Reply With QuoteDamn! Glad you're still with us, take it easy and take care of yourself.
Don't smoke and never seen the inside of a hospital in my 64 years. Lifestyle info. suggested a 17 % chance. Always thought these things are preceded by crushing pains etc. In my case I just had a dull ache whilst walking quickly which disappeared when I slowed up. Two days later I knew something was up and the Mrs drove me to the quack who called an ambulance pdq ( and no dumb questions to gauge priority) which arrived within 5 mins, did an ecg and off I shot sirens blazing. Must admit the Royal Free was excellent as a doctor was waiting as the doors opened with a consultant in the corridor. I was on a table within 5 mins again having a stent shoved somewhere. All very exciting but the sting in the tale is muscle damage in the area which was starved of oxygen for a few days probably so the old ticker has suffered some irreparable damage which has or will curtail some activities to put it mildly.
However, the NHS was fantastic and deserve nothing but praise. No queues in the specialised cardiac dept the Royal Free has and I was well looked after.
I have pills coming out of my ears now - must get a pill box.
Sorry for the rant - takes a bit of getting used to but I'm still here so you haven't seen the end of my inane posts yet....
Damn! Glad you're still with us, take it easy and take care of yourself.
Cheers..
Jase
Good grief.. well, I am delighted to see you post and equally glad to hear that you had such prompt attention from our NHS
Keep healthy!
Ben
Best keep out of BP for a while then!
Glad you're still with us though.
Glad you're ok, and a lesson for us all that the symptoms aren't always what we expect. I'm the same age as you, give or take, so it made me think.
Positive feedback on the NHS is also encouraging.
Fingers crossed the long term effects won't be too bad.
So sorry to read this. I'm glad you're on the mend. Lots of R&R for you.
Kapish
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Glad to hear that you came out the other side OK.
I'm 64 so a bit close to home for comfort.
scooter
Really sorry to hear this and glad you're well enough to tell us all about it.
How did things go after you had a dull ache to then visiting the doctor - just more pain or dizzy spells?
What questions did the doc ask you that helped them to diagnose heart attack (or did they run a few checks instead)?
Best wishes for your recovery.
Ouch! Hope you can limit the hindering due to the damage.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Glad you OK and making a recovery. I had my say on this in another thread: Don't have a...heart attack.
Apart from being on pills for the rest of our lives and living with a GTN spray withing reach, the prognosis may not be too bad. As you know, it depends upon how much damage has occurred and you won't know that for at least a year.Originally Posted by PickleB
To update my tale; after my attack and out of hospital cardiac arrest, I've used my GTN spray twice. Once when I over did it at physiotherapy and was doing some shopping on my way home. Half an hour sitting down in the library and I completed my journey to rest up at home for a while. The second was, again, after an exercise session. This time wasn't as severe and I only needed to sit down for ten minutes. At fifteen months I survived a general anaesthetic for a hernia repair. For my two year check up the hospital ordered a 24h ambulatory ECG and an ultrasound examination...then discharged me from their care. My medication hasn't changed, but I get a little more attention from my GP in the way of blood tests and an occasional ECG from the nurse.
Take it easy...you'll be feeling a bit like a wet rag at the moment...do the physiotherapy they'll arrange for you and that will give you a good idea of how badly you've been affected, or not; if only by comparison with the other patients at the sessions. Thereafter, don't go mad but it may not be too bad.
All the best,
BobG
Last edited by PickleB; 6th February 2017 at 19:48.
Great to read that the doc found out in time before it was too late.
I had that 6 yrs ago, at the age of 53. Believe me, after these stents, things will get better. In my case, the first few weeks, there was still a small pain in my chest, giving me the idea that it wasn't cured, making me insure. I tried to walk as much as possible, needing every lamppost in the street to stop and recover... But I found myself racing on my bike with my youngest within 6 weeks.
A friend had his first heart attack at the age of 48. Got a load of stents too and a large part of the heart tissue had stopped working. On top of that, they found out that he has an aneurysm close to his heart. Eventually, this will be his cause of death. It can pop within 8 mins or he can live to be 80 y/old! I admire his character: living his life to the full, enjoying every minute. He's an inspiring friend and is always 'upbeat'.
Try to eat and drink enough protein. It will not repair your heart, but it can make it stronger. Combine this with cardio etc. Your doctor will tell you when it's time to start this. Try to avoid (as much as possible) processed food. And try to eat vegetable fat.
Menno
The NHS is amazing and so are all the people that work
Glad you had the best of care
As the pain which in my case was m ore of an ache disappeared as I slowed my walking pace I thought little of it although it returned briefly that night whils in bed. On the third day we set off to walk to the local tube and I found I couldn't increase my pace without the ache and getting light headed. Then I broke out into a sweat and had to sit on a wall. I still didn't consider a heat attack though as there was no ' rushing pain' that makes all the headlines. When I got to the quack I explained the symptoms then threw up in the sink. That seemed to be enough and luckily a call from a doctor for an ambulance seems to cut through a lot of bullshit.
Like many folk I don't like wasting doctors time and hardly ever see one. My mistake. Apparently any chest pain needs investigation but with the health service in its present state one could be reluctant.
Sorry to hear of this, but very pleased to hear you've been well looked after.
Hope you recover quickly and enjoy life :-)
Take CARE of yourself! I've got three stents myself from an angioplasty when I was a lad of 63.
Pills up the ass (figuratively)!
In my case there wasn't any chest pain. I had a severe ache in both my arms, the sweats etc and I thought it was a case of some infection. After a day in bed and no real sleep it wasn't going away so I drove myself to my GP's surgery and asked to see someone. It was lunchtime but my appearance was enough for the locum to see me. An ECG confirmed a heart attack, they dosed me up and monitored me while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The GP kept reading up in his little book and arriving with something appropriate for me to take...they don't deal with heart attacks regularly. It wasn't until I was in the ambulance that my heart arrested...only once, thankfully.
The ache in my arms (angina or referred pain as I know know it to be) continued throughout. I had to ask the operator (as the doctor in charge of inserting stents is known) when it was OK for me to move my arms about at intervals during the procedure.
As with many things, the signs were there (I've had first-aid training) but, when it you that's affected, you're in no position or frame of mind to observe very rationally.
If you feel like #@&% and can't get any sleep...see a doctor, sooner rather than later.
Last edited by PickleB; 6th February 2017 at 20:46. Reason: amend 'has' to 'had'
Sorry to hear this, however I'm very glad you're in a position to still be able to post on here. Make sure you look after yourself.
Makes you realise just how precious the NHS is.
Dave
Glad you made it must be a horrible experience.
Really appreciate the responses which are a therapy in themselves. I didn't have any pain in the arms at all. Maybe it's a feature of the nanny state that symptoms are so hyped up which may lead some to a false sense of security e.g. Me
Those initial symptoms sound awful but I'm not sure I would have thought 'heart attack' either. Thanks for describing it (and to you Pickle as well).
Sounds like although some damage has occurred it was caught in time - my grandad felt a bit funny and went to A&E, they ran some tests and reported that he'd probably had a minor attack. He tried to discharge himself but the doctors recommended he stay in for further tests and ended up having an emergency quadruple bypass once the extent of the damage was found out. Turns out a life lived on cooked breakfasts from 21 to 64 and weighing 19 stone (even though he was 6'3") does no-one any good!
I recognise that!Really appreciate the responses which are a therapy in themselves.
My next door neighbour is an anaesthetist in a special clinic for heart related illnesses (I was operated in her hospital - not by her team I may add). She told me that there are a few signals you can recognise as symptoms leading to an heart attack:
- weeks up to months before the attack, the patient looses his physical condition: walking, running, working out: all gets tougher and tougher, and not so easy as before. The patient thinks he's getting older etc. But the physical condition drops too fast for that.
- the patient (to be) often reacts with: "oh just go without me, I am not in the mood/I am tired" etc
- the patient to be falls asleep in front of the telly. Not once, but evening after evening - even if there's no reason like physical work during the day.
- a big one: snoring. When one starts snoring, it's often a pre sign of a heart attack in the making! When your partner is commenting the fact that you start snoring during the night, you should be alarmed. The 'inhale' snoring is the bad one!!
Surely not everybody has the same symptoms, but be aware of these
Menno
My father lead a healthy life; played sport (cricket mainly) til his early fifties; never smoked or drank; had a relatively healthy diet too.
Retired at 65 and had a heart attack a few months later.
He ended up having a triple bypass.
He's now 85 and still leads an active life; he has just stopped volunteer work that he did three mornings a week; walks and cycles at his place in the Lakes every weekend, and generally has a positive outlook on life.
I still find it amazing that after the attack, and before his op, he couldn't get upstairs without being out of breath.
I know not everyone is that lucky, but you can lead a normal life afterwards.
I have apparently been about to have a heart attack for the last 40 years
More seriously, good tips, thank you.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
All the best for speedy recovery, I too have recently experienced the NHS for the first time (broken hip) and can vouch for the care and service provided.
Glad you are on the mend and you received good medical care. My brother had one last year at the age of 49.
Chris
All the best for a speedy recovery and glad that you seemed to have caught it in time.
On a personal note, it is something that I often consider as I have been a HBP sufferer for many years and I'm not 50 yet!
Glad you are ok, i had a heart episode last year (massive atrial fibrilation) and it left me almost housebound for a few weeks. i just felt odd and a bit dizzy at work and they insisted i went to hospital to get checked out.luckily it's next door to my office! It's not recurred thankfully but i was scared witless then they wheeled me into the "oh shit" room at hospital within 2 mins of arrival! My Mrs works on the site managing the WHSmiths and that's the nickname for the emergency crash room....Heart rate was hitting over 200 laid down and for long periods, missing beats and setting every alarm going off, and i had no pain or tingles at all.....they had to kick start me with drugs and it dropped back to 70bpm, weird experience,they could not believe i wasn't in pain and didn't tip over into full arrest.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Glad you're here to tell the tale and all the best with the recovery. There's a lot of press about problems in the NHS but my goodness they deliver.
Glad to read you're as well as can be.
You not on beta blockers, or a modern day equivalent now? AF is actually very common, I have it too. Having a your heart reset with a defibrillator is not something I want to have done too often.Glad you are ok, i had a heart episode last year (massive atrial fibrilation) and it left me almost housebound for a few weeks. i just felt odd and a bit dizzy at work and they insisted i went to hospital to get checked out.luckily it's next door to my office! It's not recurred thankfully but i was scared witless then they wheeled me into the "oh shit" room at hospital within 2 mins of arrival! My Mrs works on the site managing the WHSmiths and that's the nickname for the emergency crash room....
Look after your ticker! (See what I did there?)
Take care.
Mike
Wow that was a sobering read. Pleased your on the mend! :)
Always thought highly of the Royal Free. My Nan got fantastic treatment there back in the day. Wish you all the best in your recovery.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I've had one too, eight months ago at 49, not handling it too well if I'm being honest.
Many thanks all. The tip about snoring certainly fits the bill - the management has been moaning about that for a long time....
My first good night sleep last night was an absolute pleasure, away from all the constant pings and bongs of the monitoring equipment although I certainly appreciated them whilst there. Now trying to figure the pills regime...
Incidentally my 93 year old. neighbour fell down last night breaking her leg and her daughter reported back today of the excellent care received on admission. God bless them all!
I wish you the very best. Without being at all presumptive don't let your imagination run away with you. If I'm not careful I can soon conjure up all kinds of symptoms where imagined and reality can begin to blur.
The Royal Free offer rehabilitation classes - I'm enrolling in a few weeks hopefully. Can't do any harm.
A light hearted moment - just before being wheeled in for the surgery I said to the Mrs - take my watch,take my watch! Shows my idiotic priorities
Good to hear you were in capable hands and still able to do the TZ-UK "thing" :)
I hope the old ticker will serve you for many years to come.
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Hope everything turns out ok.
I wish you the very best. Without being at all presumptive don't let your imagination run away with you. If I'm not careful I can soon conjure up all kinds of symptoms where imagined and reality can begin to blur.
The Royal Free offer rehabilitation classes - I'm enrolling in a few weeks hopefully. Can't do any harm.
A light hearted moment - just before being wheeled in for the surgery I said to the Mrs - take my watch,take my watch! Shows my idiotic priorities
Thank you sir,all the best to you too, and to all the other members that have posted about their experiences, take care.
For the OP: are you on both Clopidogrel and Eplerenone? If you are, I have some more advice for you.
The good news is that they should stop the Clopidogrel after a year. The bad news is that, as it’s an anticoagulant, it can be quite difficult to stop the bleeding if you cut yourself. Take care and it might not happen, but few larger than normal plasters/dressings might come in handy if you do. I was glad to get off of Eplerenone as it’s a diuretic and I don’t need that as I am getting on in life.
That's not to sound gloomy, just to point out that there's some light at the end of the tunnel and you may not have pills coming out of your ears for ever. To cope with them, here is what I use(d)
- 281116733511 at first
- then something smaller: PP Pillcase now that there's only one (large) tablet to take at night
If you're taking tablets three times a day there is this one: 301736698410.
Sorry to hear of your illness and good that you were well looked after by the NHS.
Even better to hear that you're on the mend. Do get active as soon as you can or when the doctors advise you.
I can not see inside your head, off course. But I had my moments as well. Just to name a few:
- in the hospital, I read some sort of flyer about stents. And how good one feels after the operation. So even leave the hospital the same day. I had to stay 10 days...
- The first months, I was afraid of being in the middle of a crowd. There was no logic explanation for that!
- My kids were younger back then. I was afraid of keeling over in front of them...
Somehow, these feelings and thoughts go away. I must add that for a year I was on a beta blocker Metoprolol. After getting rid of that medicine, I felt better within 36 hrs. As if I had been pushing a wheel barrow for a year! Again, it's all personal off course.
One more time about snoring: take this signal very seriously; in post #37, the OP is confirming this symptom as well! After you had heart surgery, the snoring will not stop - other reasons have to to with that as well: weight, size of your neck (>41cm is a sign), what you eat in the evening and getting older is also a sign. Nowadays, I wear a special brace at night in my mouth and that helps to stop the snoring.
When you snore (inhale), your body has to work hard(er) to get the air in. That puts strain on your heart.
Then about the clopidogrel: it's wise to use an electric razor for obvious reasons... One little cut when shaving turns the white collar of your shirt into something you can expect at a crime scene!
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 7th February 2017 at 22:45.
Whenever I see a thread about this sort of thing, I am always keen to understand what the OP thinks was the cause. This isn't some macabre obsession, just wanting to understand what I and others need to avoid, or do, by learning from others.
Tell me to mind my own business and bugger off if you like, but it could be a useful learning point for many of us.
Cheers,
Pete
(52 and starting to realise I am mortal)
i have some emergency tablets but to date it's not recurred and they've not found any underlying cause, i may well be one for the 10% or so where they never track down the cause.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Glad that you're well - stay that way. I've been in poor health for some years now but I still enjoy life - stay positive.
Happy that it worked out for you.
Sobering reading and glad you've recovered.
Happened to my (ex - I mean moved now) next door neighbour.... 49 years old. Ate all the right foods. Drank one bottle of beer a week. Super fit running marathons all the time. There's a school of thought that says its in the genes i.e. your genes play a larger part in whether you will or will not have a coronary than your lifestyle and what you eat etc...
Had mine 7 years ago, posted it on here, I think. Felt pain in my shoulders for about a week before, I thought it was muscle pain, even got a massage, but it didnīt go away. It came and went for over a week. Then, on a Sunday, I went to bed and the pain was there, this time it was bad, I got up and it was gone, went back to bed and it was back. Called an ambulance and spent hours in A&E and had a stent inserted next morning. Heavy Smoking and a crap Lifestyle were the main contributors, thatīs all changed now.
Look after your tickers chaps, you only have one!
The $64000 question that I have been pondering since last Friday. Pushing 64 now - big deal. Never smoked,never been in hospital except as a visitor. Never been on pills for more than a week and only antibiotics. Occasional Nuffield health checks as part of a health insurance showed a 15% risk of a heart attack. Cholesterol readings around 5 but nothing outrageous - too keen on cream buns! Don't eat fatty foods much, lots of veg as the Mrs. is good on providing a balanced diet.
However, the attack was caused by a blocked artery at the front causing some muscle damage. Blocked by fatty deposits. Maybe in the genes although only one uncle had a heart attack. Cancer caught my parents.
In my experience what catches you is what you don't expect, not what you do expect.
TBH I don't think I would have done anything different re. lifestyle. Go figure.
Thinking of cancelling my health insurance though. Emergencies don't count!
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