# Regarding our impending heart attacks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054 "2015-06-09T10:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/21 "2015-06-12T05:25:54Z")
First of all, I think you’re worrying about the Widow Maker (massive heart attack) and ain’t nobody going to get you out of that one. OhHH…! thump. That’s about it. Most heart attacks aren’t like that. My husband’s first (he was around 45) was a bad one. Most important to note is that **a week before, he had experienced a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart** that went away almost immediately, so we disregarded it. Later we learned that’s a major red flag to go get checked out. Turned out it “killed” the bottom half of the back side of his heart. When he got out of the hospital he was given so much time off work we…decided to paint the house. Didn’t seem to hurt him though. The worst thing that happened was he turned over a gallon of paint while climbing down off the ladder. (I was doing the lower part.) Another symptom to get thee to dial 911 is **a sense of impending doom**. That occurs with several acute medical emergencies but all need to be addressed asap. Don’t worry. You’ll probably die while watching some movie with your wife that’s already put you in a stupor, popcorn stuck to your slackening lips. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/22 "2015-06-12T05:53:47Z")
Remembered another symptom: **shortness of breath, while sometimes feeling like there’s an elephant sitting on your chest**. But most heart attacks are treatable with however many stents or by-passes you need spread over however many years. (Looking at you, too, **kayaker**.) It’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/23 "2015-06-12T05:55:37Z")
Thanks for sharing! Might you be a sport and expand on this?: a sense of impending doom. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/24 "2015-06-12T06:09:21Z")
Remembered one MORE thing. My grandmother died in her early 90’s. Sometime in her 70s she went to the doctor for a “go over” who discovered she’d had a heart attack sometime previously. None of us knew when, including her. In my family, if you can still crawl to the bathroom and somebody asks How you doin’, we say “I’m makin’ it.” ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/25 "2015-06-12T06:26:52Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > Thanks for sharing! > > Might you be a sport and expand on this?: a sense of impending doom. Ahh, impending doom. I’ve experienced it a couple times. It’s not like feeling really bad…it’s kind of like a sudden wave that builds and spreads over your entire body and you seriously know you might be dying, or, the world’s going to end. It’s difficult to alert somebody to what you’re feeling (you’re so weakened) but in my case I was able to. I DON’T think it means inevitable/quick death. It’s more like a slow-motion “I gotta get some help” kind of thing. And it’s unmistakable. You **will** recognize it. If that time ever comes just let “them” take care of you. It’s not the end; it just feels like it. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/26 "2015-06-12T08:55:23Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Ahh, impending doom. I’ve experienced it a couple times. It’s not like feeling really bad…it’s kind of like a sudden wave that builds and spreads over your entire body and you seriously know you might be dying, or, the world’s going to end. It’s difficult to alert somebody to what you’re feeling (you’re so weakened) but in my case I was able to. I DON’T think it means inevitable/quick death. It’s more like a slow-motion “I gotta get some help” kind of thing. And it’s unmistakable. You **will** recognize it. If that time ever comes just let “them” take care of you. It’s not the end; it just feels like it. Thanks for explaining it. I seem to recall someone somewhere making a mention of it. I hope I can avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/27 "2015-06-12T14:28:35Z")
Grampa started having Parkinson’s-like symptoms when he was about 50. After a while they figured out it was strokes from blood clots. Dad had his first heart attack at about 49. He also had lumpy blood. I’m a couple weeks shy of 48 and I get the occasional superficial clots, my blood chem is generally bad, I’m a bit overweight, and I deal with loads of work stress every day in a job that keeps me pretty sedentary. Barring a freak accident, I know what’s coming for me, and I believe it’s coming soon. I’ve got my life & finances in order have no intention of fighting it. The first time my dad saw the light he said it totally took his mind off the pain, and accepting it, focusing on it, felt more right than anything he’d ever experienced. Then some jackass in the ER woke him up. I can’t wait to feel right about something for a change. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/28 "2015-06-12T16:46:10Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Grampa started having Parkinson’s-like symptoms when he was about 50. After a while they figured out it was strokes from blood clots. Dad had his first heart attack at about 49. He also had lumpy blood. I’m a couple weeks shy of 48 and I get the occasional superficial clots, my blood chem is generally bad, I’m a bit overweight, and I deal with loads of work stress every day in a job that keeps me pretty sedentary. > > Barring a freak accident, I know what’s coming for me, and I believe it’s coming soon. I’ve got my life & finances in order have no intention of fighting it. The first time my dad saw the light he said it totally took his mind off the pain, and accepting it, focusing on it, felt more right than anything he’d ever experienced. Then some jackass in the ER woke him up. I can’t wait to feel right about something for a change. Have you had your blood tested for Factor V Leiden? It’s an inherited blood clotting disorder. That’s what I’ve got. A daily dose of Coumadin monitored by monthly blood draws to see where your pro time is generally keeps things on an even keel. Been taking it for 18 - 19 years now. So far I’ve had one “real” stroke and two mini-strokes, the last one about three weeks ago. I’m still alive and kicking. Although I’m partially blind from “having the big one, Ethel! (?)” obviously I’m still alive and kicking. As long as my mouth still works I am a-ok. (Don’t know about everybody else, though. lol) (And the big one was caused by no money for the medicine or monitoring. Took about six months to hit.) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/29 "2015-06-12T16:58:22Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Here’s a good place to salute ol’ [Jim Fixx Health Guru to the Masses](http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/obituaries/james-f-fixx-dies-jogging-author-on-running-was-52.html) To be fair fixx had some strikes against him. He had a family history and his dad died at 43 of a heart attack. Also fixx was an ex smoker, ate a bad diet and was under a lot of stress. In a way if you outlive your parents when you have a family history that is still a success. Fix lived ten years longer than his dad. Same with John candy, his dad and grandpa died in their 30s and early 40s, John outlived them Both by dying of heart problems at 43. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/30 "2015-06-12T17:05:55Z")
Bursitis in my right knee put an end to my walking five times a week, and I’ve gained weight dramatically. Recently I started doing gardening and yard work for exercise (more strenuous than you might think) and I was appalled to discover just how out of shape I was. I’m getting more conditioned now but I’ve started taking aspirin before exerting myself to fend off scary chest pains :eek: (I’m 54). ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/31 "2015-06-12T18:27:54Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Grampa started having Parkinson’s-like symptoms when he was about 50. After a while they figured out it was strokes from blood clots. Dad had his first heart attack at about 49. He also had lumpy blood. I’m a couple weeks shy of 48 and I get the occasional superficial clots, my blood chem is generally bad, I’m a bit overweight, and I deal with loads of work stress every day in a job that keeps me pretty sedentary. > > Barring a freak accident, I know what’s coming for me, and I believe it’s coming soon. I’ve got my life & finances in order have no intention of fighting it. The first time my dad saw the light he said it totally took his mind off the pain, and accepting it, focusing on it, felt more right than anything he’d ever experienced. Then some jackass in the ER woke him up. I can’t wait to feel right about something for a change. What are you saying my friend, that you want to die?☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/32 "2015-06-12T18:29:55Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Have you had your blood tested for Factor V Leiden? It’s an inherited blood clotting disorder. That’s what I’ve got. A daily dose of Coumadin monitored by monthly blood draws to see where your pro time is generally keeps things on an even keel. Been taking it for 18 - 19 years now. So far I’ve had one “real” stroke and two mini-strokes, the last one about three weeks ago. I’m still alive and kicking. Although I’m partially blind from “having the big one, Ethel! (?)” obviously I’m still alive and kicking. As long as my mouth still works I am a-ok. (Don’t know about everybody else, though. lol) > > (And the big one was caused by no money for the medicine or monitoring. Took about six months to hit.) Sorry to hear you going through all of that. I hope things improve. ---
**Author:** ![Dibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dibbs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/33 "2015-06-12T18:34:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Bursitis in my right knee put an end to my walking five times a week, and I’ve gained weight dramatically. Recently I started doing gardening and yard work for exercise (more strenuous than you might think) and I was appalled to discover just how out of shape I was. I’m getting more conditioned now but I’ve started taking aspirin before exerting myself to fend off scary chest pains :eek: (I’m 54). If your knee is giving problems because of joint pain, try some over the counter gluecosamine, I did and it definitely works! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/34 "2015-06-12T19:29:17Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Ahh, impending doom. I’ve experienced it a couple times. It’s not like feeling really bad…it’s kind of like a sudden wave that builds and spreads over your entire body and you seriously know you might be dying, or, the world’s going to end. It’s difficult to alert somebody to what you’re feeling (you’re so weakened) but in my case I was able to. I DON’T think it means inevitable/quick death. It’s more like a slow-motion “I gotta get some help” kind of thing. And it’s unmistakable. You **will** recognize it. If that time ever comes just let “them” take care of you. It’s not the end; it just feels like it. This description seems to fit perfectly a panic attack (including the name, “sense of impending doom”). What’s the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/35 "2015-06-12T20:01:24Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > What are you saying my friend, that you want to die?☹ That’s what I get for posting before my daily quart of coffee. Nothing that dramatic anymore, I just don’t dread it as much as some. Having watched folks go through years of bypasses, stents, and such…let’s just say I’ll surrender when The Reaper knocks the first time. He usually knocks, but it’s only out of courtesy–sumbitch always has the keys if the call is urgent. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/36 "2015-06-12T21:51:27Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > This description seems to fit perfectly a panic attack (including the name, “sense of impending doom”). What’s the difference? Exactly. Panic attack symptoms match heart attack symptoms. Chest pain, sense of doom, sweating, chills, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/37 "2015-06-12T22:11:47Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > I’m now at the age when I could very well have one of these most unbelievably awful things, 60. And now-a-days hardly a week passes when I don’t hear about someone in the news dying of one, and many are even younger than myself. > > I’m by no means obsessed about when or if one is coming down the pike, but I do give some thought to 'em. One thing I hope doesn’t happen if I do have one is that nobody will be around to kick-start me back to this place. There are many things I enjoy about my life and the world but, collectively, they’re not worth going through something so excruciatingly painful only to be revived and then have to walk around worrying and wondering when the killer one is going to strike!😕 > > I also would hate to drop over in a busy public place from one, especially if it involved crapping the old pants. > > Many years ago I was talking to an older fellow … and he told me that he had gone to the doctor due to feeling extreme pain under his chin; he said it felt like someone was holding a blow-torch there. The doctor told him he’d had a “minor heart attack” to which he replied, “Doctor, if that was a minor heart attack, I don’t want to know what a major one feels like!” > > During all the time I’ve been in this world I’ve only been around two, maybe three, incidents where someone (in public) took the south bound by riding one of these things out. The two I recall didn’t happen right at the moment when I was in the areas, and they were both men. Gosh, I gotta think that would be one sobering thing to see – someone violently clutching at their chest in shear agony and terror, and then crumpling to the floor and dying right there on the spot!☹ > > At least with cancer you can get your papers in order and create yourself an option… versus feeling like someone just walked up to you and slammed you in the chest with a kitchen knife.:eek: > > I’d be most curious, respectfully so, to know any of your thoughts regarding these awful rotten things called heart attacks and, too, if you’ve ever had it happen in which you were talking to someone and then they had one. And I’d especially be interested to know from you folks that have had one or more, to give your feelings and insights about being in that situation I’ve described, like do you pretty much think about “the big one” coming out of the blue every two-minutes (or are you tougher than me and either seldom think about the next one or just laugh at the possibility)? > > Like always, I thank you in advance for your time and friendly replies.🙂 I can relate to this. Im now in my mid 40’s. My grandmother died of a heart attack in her early 70’s. My uncle on her side of the family died of one at 63. Then earlier this year the shocker of all shocks my brother died of a massive heart attack in his at the age of 41. All were smokers as I was in the past. Not a day has gone by when I dont think of all this. Needless to say im glad I quit smoking, and now my diet is very health conscious, it wasn’t too bad previously either. Both my grandmother and uncle had heart attacks which they survived before dying of further heart attacks only about two years later. It may sound morbid but if/when I get my first heart attack(assuming I survive) I do plan on taking my own life soon afterwrds. I really dont wish to be waiting around for that final catastrophic moment. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/38 "2015-06-12T22:22:51Z")
Jeez, I must really be a lightweight (but perhaps a live lightweight) when hearing about all these symptoms that people ignored. A while back, I felt a little “fluttering” in my chest. No pain, no shortness of breath, no lightheadedness, none of the usual symptoms. I woke my spouse and said “take me to the emergency room”. 🙂 I spent 24 hrs in the hospital, had lots of tests (including a stress test), and all tests came out negative. Anytime anything feels remotely heart related, I’m going to teleport 🙂 to the hospital. None of that tough-guy routine for me. It’s sissy (but live sissy) all the way for me. J. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/39 "2015-06-12T22:38:31Z")
> [@Dibbs](#): > > At least with cancer you can get your papers in order and create yourself an option… versus feeling like someone just walked up to you and slammed you in the chest with a kitchen knife.:eek: Not to freak you out further, but my best friend from childhood was diagnosed with acute leukemia on a Tuesday, fell into a coma, and died on Friday. Get your affairs in order anytime now. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054/40 "2015-06-12T22:45:28Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Get your affairs in order anytime now. Does that make dying easier? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-our-impending-heart-attacks/722054.md?page=3)