Heart attack

Feb 4 I got up feeling fine and about 15 minutes after I got to work heart burn kicked in. Then my jaw started to hurt,  I'm two blocks from the firehouse so I went down walked in and got in the back of the Medic unit.  My paramedic put the monitor on and it was normal. She talked me into going in and getting checked out. Well when we got to the ER there was 3 medics ahead of us so it was standing room only. The plugged me into this box and said put this in your pocket and go to the waiting room.  That's when Fred Lucabaugh called.  Well we talked awhile and then I waited awhile and after a few hours they found a bed. They didn't find anything wrong at first but after the second lipid test it came back slightly elevated then I had this 16 seconds of VTeck ? I think thats what they said it was.  I was on my way to the Cath Lab.  They put a stent in my right corroded artery, said it was 100% blocked.  My Eco cardio gram showed some damage but my 2nd one two weeks later is normal.   

Around here you can get a heart scan to check for calcium build-up. Costs $50. I’m amazed that Dr’s don’t make that a part of every physical. I tell everyone I know to go do it and keep track of your % build up. Takes about 15 mins.

Yes be glad they got you fixed up with just stints. The recovery time from open heart surgery can't be fun

i'm glad they caught it in time, also glad you had the smarts to go have yourself checked out as soon as you felt bad! I hope you gets to doing better real fast...and STAY OUTTA THEM FAST FOOD JOINTS!

was nothing personal but in these times of such high medical costs i'll utilize a test such as this just to rule out major problems coming on. have no history of heart problems but gives me a little piece of mind along the way. notice the cleveland clinic even hawks this test and they give the same disclaimer about not being 100% just as my local hospital did when I got it. life too short to get wound up about nothin.

Had open heart surgery 11-1-17. After 16 months don't expect to be anymore than 60% of the man I was before. Aortic and Mitral valves replaced with swine tissue and they don't even use the valves. How does that work?

Glad you're doing better Dave, but we're never too "young" for this. I had my first of 5 Heart Attacks at 43 my LAD (left anterior descending) artery 100% blocked as well, all 5 times. A lot of people don't realize it's not always chest/arm pain. indigestion, sweating, back pain can all be signs of heart problems. but look on the bright side, the next time you go to the ED with chest pain you will NOT have to wait in line !

CTuckerNWIL wrote: I'm about to turn 66 and have all these conditions except high blood pressure. Family or personal history of coronary artery disease Male over 45 years of age, female over 55 years of age Past or present smoker History of high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure Overweight Inactive lifestyle Due for a physical, so I think I'll ask the doc about something beyond the regular yearly exam.

I met none of those markers other than a high stress job at the time