurse went pale as she read my bp.... 267/165... I asked, "is that bad?" She replied, "I don't want to alarm you, but I'd get to the ER, like now..."

Now it is a lot more manageable, thanks to medication, diet and lifestyle changes, but looking back I had all the symptoms too of shortness of breath... waking up gasping at night, for example... and occasional chest pains.

Good lessons to be learned there.

[Mynock]

Glad you're alive and able to spread the word man. Symptoms like that should never be ignored. It's crazy but alot of people don't want to call 911 because they're afraid they're overreacting.

[bbjohn]

Thanks for your story. You may have saved a few lives if only by making people think about it.

I myself was diagnosed with suicidially high blood pressure back in 2003.... I went to give blood for the first time ever, and the nurse went pale as she read my bp.... 267/165... I asked, "is that bad?" She replied, "I don't want to alarm you, but I'd get to the ER, like now..."

Now it is a lot more manageable, thanks to medication, diet and lifestyle changes, but looking back I had all the symptoms too of shortness of breath... waking up gasping at night, for example... and occasional chest pains.

Good lessons to be learned there.

Sounds like you had a real scare there. I'm glad you're still with us. I'd miss all those anime girls

Seriously, high blood pressure, or hypertension, has been called a 'silent killer' because there are often no symptoms at all. Many people with hypertension say they feel just fine. The scary part if hypertension can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and all kinds of serious health issues.

The only sure way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it tested. Many communities have free blood pressure checks available. Look around and I'm sure you'll find something. Getting it checked takes only a few minutes. Again, the life you save could be your own.

Big Bad John

[newtothis2]

bbjohn

Thanks for sharing your experience, I too had the same thing happen to me just over a year ago. I actually found this site while I was home recooperating. I too have made some lifestyle changes and for me, it was more about managing stress because I had a VERY stressful 18 months leading up to it and have made doing some form of regular exercise part of my routine. It's kind of a slow recovery process but 14 months later I feel great and a 10-20 mile bike ride is now a fairly normal outing. Good luck to you in your recovery process.

[Duncan Edwards]

Don't be like my dad who decided that he just didn't feel well enough to go to the doctor that day. He first attempted to medicate himself with a box of brownies. My mother badgered him into going but he didn't admit to feeling bad until the doctor told him that his vitals looked like he was having a heart attack. "That explains why I feel like hell." said dad. He was downstairs in the chest pain center in a minute and had a quadruple bypass along with a valve replacement shortly after. This illustrates not only why you should take care of yourself but also why married men generally live longer.

[claykid]

2 heart attacks 9 angioplasties and 3 stents in 10 years, currently take 14 pills every morning to not have anymore procedures, have been told that i will probably need to have another angioplasty about every 2 years. The symptoms are definately not something to take lightly.

[bbjohn]

2 heart attacks 9 angioplasties and 3 stents in 10 years, currently take 14 pills every morning to not have anymore procedures, have been told that i will probably need to have another angioplasty about every 2 years. The symptoms are definately not something to take lightly.

I'll think of you when I start to feel sorry for myself, kid. Hang in there. It looks like God isn't done with you, yet, just as He isn't done with me.

Big Bad John