A wake-up call for all us middle-aged males

[shoemak38]

Okay I'm here to ruin everybody’s day guess which 53-year-old male with normal cholesterol, blood pressure EKG readings had a heart attack last Sunday actually had chest pains overnight Saturday and did not go to the doctor until Sunday. (a few years ago it would not have been classified as a heart attack).

here is wake-up call

The scary thing is more males have heart attacks without any of the traditional warning signs that we’re accustomed to. So you males if you dad had heart disease (mine does) stop fooling yourself you have it too.

What I have is coronary artery disease which is a slow gradual buildup of plaque in the arteries. What I had (actually very lucky) was a very small artery in the back of my heart plug up with caused the heart attack. I did not require any stents and more than likely will be on Lipitor and Plavix for the rest of my life.

[lprof]

Thank you for sharing this life changing event with the men here. I hope the women readers give your message thought as well.

We so often take life for granted... doing what we are told we should, living what seems normal without little thought, putting off until tomorrow....

I am very glad that your attack was no worse (bad enough) and that you now have a feeling for moving forward.

My Thursdays are not complete without your jokes... sometimes I have forgotten it is Thursday until I go to the OT and see your post has bumped up the "Need a laugh?" thread; will be thinking of you!

[Gromit]

Glad to hear that all is OK. Lprof is right -- this issue applies to both men and women equally.

I think having a health issue (while not ideal) is a reminder that you need to take care of yourself and be proactive about your health.

I know I really suck at that fom time to time, but having my own CT scan and a chest xray this week for my own personal health issues gave me some extra time to reflect.

I can and need to do more to take better care of myself.

Again, glad to hear that you are OK!!

[verjoy]

Even without family history of heart disease, you should check unusual pain. A few years ago my brother-in-law started having back pain early one morning. His wife decided to take him to her doctor 130 miles away. He drove the whole way himself and they were waiting for lab work when he fell out of his chair in full cardiac arrest. He survived only because he was close to a cardiac cath lab where they put a stent into one of the anterior blood vessels in his heart.
I'm so glad you survived the learning process!

[Lindy]

Glad your story had a happy ending! Now I think you need a nice long vacation on St. John to reduce your stress level.

[SOonthebeach]

Wow- glad you're OK! My dad had a very similar situation to yours years ago and we felt very lucky that it was as "minor" as it was. He has been on meds and has been healthy since. I am signing hubby up for a stress test (thank you rpplano for the pressure )

[toni]

Glad to read that it wasn't any worse than it was for you. Must have been quite scary. Thanks for posting and continued better health to you.

[Lex]

Glad you're okay. It's a good wake up call to pay attention to warning signs and get them checked out right away.

I stopped smoking years ago. We hardly eat any junk anymore and practically no meat or alcohol. I exercise regularly. I have good stress-reduction practices that I do daily. My body took a lot of abuse in the 20s and 30s without complaint, but as I get older I pay full price for any abuse or neglect. But I still have to get regular check-ups and tests---even if I feel good.

And even with all of that, something may happen, as it did to you. I try to educate myself about "warning signs" and hope that I'll be on the phone or on the way to an ER at the first sign of something, rather than waiting to see if it will "go away".

[djmom]

Glad you are ok. I used to be a pharmaceutical rep and sold a class of drugs that treated abnormal LDL. By abnormal, it wasn't always high LDL levels, but LDL of an abnormal density (that can't be measured in traditional cholesterol tests). This profile is highly associated with heart disease...and is now easily tested (the tests were not easily accessed even 10 years ago). And it can be treated via medication.

I would encourage everyone with strong family history of heart disease to ask their doctor about these tests to see if they are advised. There are also some other tests for other markers (non-cholesterol) that are very useful predictors.

So basically, so glad you are ok...and good cholesterol numbers are not a reason to ignore symptoms. Easier said than done I am sure, and who wants to even entertain the thought that it is something serious! I can totally see myself or my husband avoiding going in. But your warning is a good reminder.

[linne]

Sorry to see that you have problems with your health,
but glad to see that medication can help you.

Thank you for the warning.

Linne

[California Girl]

My husband, Rick, had a heart attack at 45. He'd had 3 other "silent heart attacks" previously, but ignored them, as he had no chest pains, he just felt lousy for awhile. When he had one at 11 pm with some traditional symptoms, and wouldn't let me call the paramedics, I drove him to the hospital. The first thing they did was pop an aspirin in his mouth and that saved him. He had congestive heart failure, and they did an angioplasty on him. To this day (15 yrs. later) he has no residual effects.

Stay healthy Shoe!

[shoemak38]

Glad you are ok. I used to be a pharmaceutical rep and sold a class of drugs that treated abnormal LDL. By abnormal, it wasn't always high LDL levels, but LDL of an abnormal density (that can't be measured in traditional cholesterol tests). This profile is highly associated with heart disease...and is now easily tested (the tests were not easily accessed even 10 years ago). And it can be treated via medication.

I would encourage everyone with strong family history of heart disease to ask their doctor about these tests to see if they are advised. There are also some other tests for other markers (non-cholesterol) that are very useful predictors.

So basically, so glad you are ok...and good cholesterol numbers are not a reason to ignore symptoms. Easier said than done I am sure, and who wants to even entertain the thought that it is something serious! I can totally see myself or my husband avoiding going in. But your warning is a good reminder.

dimom
I work for medical device companies (on the operations side) half of which were heart assist companies LVAD’s , IABP’s and artificial hearts (I've even sat behind Dr. Jarvik’s old desk out in Salt Lake City, company I worked for purchased a centrifugal blood pump from his old company) so things the sales guys told me has helped me over the last few weeks. So you think with all that knowledge I wouldn't of been so naïve. Did a lot reflection over the weekend I think my biggest problem is my stressful work environment time for some changes. Yesterday helped our youngest had her braces off and was a cheerleader at her first JV football game. Thanks for the tip think you may be right about my condition that my cholesterol is denser than normal I firmly believe heart disease is much hereditary (i.e. you percentages of getting heart disease are statistically higher than someone without heredity factors)

[shoemak38]

Glad you're okay. It's a good wake up call to pay attention to warning signs and get them checked out right away.

I stopped smoking years ago. We hardly eat any junk anymore and practically no meat or alcohol. I exercise regularly. I have good stress-reduction practices that I do daily. My body took a lot of abuse in the 20s and 30s without complaint, but as I get older I pay full price for any abuse or neglect. But I still have to get regular check-ups and tests---even if I feel good.

And even with all of that, something may happen, as it did to you. I try to educate myself about "warning signs" and hope that I'll be on the phone or on the way to an ER at the first sign of something, rather than waiting to see if it will "go away".

Lex
that's one of the things that depress me I've never smoked (grandfather die from cancer from smoking) and I'm not overly overweight (ideal weighs 180 versus current 200). I been bad in that I become less active as I've gotten older mainly because I get home after seven and or kids school activities and consuming time and it in my post above I allowed myself to become more stressed with work over time both of which I plan to correct. Thanks again everyone for your kind words what I love about this board it has been one of my and will continue to be one of my destressors

[shoemak38]

Glad your story had a happy ending! Now I think you need a nice long vacation on St. John to reduce your stress level.

the big vacation is not in the budget this year I have two in college and one in a private Catholic High school so more than likely Florida is what's in my budget for this winter

[mindehankins]

Glad to hear you came out the other side okay, Shoemaker! Just a heads' up.... after such a wake up call, a depression is not uncommon. Be aware of that, and watch for it, and see your doc if it happens.
It's wierd that sometimes our greatest blessings (surviving a stroke or heart attack, having a baby) sometimes are followed by depression.
My depression after my stroke is how we found St. John, though... So I did have a most excellent outcome. Now I'm healthier AND have someplace to dream of being....