I've been trying to post this for two days; hope the third time is the charm ... .
I thought long and hard before deciding to post this, as I hate to discuss my personal stuff, but a couple of friends persuaded me to do it because my experience might benefit someone else. So, for that reason ...
I had a heart attack on Thursday.
I had gone to bed Wednesday night fully expecting to go to work as usual Thursday morning, and had set my alarm for 6:30. But I awoke with chest pain at 6:10 and as soon as I started to move I felt nauseous. I called my sister and asked her if nausea was one sign of a heart attack and she said yes. I told her I thought I was having one, and was going to take an aspirin and call 9-1-1. She told me she'd meet me at hospital.
Within minutes the pain became intense, and was radiating down the backs of both arms. I couldn't get my breath. I was coughing and bringing up ropy saliva. It felt like something heavy was sitting on my breastbone. It was all I could do to get downstairs, take the lock off the door, and get myself a glass of water for the aspirin. The dispatcher, who'd stayed on the line with me, kept saying, "Ma'am ... are the police outside yet? Ma'am? Ma'am?" I couldn't answer. I hadn't the breath.
The police came first; then EMTs arrived and plugged in IV lines and put another line in my nose for oxygen. They gave me nitroglycerin and morphine, put me on a gurney, and rushed me to the ER, lights and sirens going. I think I must have passed out, because I really don't remember anything else until they told me I was being transferred to another hospital, one that I knew specializes in cardiac care. This time they put me out as soon as they got me in the ER, and when I woke, they informed me that I was "the proud new owner of [my] very own stent." They had opened an artery that was more than 90 percent blocked.
In a matter of a few hours I'd become one of those people from the TV ads -- "a formidable woman, felled by something so tiny ... a dangerous clot." Indeed, as I'd suspected, I had had a heart attack.
I spent two days in hospital, but am back home now. I feel as weak as a newborn kitten, but (to my complete and utter amazement) there are no restrictions on me save for diet -- low cholesterol, low fat. I have a boatload of medications to take (two of them "to improve [my] chances of survival," which is a sobering thought). I'll be on these medicines for the rest of my life. I need to go back to the cardiologist next month to discuss another stent, as they found another artery with a 90 percent blockage -- another ticking time bomb.
I guess I was asking for it. I'm a post menopausal woman who needed to lose weight and didn't get enough exercise. I have a family history of heart problems. I was stressing over finances. I wasn't watching my cholesterol levels. I hadn't had a medical check-up in ages. The only positive thing I had going for me was that I'm not a smoker.
The doctors told me I'd probably saved my own life by knowing to take the aspirin (325 mg) and get help quickly. At the very least, I'd staved off potential irreparable heart damage.
So ... what I'm posting this for is to tell you how my heart attack happened. But symptoms differ, so learn all the possible warning signs. Don't ignore any kind of chest pain. If you ever get chest pain, call for help. Immediately. Better to be wrong than dead. Keep aspirin handy. If you have some of the same things in your background that I have, start to deal with them. It's all in your best interest, believe me.
Here's to your health!
I thought long and hard before deciding to post this, as I hate to discuss my personal stuff, but a couple of friends persuaded me to do it because my experience might benefit someone else. So, for that reason ...
I had a heart attack on Thursday.
I had gone to bed Wednesday night fully expecting to go to work as usual Thursday morning, and had set my alarm for 6:30. But I awoke with chest pain at 6:10 and as soon as I started to move I felt nauseous. I called my sister and asked her if nausea was one sign of a heart attack and she said yes. I told her I thought I was having one, and was going to take an aspirin and call 9-1-1. She told me she'd meet me at hospital.
Within minutes the pain became intense, and was radiating down the backs of both arms. I couldn't get my breath. I was coughing and bringing up ropy saliva. It felt like something heavy was sitting on my breastbone. It was all I could do to get downstairs, take the lock off the door, and get myself a glass of water for the aspirin. The dispatcher, who'd stayed on the line with me, kept saying, "Ma'am ... are the police outside yet? Ma'am? Ma'am?" I couldn't answer. I hadn't the breath.
The police came first; then EMTs arrived and plugged in IV lines and put another line in my nose for oxygen. They gave me nitroglycerin and morphine, put me on a gurney, and rushed me to the ER, lights and sirens going. I think I must have passed out, because I really don't remember anything else until they told me I was being transferred to another hospital, one that I knew specializes in cardiac care. This time they put me out as soon as they got me in the ER, and when I woke, they informed me that I was "the proud new owner of [my] very own stent." They had opened an artery that was more than 90 percent blocked.
In a matter of a few hours I'd become one of those people from the TV ads -- "a formidable woman, felled by something so tiny ... a dangerous clot." Indeed, as I'd suspected, I had had a heart attack.
I spent two days in hospital, but am back home now. I feel as weak as a newborn kitten, but (to my complete and utter amazement) there are no restrictions on me save for diet -- low cholesterol, low fat. I have a boatload of medications to take (two of them "to improve [my] chances of survival," which is a sobering thought). I'll be on these medicines for the rest of my life. I need to go back to the cardiologist next month to discuss another stent, as they found another artery with a 90 percent blockage -- another ticking time bomb.
I guess I was asking for it. I'm a post menopausal woman who needed to lose weight and didn't get enough exercise. I have a family history of heart problems. I was stressing over finances. I wasn't watching my cholesterol levels. I hadn't had a medical check-up in ages. The only positive thing I had going for me was that I'm not a smoker.
The doctors told me I'd probably saved my own life by knowing to take the aspirin (325 mg) and get help quickly. At the very least, I'd staved off potential irreparable heart damage.
So ... what I'm posting this for is to tell you how my heart attack happened. But symptoms differ, so learn all the possible warning signs. Don't ignore any kind of chest pain. If you ever get chest pain, call for help. Immediately. Better to be wrong than dead. Keep aspirin handy. If you have some of the same things in your background that I have, start to deal with them. It's all in your best interest, believe me.
Here's to your health!
To this day I can't drink ginger ale!
goes out to you. I'm so sorry you had to experience
this but very glad you shared it with others so we can now be in tune with our bodies and know some of the signs. Prayers for a speedy recovery and most of all
take care.
