I had a heart attack and this is what I have learned...

[Flyboyf18]

This is going to be long but I recommend you read it!

You ARC young pups might want read this as well Heart attacks are no longer an old man's problem!!!

Here's my story; June 1, 2012, it was a cold and rainy nite, really it was. I was working at the bench when I got a sharp pain in the upper left chest, damn I thought, been sitting here too long should get some fresh air. So out to the front yard stand under my big maple for a bit then remember hmmm threat of lightning, that could kill a person. So feeling much better back I go to the bench, do a little more work then off to bed. @ about 0130 I feel the need for a pee, do that, but now I cannot sleep, dull achy pain in the upper left chest. After twenty minutes decide I am best to go to the ER let the doctor tell me it's indigestion give me a couple of Tums and send me home. Get to the ER and tell them chest pains but they are not bad, get processed and on a table, leads hooked up and the question on a scale of 1 - 10 what would you give your pain, I said 2. So from 0200 to 0630 I get monitored, 2 shots of morphine, 3 squirts of nitro, and the a bunch of ECGs, decision, we are sending you to the Ottawa Heart Institute (OHI) for further analysis. So into an ambulance off we go lites and siren where needed and by 0705 I am at OHI, by 0725 I am having an angiogram and my sister has been notified.

The results - had a very minor HA only minor damage heart is working OK, BUT they discovered 3 blockages, 100%, 70%, & 30% in my coronary arteries!!!! Bypass surgery only way to fix this!

OK that was a fair bit to take in so take a break, goggle coronary arteries and myocardial infarction, get those pictures in your head.

I am reminded of the definition of HEALTH - it is the longest road to death!?!

I am lucky for 2 reasons, 1 - I went to an ER, 2 - Ottawa, Canada is good place to have a HA and I think the other 6 guys on ARC from Ottawa will agree. We have here the OHI a world class heart hospital, part of the U of Ottawa for teaching and part of the Ottawa Hospital System. The folks who work there are absolutely first class!!!!

Many thanks to all of them who got me thru this!!!!!

Things I have learned; DON'T IGNORE CHEST PAIN!!

If it goes on for more than twenty minutes, no matter how intense, get some one to drive you to an ER, don't drive yourself, I got $hit from one of the paramedics for not calling 911!!!

Trust me guys & gals recovering from open heart is something YOU do not want to go through, really when you come out of the anesthetic you have a pain in your chest like a drop kick from Bruce Lee!!!!! It will fade fairly quickly but those first few days - WOW

Exercise - get some!!

Our hobby is very sedentary, in other words we sit a lot!! Adding those little bits of etch, getting the decals just right, etc., etc. My new plan is an hour on the the bench, max overage 15 mins. then go for a walk, bench, walk, etc.

Diet - do a self evaluation!!!

Or get an expert to do it!! I think I can trace the cause of at least one of my blockages to a few months when I started to put a bunch of brown sugar on my cereal. There was also an increase in my use of salt!! I know these 2 items make food really yummy but your bad cholesterol really likes them as well!! I asked one of the Docs at OHI when my blockage started, he looked at my chart and said when you were born! Huh? He explained, it could have started then, 3 years back, 3 months back, 3 weeks back, there is no way to tell.

Stress - learn to handle it better, see a professional or your doctor! It probably has been the trigger for a lot of heart attacks!?

Heredity - get to know yours, NOW!!

Your doctor got a bunch of tools when they attended Med School to help keep YOU healthy. They can get some more from you! Did you Dad have a heart attack, how about his Dad?? One of the Docs at OHI mentioned that in recent studies of a fetus plaque streaking was found in it's arteries!!! Both parents were hi risk and passed it on to the child! Now heredity is no guarantee, in my family every other male went bald in his early twenties!! My Grandpa's Dad kept his hair my Grandpa didn't, my Dad did, BUT, I kept mine as well, the chain is broken.

This is the part the ARC young pups need to pay attention to, it is never too early to check your family history, give your doctor another tool!

Age - simple, the older we get the greater chance of a problem!

Fashion - How many of you guys buy your own trousers? What size are you buying? The booklet I got from the OHI says if your size is over 40" it is a risk factor. If you are quite tall then this may be normal, but if you are average height then go up to Exercise & Diet and read them again!

So if the arteries supplying blood to your hear get blocked your system may compensate, mine did, but I exerted myself Friday nite and that started the chain. If I had gotten thru Fri. & Sat. my event would most likely have been further down the road and "The Big One"!! At some point there may be muscle damage, it will never be the same, never!!!

Steve is it possible to add a forum, say ARC Health where members can add links to institutions in their countries where they can get info on heart health or general health?

So if you are pushing to get a kit done for a show or event, think about your timing and work schedule - is it worth making that deadline?

Interesting word that - DEADline??!!??

HTH

Graham

[galileo1]

Very sorry to hear of your event, Graham and thank you very much for writing this.

Glad you're doing better.

Rob

[speedlimit]

Great story and much greater tips. Thanks for sharing Graham. Speedy recovery for you.

Eric

[Grant in West Oz]

Good call Graham.

Last September, I had a warning from my doctor to lose a stack of weight and get some regular exercise.

He put me onto a BP lowering medication, I commenced aerobics 3 mornings a week and drastically changed my diet. Well, really I changed my diet about 4 years ago when diabetes started lurking. That threat dissipated but my job and commute had me quite sedentary and putting on weight once again. This last change was just cutting calories.

I'm very glad you came through your HA due to the great facilities at your disposal. I'm fortunate to be living in Australia where our health system rivals yours in Canada. However the real key is to admit our shortcomings and do something about them.

Best wishes.

Grant

[Wolfgun33]

That some sound advice there. Good to hear that you're doing better. No one wants to go through what you did, but at least you can warn the rest. I to need to get my health in better shape. Need to see a doctor for regular check up too.

[AX 365]

Graham,

Sorry to hear of your plight but glad to know you're feeling better. At least you recognized the symptoms and sought treatment. Years ago, A guy I know had chest pains. They were accompanied with the other classic heart attack symptoms of tingling in the left arm, numbness around the jaw, sweating, cold and clammy skin and fatigue. He figured he needed to exercise so he promptly started to do push ups! :o Go figure. When he didn't feel any better, he drove himself from Orleans to the Civic Hospital and was promptly informed he was having a heart attack. He's lucky the push ups didn't kill him. Within very short order, Rick was having quadruple by-pass surgery. He's still alive. Lucky stiff.

Folks...heed Graham's advise. Don't try to be the tough guy and ignore the symptoms. Get checked. When the pathologist did the PM on my father after his passing, he discovered that the old boy had had 2 mild heart attacks sometime in his life. We never knew. He never complained. If you have pain, that's the body and brain telling you something's wrong. Get checked.

Good luck with your recovery sire.

[Wolfgun33]

Graham,

Sorry to hear of your plight but glad to know you're feeling better. At least you recognized the symptoms and sought treatment. Years ago, A guy I know had chest pains. They were accompanied with the other classic heart attack symptoms of tingling in the left arm, numbness around the jaw, sweating, cold and clammy skin and fatigue. He figured he needed to exercise so he promptly started to do push ups! :o Go figure. When he didn't feel any better, he drove himself from Orleans to the Civic Hospital and was promptly informed he was having a heart attack. He's lucky the push ups didn't kill him. Within very short order, Rick was having quadruple by-pass surgery. He's still alive. Lucky stiff.

Folks...heed Graham's advise. Don't try to be the tough guy and ignore the symptoms. Get checked. When the pathologist did the PM on my father after his passing, he discovered that the old boy had had 2 mild heart attacks sometime in his life. We never knew. He never complained. If you have pain, that's the body and brain telling you something's wrong. Get checked.

Good luck with your recovery sire.

And those are the "Classic" signs. A heart attack symptoms can be different for different people. Shortness of breath, chest tightness and even "Flu Like" symptoms. Please don't ignore anything that doesn't feel normal. Better to be safe than sorry. Trust me, I've seen the worst ones.

[Scooby]

For all the griping that people do in regards to our health system it does work when needed.

Good to hear, best of luck in your recovery. I worked on medical research now so I know what you are going through.

[Slartibartfast]

Congratulations for surviving a heart attack. You're lucky -- for many, the first outward sign of coronary disease is the heart attack that kills them.

[yardbird78]

I went down the "heart attack and bypass" road in May of 02. Not at all fun, but sure beats the alternative.

Darwin

[GEH737]

I'm not big on telling "my story" on the 'net - but if anyone gets something out it, then that's a good thing. I just turned 53 and had a heart attack on May 1st. I get an EKG once a year, and two physicals - no problems, all blood tests and everything else within limits. I had a full blown heart stress test, including nuclear imaging within the past year - at my request - just to be sure - I'm at that age - and I passed with flying colors - no problems at all. One thing it did though - the tests gave me a false sense of security...

May 1st, 10:00am - working around the house - started to get heart burn - no bigee. Ignored it for most of the day - took some antacids to help (they didn't - and a very important part of the story). No other symptoms throughout the day - except the persistent heartburn (which was no more than a PITA).

10:00pm - tried to go to sleep - couldn't - felt very uncomfortable in my own skin - kinda hard to describe, but definitely not normal. Out of curiosity - checked my blood pressure with a reliable electronic B.P. meter (normally 124 / 80) - and it was nearly 200 / 100. At first I thought it was the device - and re-checked it multiple times with the same result. I didn't have ANY other symptoms - and started doing some research on the 'net - and nothing really fit this pattern. My wife talked me into calling our insurance "Ask a Nurse" - and he insisted very forcefully that I go to the ER. By the end of the call, I had the traditional pain down the left arm - and the pain in my chest went off the scale, and then I knew with 100% certainty what was happening - it all happened extremely fast.

10:30 - 12:00 - My wife drove me to the ER, and it was surreal - between the pain, and the realization of what was happening. In the ER, they confirmed a heart attack - pain on a scale of 1 - 10 was an 11. 5 shots of morphine didn't do a thing to help. They couldn't fix it - so I got to ride in the ambulance to another hospital. Not nearly as much fun as I thought it'd be. I wasn't worried, and didn't see any lights or anything, but I was truly hoping I'd pass out or something, because the pain was excruciating. Get to the next hospital - right into the ER, and the Doc puts a "Stent" into my right wrist, and snakes it into my heart where one of the main arteries had collapsed. Lots more drugs - but nothing helped the pain until he got the stent inflated. ICU for a couple of days, then good to go home.

1 week later. Went to the same ER heart Doc - and he said that having those prior exams doesn't prove a thing - and in fact, gave me a false sense of security. I had an artery collapse - no heart damage (extremely lucky - and I've since learned that any damage can not be undone - ever). That's the main reason to not ignore your chest pain guys - better to have a false alarm, rather than permanent heart damage. I don't have any artery blockage - no high cholesterol - nothing to give an indication that this was in the works. Lesson learned - it can happen "out of the blue".

One last thing. I talked with a Paramedic friend later - and something important came up - and again - take this to heart (pun intended :) IF you have heart burn - and regular antacids don't give you any relief - it very likely could be something much more serious. He said that guys ignore this symptom all the time - and not everyone lives to talk about it. I was extremely lucky. I had a false sense of security from being tested - didn't recognize the symptoms because they weren't "traditional" (in my opinion), I then re-enforced my own disbelief (blood pressure reading) by thinking the information I found on the 'net (though good sources - Mayo Clinic, etc) covered all possibilities - they can't. I was lucky that I gave into my wife's request to call the Nurse Line, and that I listened to the nurse.

It sucks to be at that age, but at least I'm around to complain about it... Unfortunately, no real life lessons learned - I'm out of work for six months, and the mental process has been harder than the physical. My best friend died one month later - and while he'd been displaying an incredible attitude towards life's difficulties for over a decade (too many and personal to mention) - his death reminded me once again, that I have a great deal to be thankful for, and that most of us ***** about too many things without any real reason to.

[Jinxter13]

Sorry to hear about your HA Graham, hopefully you'll have no further probs after this is attended to. ARC is a place where modeling is not the only thing discussed, and some very good subjects and advice can be passed on. I've had pains in my chest, but I was warned that the injection I was getting would cause this; so I knew what to look for. Should it happen again after the injection has worn off, the VA ER will be my first stop and I will be there ASAP if not sooner. I've heard some folks experience what is termed a "walking Heart attack", a person can continue to function, but they are feeling somewhat out of sorts, advice...let an MD check it out. Thanx Graham you've give us some food for thought and some very timely advice.

Edited June 20, 2012 by #1 Greywolf

[Sunliner]

Flyboy,

I do cardiac rehabilitation for a living and I think you made the point at least as well if not better than I. Glad you listened to your instincts and went to the ER. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

-Mike

[ross blackford]

:D, One thing I learned in my 9 months as a trainee paramedic with the NSW Ambulance Service is never mess with chest pain. In 2002 I had an episode of crushing chest pain (felt like an elephant dancing on my chest) just as I was finishing an afternoon shift on a Sunday. When I walked back into the office the boys who were coming on shift could see there was something wrong with me and asked what the problem was. When I told them the oncoming supervisor immediately said "You're off to hospital mate." and I didn't argue with him. Ambulance was called and took me to Prince of Wales hospital in the Sydney suburb of Randwick. When they paras wheeled me through the door with the heart monitor between my legs and all hooked up the triage nurse said "Not another chest pain." Within moments I was in a bed and hooked up to a 12 lead monitor and under close observation.

Next morning one of the resident cardiologists came down to see me and ordered various tests including a stress test and ultrasound (that was way cool, I could see what was going on internally in my heart and in colour to boot). Needless to say I think I need to follow Graham's advice and get back onto a healthier diet as the cardiologist told me that the chest pain wasn't a HA but a warning. Also if I want to fly ultralights I'll have to lose a fair bit of weight. Went to fly the Cessna Skycatcher on Monday and with me and the instructor we would have been about 30 kg overweight. Oh well, a C152 was sitting in the hangar with 1 hour to go to a hundred hourly so off we went in it. Exercise will also help me to get into and out of aircraft like the C152 and C162(Skycatcher). The old body isn't as supple as it was 30 years ago.

Finally, guys and girls, take Graham's good advice and check your diet and make sure you're exercising properly. Well that's me out, I'm going to have a light breakfast, shower and head off to the gym for some light exercise.

,

Ross.

[phantom]

Good thing you checked, and real happy your still here to tell us about it!!!!

[thegoodsgt]

Exercise.

Amen brother! When I go to contests and conventions it scares me at how many of us are overweight and unhealthy. I like eating as much as the next guy, but there's a balance to be found. Life is too short for even healthy folk, so each of us really needs to exercise and eat healthy.

Edited June 21, 2012 by thegoodsgt

[Browning]

Glad to see you made it through in one piece and are fast on the road to recovery Graham!

My dad went through almost the exact same thing two years ago - in Ottawa ironically. Heart attack-like symptoms that were diagnosed as a minor cardiac event. An angiogram revealed three blockages (95%, 80% and 75%) as well which led to a triple bypass. I'd like to mirror Graham's praise of the Ottawa heart Institute and its staff - AMAZING people who did some VERY solid work on short notice!

It turned out to be a life-changer for both of us. In my father's case, he dropped a few pounds, radically changed his diet and has become much more active ever since the event. In my own case, I appreciate the time we get to spend together a LOT more. We're only 59 and 27 respectively, but it's definitely an eye-opener for everyone involved.

ALL THE BEST in the coming days and take nothing for granted my friend - you dodged a big one there!

Don

[dbsmith88]

Well, I'm here to tell you don't think this is something only 50-80 year old guys have to worry about. Back in January of 2011, Smith-6 Actual, the Savages and myself were walking through Walmart one Saturday night and I started having very weird sensations in my chest. Not really pain but more like the feeling you get when you walk outside on a really cold morning and you take a deep breath. That cold feeling in your lungs is what I'm talking about. Well, I went on for a couple of days not really knowing what happened. I did notice that I would get out of breath walking 15 ft which was uber-strange. 6 Actual keep trying to get me to go to the doctor but I kept thinking "It's just some kind of flu bug. I'll get better in a couple of days."

Wednesday night, 6 Actual and I were laying in bed talking about what was happening. She started crying and begging me to let her take me to the ER. Since I can't stand to see her cry, I agreed. They did several tests and determined that I didn't have a heart attack. Thank God for small miracles! They did want me to go to the Heart Center, which is the cardiologist's hangout in Huntsvegas. Spent the night in the ER and went to the Heart Center when they opened the next morning at 0730. Talked to a doc about my age. He wanted to do a stress test and they found something but wanted to do the "at rest" portion of the test the next morning to rule out a false positive. Went back in on Friday morning for the second part and it showed up again. Doc scheduled my heart cath for the following Wednesday.

When he went in, he found 4 blockages (100%, 75%, 60% and 60%), all in the "Widow Maker". It took 4 angioplasties, which will redefine your definition of the word pain if you are awake when they do it (ask me how I know), and 2 stints to get things flowing smoothly again.

At the time this happened, I was 37 years old. Several things led up to this happening. First and foremost, a really crappy family history of heart problems. Lack of exercise and a craptastic diet didn't help matters one bit either. I was tipping the scales a dainty 295 at the time (I'm 6'4 so I can carry it really well).

I'm now weighing in at 260 but could stand to lose another 20 or so lbs. Even tho I've only dropped 35 or so lbs, I've lost 4 inches in my waistline, a full shirt size and a full shoe size. I eat way better than I ever have in my life and get a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours of exercise a day.

I'm not 100% like I was before the blockage and probably never will be. But, I wake up every morning on this side of the flower bed so I'm good with that.

Edited June 21, 2012 by dbsmith88

[ThePhantomTwo]

Thanks for the info Graham,I too have gone thru the ordeal of a heart attack(February 21,2011).Mine started as a nagging back ache between the shoulder blades on a Sunday evening,I woke up due to the pain and took some aspirin thinking I had done something to my back at work that day.I managed to feel better after I took the aspirin but about 1 1/2 later I woke to the pains again only worse,after about 1/2 hour of being awake,things got worse quick,my chest started hurting,the pain between my shoulder blades turned into sharp stabbing/burning pains,I felt like I was ready to vomit,I developed a major headache,I started to sweat buckets of cold sweat,my left arm and leg went totally useless.I managed to crawl back to the bedroom to my wife and muttered the words "Take me to the hospital"(living in the country has it's pitfalls,lack of quick EMS is one)and in 3 minutes time,we were dressed and in the car on our way to the hospital(I point to her for saving my life for her quick actions and level head,she was working as a police dispatcher at the time and had to deal with this working the 911 lines).

In 20 minutes after walking thru the hospital doors,they had determined I had a suffered a major heart attack and had a 100% blocked artery on my right side of the heart,a 50% blocked artery on the left side(which was in error after more testing two months later,it was 95% blocked)and were in the process of installing a stent in the 100% blocked artery.They gave me some REAL nice drugs while they were doing all this,things were going great until they installed the stent in the 100% blocked artery,which opened the blood flow to my heart and put it into a major irregular heartbeat(basically another heart attack).I was in la-la land until they shocked me,not once but twice,with the defibrillation pads(which I still had the marks from nearly two months later),let me tell you lads something,getting shocked like that while awake(or somewhat awake)makes the heart attack feel like a stroll in the park!I shot up gasping for air when the blood hit my heart and seconds later I felt like I had grabbed a major electrical line..twice,you go stiff as a board,can't breath,and you see and go thru hell and heaven in those seconds they do that.I spent four days in the hospital after that and put on drugs to help the heart.Three months later I started having major heart palpitations and roughly 7 days later I had open heart surgery,replacing my mitral valve with a mechanical one and a by-pass(had to quit taking blood thinning drugs and let my blood thicken prior to surgery,or it would have been done less then 24 hours after seeing my heart doctor.I still have a 30% blocked artery that they monitor.

Listen to what everyone in the above posts has said,listen to your body and listen to your doctor,it may very well save your life.I never believed I would have a heart attack at 47 and open heart surgery a few months later at 48.

I apologize for the long post!

Edited June 21, 2012 by ThePhantomTwo

[Devilleader501]

Graham i am sorry to hear about something like that. My father just a couple of years ago had a mild heart attack. It scared the hell out of me and I am thankful to still have my father but I worry about him and myself now that I am getting older. Your words of wisdom are not falling on deaf ears my friend.

[Flyboyf18]

Thanks everyone for all the kind regards, I got to the bench yesterday and did some work on my RCN Seafire XV.

I should have added they let me loose from the OHI on Mon. aft and I spent Mon. evening in another local hospital passing a kidney stone!!!

This thread is getting some great stories, we have ARC members from 37 - 61 with heart attacks so far so I hope more members read this and learn something.

[Slartibartfast]

Exercise.

Uh-oh. I'm hosed.

[HOLMES]

Graham,

I am pleased to see that you have survived the heart attack and that you are feeling better ...Thank you for your advice.

Certainly an eye opener and a very important thread .

Keep well..best wishes.

HOLMES

[TaiidanTomcat]

Thank you for posting this. I am a Personal Trainer and I pretty much tell people this all the time, with varying results. You never know what words from who will stick in someones mind and I hope your post does the trick for even just one person to avoid the ordeal that you went through.

If we scale modelers researched our food and whats in it like our RLM shades there wouldn't be an overweight modeler anywhere. If exercise isn't your thing at least get out and walk. take breaks at the bench and stretch tight muscles. Eat right more than anything though. People sit more than anything else these days and trainers will tell you we see the effects every single day. Tight chests, rounded backs and shoulders (Hows that hunch back coming along?) chronic lower back injuries, bad knees, achy joints the list goes on with just the everyday pain before we even start talking about serious medical side effects like a heart attack.

Medical science is truly incredible, and it can keep you alive for a long long time, but its the quality of life that matters. You want to be able to build with the grand kiddies and take them to airshows, and museums, not have them have to spoon feed you while your kids wonder what to do with your stash so they can get some relief from bills.

Glad you made you it through!