I was feeling uncomfortable in the chest region, and although the symptoms were not that typical for heart problems, in the end I decided to walk to the hospital for a quick check, and they refused to let me go. Spent the next four days there, turned out I had had a heart attack before I came in. There is no direct threat anymore right now, thanks to the medication.
I might as well have decided not to go to be honest - in which case a second attack Thursday night would have been likely and possibly lethal.
Please, especially those of us in the dangerous age bracket, be aware that any pain on the chest should be checked. ASAP.
So your symptoms were atypical. I think it’s important to note too that the typical symptoms for a man may not necessarily be what a woman will experience. I’m not positive just how they differ. Maybe someone in the know can elaborate.
How do they want you to address this going forward? Just the medication? Lifestyle change? Some combination thereof?
Uncomfortable slight pressure in the chest area, lasting. Not dramatic. No jaw or arm pain.
My life style was already pretty sensible. Never smoked. Very moderate alcohol consumption (months in a row zero, then 2-3 glasses a day max for a while - coinciding with the return home of my wife). A bit heavier than ideal but not dramatic (88 kg at 185 cm). Regular walks, thanks to the dog. Eating sensibly (low fat, low salt).
And yet.
Of course, a relatively stressful job, and a non-ideal home situation with my wife spending large parts of the year in Shanghai.
I’m so glad you checked yourself out. Were you alone when you started to feel bad? You absolutely did the right thing.
When my father was 53 he had a heart attack and the first reaction from friends was “Baker’s dad?” He had a job that kept him moving(tire builder), didn’t smoke, drank very little, was was quite fit. However, his own father died from a heart attack at the same age, and his brother wasn’t much older when it happened to him.
Thanks to drugs and open heart surgery my father is still with us almost thirty years later. But he didn’t want to go to the hospital either, his symptoms were an ache in the small of his back(he did toe touches to get rid of it!) and then profuse sweating. My mother the RN wouldn’t take no for an answer, threw his robe on him and dragged him out the door to the hospital. I’m sure his life was saved that way, next day(Easter Sunday no less) a code blue was pulled on him, which Dad says he didn’t feel. “I woke up and the nurse was beating me on the chest, yelling at me to wake up!” he said.
People that talk about “The good old days” don’t know what they are talking about. If I lived then I wouldn’t have a father now, just like I never got a chance to know my paternal grandfather.
I am a 49YO female, and this Saturday will be the one-year anniversary of my heart attack (spontaneous coronary artery dissection - basically I blew an artery). Everyone was completely shocked by this - I dont’ smoke, dont’ drink, weight is fine, I look completely healthy and normal.
I didn’t know it was a heart attack, but I drove my kids to school and then drove to the hospital because something was just…not right. Spent 8 days in the hospital; two cardiac catheterizations and four stents later, I’m all healthy now and just ran a 5k a few weeks ago.
I’m glad I followed my instincts to go to to the hospital, and I’m happy to hear you did the same, Art Rock.
I am really concerned about this, DP. If you can only hang in there, '12 isn’t that far away. I know it probably doesn’t seem right around the corner at the moment but it will be here before you know it.
In the meanwhile, when you walk Jazz, try picking it up into a very fast walk/slow jog, make it as brisk as you can while minimizing the impact. If you don’t already have them, get some shoes with marshmellow soles, something state of the art as a shoe designed for absorbing impact. Can you ride a bicycle where you are? Perhaps riding is just not practical to do there. Is there a swimming pool you could start going to? Something nearby. Swimming might not seem appealing but it’s great long term for the heart muscle. You should really try to get some kind of aerobic thing going, something more than just walking Jazz.
This must be really difficult under the circumstances, you two separated because of the work related issues. You have so much future to stay healthy for!
I don’t mean to sound like a lecturer, just am at a loss for words otherwise. You’re someone I look up to!
I am not in any doubt about you surviving for the next couple years. But what I want is for you to live a long healthy life, want you to make it past 80yrs old. Both of you. It’s been inspiring to see you so genuinely happy, the two of you being married and together.
A note to everyone else here at the SD, I have known Art Rock for the better part of 10yrs and this guy is one of the best people you could meet. A brilliantly intelligent man, speaks many languages fluently, an artist, a musician - he is genuinely one of the nicest, finest people you could get to know, someone to admire on many levels.
Art, so glad you went to the hospital! And with lone cashew’s personal testimony as to your awesomeness, well, I just want to say I’m doubly glad we still have you with us!
Baker, interestingly my exBF had chest pains while mowing the lawn the day before Easter. I had a heard a good tip that y’all may want to keep in mind. He was very reluctant to go to the hospital, but I got him to chew three aspirin and go to the fire station that was only a couple of blocks away. Four burly guys standing around telling you to go the ER is a lot more effective than your girlfriend telling you to go to the ER.
He had quad bypass a week later. He had been a heavy smoker AND an active alcoholic. He quit drinking after that, but alas, did not stop smoking.
Epilogue: after the surgery he told me that he had had similar pains while working in the yard about two months prior, but didn’t tell me.
You guys are scaring me - at 44, I have a very healthy lifestyle except my weight, which I’m working on (25 more pounds to go!), but there are obviously no guarantees that my daily exercise, eating right, not drinking, smoking, or drinking caffeine makes any difference. Oh well - I do all these things for other, good reasons any way.
My dad (a retired physician) has recommended I start taking an aspirin daily. Have decided that after learning of this news, I am starting that beginning today. I have a bottle to use up, then plan on stocking the buffered kind - aspirin can be hard on the stomach.
