Hello
So for more than a year I was suffering from "heartburn" or so I thought, GP was diagnosing me for heart burn, after getting a second opinion, I got stress ECG, physician said something definitely wrong, immediately admitted me, did a angio, for 3 block arteries all 90 percent blocked, well for a triple bypass, luckily before I had Andy serious Heart Attack.
2 years later, I suffered a mild heart attack, after lifestyle changes and taking all meds, one of the new bypasses actually got blocked, 4 stents put in. I am diabetic, high blood, and have high cholesterol, otherwise doing fine now. Seems life is better.
Had the Triple Bypass when I was 38M
Mild Heart Attack 39M
Hopefully turning 41 this year
Let me know if you have any questions, or need more precise information :)
Almost the same thing that happened to me. Although my symptoms only started 3 months before my heart attack. I was not experiencing burning in my chest though, just a hell of a lot of burping. I went for a second and third opinion and all of the doctors said the same thing. GERD / Reflux and anxiety. None of the doctors ever though to even do an EKG, much less order cardiac testing or consider cardiac causes. I think a lot of doctors do not keep up to date with medical research since it is now known that excessive burping is a known possible symptom of angina even without any pain and that chest pain doesn’t even occur in the majority of heart attacks. Doctors are too lax in not even considering cardiac causes simply because of being young, especially when you are not experiencing the “hollywood heart attack” symptoms.
Absolutely right. I'm not so young but look healthy, athletic and lift weights. Drs assumed too much in my request for heart check ups. Recently had angina found out Ive likely had a 100% block of the LAD for years and 90% of the RCA. Had robotic (minimally invasive surgery) but doing ok now. Had Drs and myself been more proactive in 40's I might have avoided this
Wow for years? How did you even survive that long with those blockages? I think one problem with doctors, especially older doctors, is that they don’t take the time to stay up to date with medical journals and attend conferences. They are too focused on how many patients they can squeeze in for 15 minute sessions and overcharge them. There needs to be more regulation on doctors visits worldwide with a minimum consult and examination time of 1 hour per patient. Doctors don’t give a shit about the patient anymore, only how much money they can make. And in their rush to get to the next patient they more often than not either misdiagnose or miss a diagnosis completely. Look how many people only get diagnosed with cancer and heart disease by the time it’s too late when it could have been prevented and controlled.
I was told by head doctors at Cedar Sinai and Hoag Heart centers that I survived because my heart/arteries had time to find new pathways, I think capillaries, to supply blood. Plaque calcified which was actually a good thing....if it was soft and happened quickly the plaque can break off , cause clots and heart attack. It was literally years of not even feeling pain and lifting heavy weight in gym, running etc. Being told by doctor after doctor how good in shape io am. Finally I had angina to prompt my plan of action. And, you are right on for some of the issues in the industry. Really, CAC (even with a 0 score), tread mill tests, and other tests are just reactive. A CTA is proactive. If I knew 10 yrs ago what I know now, I would have paid the $1500 for a CTA...insurance won't pay for that unless a doctor has a compelling reason for it. The medical industry is totally reactive to heart disease with most of their testing. Guess one could also get an angiogram as a routine check, but most people won't.
I think it's because of the risk associated with angiograms. Personally I wouldn't just opt for one as a routine check but I do think the CT Angiography which is accurate enough should be recommended more if there are heart disease related symptoms that are not picked up on stress tests and echocardiograms. This test is very safe with no real risk of complications. I am in South Africa and as of this year on my medical insurance plan a MDCT Angiography CT scan covered by the insurance has been added so all I need is a referral from my cardiologist to get one. If I really start feeling concerned I will push with my cardiologist to refer me for the scan since it will be covered.
That's a good point. I suppose even here in the states if you have a real valid reason backed by the doctor, they'll pay for the CTA. Wow, never heard until now of an MDCT Angiography. "Multidetector computed"....what does this mean? It finds more than just the CTA? If so why wouldn't anyone just skip the CTA and do the MDCT ?
Hello! I had a Heart Attack last April, at 33 years old, on Easter Sunday.
Work was closed that Friday, so I spent the day relaxing at home. Around 3pm I started experiencing what I *thought* was heartburn. I’ve had routine heartburn plenty of times before, so I took some Tums and thought nothing of it. My wife and I went out to a Mexican restaurant that night, saw a movie, etc etc - no more issues that night.
Saturday afternoon rolls around and the heartburn comes back. “Those damn tacos from last night!” I thought to myself. More tums. Took a nap. Blah blah blah. Didn’t think twice about it.
Late Saturday night, at exactly midnight rolling into Sunday, the pain comes back. With a vengeance. And I *still* chalked it up to heartburn. But, now, the Tums weren’t doing anything. The pain was so bad now that I couldn’t sleep, so I sat up all night on the couch. This, in retrospect, is when I should have - FOR SURE - gone to the ER. But alas…
At 8am on Sunday, the pain has still not gone away. My wife took me to an urgent care where I expected they’d give me a prescription strength remedy, tell me to follow up with a specialist, and send me on my way.
Wrong.
They did an EKG “just to be safe,” which is when things started to really accelerate. A few minutes later I’m in an ambulance on the way to the ER. At the hospital they determine my troponin levels are through the roof. I’m rushed into an angioplasty where it was determined that my LAD was 100% blocked, a blockage that only ~12% of people survive. A stent was placed to resume blood flow.
So that was almost a year ago, now. I’ve had additional stents placed to clear other lesser blockages, I’m working with a total of 4 now.
What Factors Do I Think Lead Up To It: There’s definitely family history for me. But, the family that have/had issues were significant smokers (I don’t smoke) and were much older when their issues came up. My cardiologist has encouraged me not to dwell on the “why,” advice that I try to follow. I’m a heavier guy, but not crazy. I *had* been doing a low-carb/high fat diet for several years leading up to this. Was that an issue? Maybe. I also wonder about Covid symptoms and inflammation caused by the virus. But, ultimately, I’m focused more on the future.
Day to Day - I’m much more physically active than before. I was never really into cardiovascular exercise in the past. I knew I *should* be exercising more, but here we are. Now a days, I try and ride my stationary bike 10-12 miles, four times a week. I have a goal to ride/walk/move a total of 2,024 miles this year. I’ve also modified my diet - less fat, less “junk.” Will the reduction in fat actually make a difference? Who knows.
One thing that has stood out, following the attack, is how I’ve sort of become the de facto barometer of heart issues in my friend group. I’ve got plenty of friends that are older than me, heavier than I was then, and that *appear* to be less healthy now than I was then. Immediately following my HA I think a lot of them really freaked out. “Shit, if it happened to him…am I next?” I get a lot of questions about my cholesterol, my triglycerides, what does my cardiologist think about X, Y, and Z. Ultimately, I encourage them all to prioritize their health and get checked out.
I forget the exact numbers, but the doctor in the room looked visibly concerned. It wasn’t a question anymore, in her mind, as to what was happening.
When I woke up from the procedure there was still some minor discomfort. It was like I had been punched in the chest… but two days ago. If that makes sense. My procedure was around… 11am, give or take. By ~8pm the pain was completely gone, if not before.
Hi! I had my first heart attack at 39. I didn’t know it then, but my heart attack was caused by taking the migraine medication sumatriptan. That medication caused rare heart conditions Coronary vasospasm and cardiac Microvascular Dysfunction. It was honestly a very scary experience for myself, my employee, and my family. I was at work at the time and it wasn’t one of those clutch my chest, I’m meeting my maker sort of feelings, but there was definitely something wrong. My life didn’t change much day to day after my first heart attack, I was a bit more fatigued, and I continued to have chest pain, but since I didn’t know what was causing it, my cardiologist just dismissed my concerns. I didn’t make many lifestyle changes after because my cardiologist told me it was a fluke and I was going to be fine. No cardiac rehab, no nothing. Now 7 years and at least 1 other heart attack later, I am completely disabled, and making the best of the borrowed time.
I don’t know if my story will help you at all, but I’d be happy to answer any questions here.
I (55F) was taking sumatriptan for migraines. I had a heart attack on 11/27/23. I also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol and smoked and was very sedentary. If the sumatriptan “helped” me to have my heart attack I was going to have anyways I guess I’m glad I had it young enough to have a better chance at recovery at 55 vs 75
53. Ran marathons. Widowmaker. No idea. Post Covid, both infected and vaccinated. Not great family history, but certainly not that bad. Eeesh. Don’t know how I feel. Grateful and pissed simultaneously.
Hey,
So I was 28 when i had my first MI, was classified as MINOCA so no clogged arteries.
Factors are unknown, never had concerns previously. Family history is unknown as a don’t have anything to do with my biological parents.
The experience was definitely something that most people won’t ever have to go through, you go from having severe health anxiety and not trusting your body to kind of just accepting the fact that your hearts not healthy and could potentially have another MI at anytime.
Lifestyle changes weren’t really a factor for me diet and fitness wise. But I have given up smoking and now try to limit junk food.
Life hasn’t changed to much on a day to day basis, when you’re still young you need to still work to put a roof over your head and survive.
If you have any other questions feel free to reach out and I’ll get back to you.
I'm a 43 male, I just experienced a widowmaker heart attack this past December 26th. The week leading up to my event I was suffering from intermittent stomach pain that would come and go in waves. It would wake me up at night. Obviously no chest pain. Christmas night I'm in bed and my chest starts burning. We chalked it up to anxiety about my stomach pain. So I went to bed. I woke up at 3 in the morning and the burning in my chest was pretty severe. I thought it could have been heartburn from Christmas dinner. But I couldn't get comfortable and started sweating. So I woke up my mother (was staying at her house as I live out of town) and we drove to the ER. They gave me an EKG and immediately saw that things were off. I'm surrounded by nurses putting IV lines, and giving me an echo. Next thing i know everything goes black. When the lights come back on they're asking me if I know where I am. I had just coded. At that point they rush me to the cath lab. Where they tell me I coded gain for 10 minutes.
They got my pulse back, intubated me and got a stent in. I was in the hospital for 5 days and released. It's been only 6-7 weeks but the hardest part has been the mental aspect of it. Personally my anxiety has always been an issue. But now every little ailment of feeling I have has me considering a trip to the ER.
They still don't know if there was a link with the stomach pain and the heart attack. I hope not because this past week the the stomach pain has come back and I'm seeing a GI specialist tomorrow.
For my family it was definitely traumatic. My mom witnessed me coding the first time. My brothers were in the waiting room and heard the "Code Blue" alert when I coded the second time and knew it was me.
We're all trying to deal with this fallout but it's going to be a process. I am supremely grateful I survived and by all accounts will make a good recovery but the mental aspect has been beyond challenging.
I am not overweight, I'm 5'10" 165, I would run a mile a day and lift weights. I didn't smoke, I didn't really eat junk food (fast food maybe once a year if that). I drank only socially on weekends. A glass of wine or two with dinner. I did have high cholesterol. But the fact that this happened given my age and health factors is a big mystery that they're chalking up to Genetics.
35M heart attack with a 100% blockage of my LAD last September. Was very active and still am. Gym 3-5 days a week and cardio. No family history. The experience was pretty bad heart palpitations followed by cold sweats. I actually didn’t go to the ER until a week after. Used to eat lots of sugar, sugary drinks, energy drinks, processed food, meat, etc. I now eat a whole food vegan diet. EF back up to 45-50% with cardiac rehab.
>What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age?
LAD heart attack with total occlusion of the right cardiac aetery at 49. Realistically, eating too much, smoking too much, not exercising enough. I've no history of heart issues in the family, but hadn't really considered eating like I was still in the army and doing phys 4 times a week when I'm not.
>What the experience was like for you and those close to you?
To be honest it presented as heartburn/indigestion that didn't get any better, I'd put it down to a large Chinese meal where id eaten more meat in one sitting than in the previous week. Sitting upright/sipping cold water/gaviscon (UK version of pepto-bismol) seemed to help, and after 3-4 hrs I took a couple of codine tablets and got 4 hrs sleep. Symptoms hadn't resolved by morning, and at lunchtime and with prompting from my wife, I decided to go to the local minor injuries unit. My son suggested going to the local main hospital, since if it needed investigation, they would send me there anyway, and we have a crisis with ambulances in the UK, so id end up sitting around.
I drove myself to the hospital, (my son came along), and went to A&E, where I got an ECG within 5 minutes. When the technician said they'd have to do another one to check results, I knew something was up, and a doctor came in, gave me a GTN spray, aspirin and morphine. About an hour and half later I was out of theatre with 3 stents in the LAD, hospitalised for 8-9 days (it's a bit hazy), then off work for a month. It turned out I'd had a warning one about 3 weeks previously whilst I was at work (I work nights and alone), which I'd also put down to indigestion and "walked it off"
Since then I've had 2 procedures to stent the right artery (tricky location and they had to go in from the left side to get to it, there were multiple blockages), and have 3 stents on the right as well now.
In my personal experience, it was great. I went to hospital in extreme pain, and they made it go away and filled me with drugs to boot. For my family it was a lot more traumatic. For starters I didn't really comprehend how serious LAD heart attacks were, nor the importance of swift treatment. On top of that, my wife doesn't drive and my daughter had school, so visiting was hard for them. My wife is still effected by it as is my daughter to a lesser extent.
>How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis?
What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment?
Stopped smoking/drinking immediately, although I vape (tapering down the nicotine, currently on 6mg/10ml), cut salt to a max of 3g/day, cut saturated fat to a max of 10g/day, reduced sugar intake, upped exercise (took up horseriding), lost 20Kg.
A lot more conscious of my body/diet, and generally more appreciative of things in general. A bit long winded, but a lot happened.
Happy to answer more questions though.
I was at work (I work nights), and got a bad indigestion like pain, which I now know to have been an actual heart attack. But I'd eaten a fairly hefty, solidly salty and greasy meal about 2hrs before, so I just had a drink of very cold water and walked it off, it faded after 40 minutes or so and I thought nothing of it.
Gotcha! Glad to hear you're doing better. When you say indigestion, like you felt like you had to really poop or it was heartburn or pain in your stomach?
24 years old 100 percent blockage of my LAD. I have had 11 heart attacks since. 3 widow makers. 6 stents. My cardiologist said I won the genetic lottery. I turn 48 next month. It was terrifying at first thinking I was going to die at such a young age. Now I am happy to wake up every day. It has taken a toll on me though.
Part 1:
Inferior STEMI 23 months ago at age 31.
Risk factors:
1. Smoking
2. Bad diet (lots of coffee creamer which is filled with saturated fat and I was drinking 10 to 20 cups of coffee a day, ate pies very often and had takeout almost every day for the 3 years prior to my heart attack)
3. Inactivity. I’m a software developer so I sit behind a desk all day.
4. Stress. The company I was working for at the time was not the most delightful to work with. I was put under a lot of stress and ended up working evenings often because I was the only developer in the company and my deadlines were harsh. Executives didn’t understand an ounce of my job so explaining the complexity of things and fighting against unrealistic deadlines were hard to navigate.
Despite my risk factors I have always been a skinny guy with a weight between 55 to 60KG’s at 1.67m tall. Never had high cholesterol, blood pressure or high blood sugar. Unfit for sure though.
The experience itself:
Honestly the mental toll it took on me afterwards was probably worse than the actual heart attack. I started experiencing my symptoms around 3 months before the heart attack. I was burping excessively. Like every few seconds. Uncontrollably. I would sweat randomly during the day for no reason, but not like cold sweats. I was misdiagnosed with reflux and anxiety. In the last few weeks leading up to the heart attack I was experiencing heavy night sweats but chalked it up to the hot weather. It was right in the hottest period of summer here. Also developed covid which was dismissed by my primary care doctor as just the flu because I was mostly asymptomatic. The covid diagnosis was only made when I had the heart attack where they detected antibodies from recent infection.
The day before the heart attack I had some left arm pain that went away after like an hour. Dismissed it as maybe I just slept awkwardly because I often sleep on my left arm. The next morning it came back with a vengeance, I was having cold sweats and I was pale. Went to the ER and was told I’m having a heart attack. I wasn’t expecting hearing that I’m having a heart attack. I never experienced any chest pain other than discomfort or any shortness of breath leading up to the heart attack, not even while it was actively happening.
Just from the EKG alone the cardiologist knew I had a blood clot in my left circumflex artery and told the hospital to administer a clot buster (Metalyse) and transfer me to his hospital where they have the catheter lab when I’m stable.
They say normally after 4 hours of being given the clot buster you are out of the woods from having complications like bleeding on the brain, clot bursting into smaller pieces and travelling through the heart etc., so that was really stressful waiting it out because my mother passed after being administered that same clot buster in hospital when she had a clot from a dog bite and it broke into smaller pieces and travelled through her heart.
I was transferred to the hospital with the cath lab and got one stent in the left circumflex artery the next day. They had to wait 24 hours after the clot buster was administered to do the angiogram. They found a 90% blockage that had to be stented in the left circumflex artery despite me not having high cholesterol. I felt immediate relief after the stent was placed, but started having bad anxiety after I was discharged 8 days later. The first few weeks were rough mentally. I felt like I was useless because I was flat and couldn’t do anything around the house without being tired. I live alone. Cried a lot during those first few weeks. Had my first full blow panic attack where I actually passed out and hit the ground flat a few months after. Dealt with anxiety, especially heart health anxiety ever since, even now. I get a lot of left arm discomfort still but my cardiologist is adamant it’s not heart related so I’m on Alprazolam 0.5MG twice a day. Been on it for about 17 months now.
Part 2:
Cause of the heart attack:
A bit unclear on that one due to my risk factors. Not having high cholesterol doesn’t really explain the 90% blockage. Never got a straight answer as to why the blockage in the first place from my cardiologist. Could probably be the smoking and diet that caused just that single blockage. The blood clot is assumed to have been caused by the covid infection. Cardiologist said that’s the best guess. Can’t be 100% certain.
Lifestyle changes I made:
I stopped smoking the day of the heart attack. Was clean for 8 months and relapsed. Still trying to quit again. Smoking the weakest cigarettes on the market in mg country with the least nicotene and tar and much less a day than I used to.
Fully cut out the coffee creamer. Also scaled down on the amount of coffee I drink per day. In winter I’ll have like 5 to 6 cups max a day. Summer maybe 3 cups max. Cut out the sugar in my coffee and replaced it with a sweetener brand called Suki which is a plant based sugar alternative with zero preservatives and no aspartame.
Heavily cut down on junk foods.
I was never a guy that enjoyed drinking so I only have the occasional few cocktails. Since benzodiazepines and alcohol don’t mix I’m very cautious with alcohol.
I quit the job I had the first opportunity I got and got a job in the same line of work for much, much more money at a company that puts a lot less stress on me and actually understands my job as a developer. I am in the telecoms industry now so it is still stressful at times, but far less than before.
How it affected me / my family:
Like I mentioned, the mental aftermath for me was personally much worse than the actual heart attack. It was unbearable at times. The anxiety has caused me to develop acid reflux where I get acid coming up my throat daily. Could also be the blood thinners but likely a combination of both. This seems quite common from the research I have done on this.
I don’t have a partner or children. My parents (father and stepmom) weren’t really that supportive when it comes to the anxiety and mental aftermath. To them the stent is a cure and no matter what I tell them they just won’t listen. They give me crap about my weight all the time and tell me to eat whatever I have to eat to gain some weight, be it fat or not, not comprehending that it’s not a good idea with a stent. I have tried gaining weight in a healthy way and find it impossible. They did get a wake up call though because for those few months when I wasn’t feeling well before they heart attack they told me it’s all in my head and I must sort my shit out and get my head on straight. The heart attack was probably the biggest I told you so in the sense of not to just think because someone’s symptoms doesn’t fit a serious condition it doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong. I think it did make them look at their own health more closely at the end of the day. They just don’t understand anxiety. They are old school so anxiety is a foreign concept to them.
The now vs then:
21 March 2024 will be two years to the day I had my heart attack. Overall I’m doing much better. Apart from the anxiety and acid reflux everything is good. The anxiety has gotten better. My 6 monthly lipograms, stress tests and echocardiogram results have been great. The numbers say I’m good. No pains apart from that left arm discomfort that no doctor can seem to find the cause of. The acid reflux sucks, but will hopefully improve when I stop the Clopidogrel in May.
I still treat myself to some takeout and the occasional pie. I tried the bland and healthy diet, especially for the reflux and it didn’t help the reflux and with my cholesterol and HBA1C tests still being perfect I decided to enjoy my life and have my occasional treat. Trying my best to quit smoking again though.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me.
What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age?
52M - Some family history, and found out my Lp(a) was high - 209 nmol/l, prior to the HA elevated BP - 128/89, high LDL - 135, diet wasn't bad, was a vegetarian for 2 years prior, drank moderately.
What the experience was like for you and those close to you?
I was a trail runner, had a STEMI after finishing a trail half marathon. At first I thought it was just fatigue from the race, and sitting and resting didn't seem to reduce the fatigue. Decided to drive home to rest - but on the way started sweating, vision issues, a feeling on whole body uncomfortableness and minor chest pain. Saw a Hospital sign on the freeway, followed the signs and walked into the ER - still not expecting to be told I was having a heart attack. But after the EKG - they rushed me to the cath lab to clear a 100% on the LCX, 80% on a second branch, and still have a 50% on the LAD. 2 stents placed. For me, the two weeks after the MI were the hardest mentally, and the month after was hard physically. It was hard on my wife and grown kids the first couple weeks - seeing me in the hospital, and the physical toll the first couple weeks took on me.
How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis?
Just finished cardiac rehab, so still working on getting back to where I was running and physical activities, probably 60% there. Not much impact on work, I am a consultant and am able to work from home. The first month I did have significant brain fog and fatigue, but improved when I started cardiac rehab. 4 months post HA - I think it is just lifestyle changes and meds that are the biggest changes for me.
What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment?
On meds now, never was before. Moved from vegetarian to WFPB diet. Rarely drink alcohol anymore. Still limited in my running, not ready for a half marathon or longer yet, but slowly building up.
I'm 46, turned 46 beginning of last month. The day after my birthday I had a series of heart attacks and died 3 times on my living room floor.
_What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age?_
My cardiologist has no idea and chalked it up to genetics. I had 3 100% blocked arteries (luckily not the widowmaker) and received 3 stents.
My cholesterol & triglycerides were normal 2 months prior. No diabetes, I am a non-smoker, don't and have never done drugs, and I have a pretty healthy diet. I drink, but minimally. I'm 6'4" and before my heart attack I weighed 210. Not skinny but not obese. I have no real family history -- Mom had a heart attack but is a heavy smoker, Dad has afib but never a heart attack.
I do have a history of afib when stressed out, or if I consume caffeine, and SVT if I overdrink.
_What the experience was like for you and those close to you?_
The day after my birthday I woke up and my shoulder was sore. I assumed it was because I'd brought in a bunch of gallons of water the night before and had carried too much. The wife and I were watching TV and my heart went into something I've not felt before. It was like afib, but different. I told her we needed to go to the hospital.
I got up and got dressed and while putting my shoes on it switched to pain. Such intense pain I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. In the front of my chest I had this intense, burning pain and in the back was this radiating ache. I felt like I'd been shot in the chest with a large caliber rifle - or at least I felt like that's what being shot would feel like: small but painful in the front and big exit wound.
I stumbled out to the living room and after looking at me she dialed 911. The local first responders got there 15 mins later and I was thrashing on the floor of our living room in pain. They hooked me to an AED and were sure I was just having a panic attack. I told them I was seeing stars and thought I was going to pass out.
A few seconds later my heart stopped. They shocked me and did 3 chest compressions and I came back to. I, for some reason, apologized for falling asleep. By this time the ambulance had arrived with EMTs who took over. They told me I'd just been revived and I said "I am seeing stars again" and my heart stopped again.
More shocks and more chest compressions and when I woke up I was super disoriented and tried to get up. They said I had died again and asked me to lay down. I told my wife I was so sorry she was having to go through this and then my heart stopped again.
This time they couldn't get my heart restarted. So they pushed some drugs, loaded me on the bed, and rolled me into the ambulance as one of the EMTs continued doing compressions.
My wife watched them drive away with me not knowing if I was going to be brought back this time. I came back about 4 minutes later in the ambulance.
They had driven me about 1500 yards to a nearby airfield where they had called a Careflight to take me to our nearest cardiac hospital. It took forever to get me into the chopper because I was too tall so they had to rearrange stuff to get me in. I had some small talk with them that it was my first helicopter ride and thanked them for saving me.
When I got to the hospital I was in and out of consciousness. They did a cardiac angiogram to locate the 3 blocked arteries and then did the surgery to install 3 stents.
They put me on Plavix to stop clotting. I immediately started clotting - apparently I'm in the 10% of people who are immune to Plavix. My wife got to the hospital shortly after the stents were installed. They brought her in to see me right as they started to see signs of clotting and had to rush me back in to surgery.
They pushed Brilinta as an alternative and gave me a thrombolytic to dissolve the clots. I stopped clotting, but it also dissolved the clot on my femoral artery where they'd run the lines to install the stents.
So I start bleeding massively into my abdomen. They had to push 2 units of blood and install this really painful machine on my leg to seal the artery. I was left with 2 very large hematomas in my abdomen.
I spent the night in the ICU and another 4 days in the hospital recovering. It took about 3 weeks for the hematomas to dissipate. My sternum still hurts today from the chest compressions, but luckily they didn't break any ribs. Almost all of the horrid bruises on my arms have healed, but I still have scabs where all the ivs and gas lines and cath line and such were hooked. The arm they pushed the blood transfusions through looked like it had been run through a meat grinder and that's mostly healed up now.
It was traumatic for us both, but my wife had to watch me die 3 times on our living room floor and then drive an hour to the hospital not knowing if she'd arrive to hear I was dead. When she got there happy to hear I was alive she saw me rushed back in to surgery. She then got told I had complications and high odds of not surviving the night. We live alone with no kids and our families are many states away.
She has a lot of health issues and for me to be the one who almost didn't make it was a big shock to us.
_How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis?_
Vastly. I get tired very easily and with my medication cocktail I get short of breath very easily. Standing to brush my teeth is exhausting.
I started doing daily short walks, per orders, when I got discharged. I can do my walks but I get really tired the remainder of the day after.
With the diuretics and walks I dropped down to my normal 190 in just a few weeks. Apparently I'd gained a lot of water weight over the past year, doc said likely from having been in undiagnosed congestive heart failure for some time.
I'm now really cautious with what I do, partly because I get tired but partly because I'm on anti-platelet drugs. I am starting to drive again, but only with wife in the car. I now carry nitro pills everywhere just in case.
My wife had to pick up a lot of my tasks like taking out trash or mopping the floor. She changed a lot of her eating habits to make it easier on me.
I feel like our entire lives right now are entirely about my heart.
_What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment?_
I am on salt and fat restrictions which make consuming enough calories really tough. I basically can't eat enough of low salt foods to stop myself losing weight, so I'm losing about half a pound a day. That's going to become a problem soon.
I have always been very anti-pharma, but am now on 8 medications with rigid schedules - did call them "life extenders" which makes it feel very much like the end of the line is now in sight.
I stopped drinking and we no longer do our weekly date night at a restaurant; we cook at home. One of my meds gives me blurry vision so I limit my phone time because it now strains my eyes.
I don't get to take my dog on walks anymore because I can't hold him. Wife has to do it. I get cold a lot easier, and I have help falling asleep because I can't lay on my side (hurts my sternum). My ability to focus and think properly is disrupted by meds and I'm still getting acclimated.
Basically everything about my daily life has changed. We're also now looking at moving closer to the hospital because the doc said it's very possible my next heart attack will be the widowmaker getting blocked and proximity to a hospital and response time will decide if I live or not.
I really hope you're doing better now. Reading your post makes me feel much better about my rca stemi. Things went much better for me, but it's still really difficult to process. I feel for you.
I'm doing good, thanks. Sorry to hear you've joined the club and I hope you're doing ok. I hear you that it's a lot to process; still on that journey myself.
I am definitely getting more adjusted to the meds, and I've made peace with the reduced salt and fat and the lack of alcohol.
I'm now down to 179 pounds and can't seem to stop loading weight because the restrictions make it really hard to get enough calories even with multiple high calorie shakes a day.
We did but a house nearer the hospital, which I'm hoping helps with some of the trauma I have from walking past where I died multiple times every day.
I had an ablation a couple months after this post to help with the SVT, and that seems to have worked well, but now I'm getting a ton more PVCs, so we're monitoring that.
I got through cardiac rehab, which went well. When exercising my heart is a beast. But I still get tired doing simple crap like driving, shopping, or brushing my teeth. Not sure why it how that's possible.
But all in all I'm good and just working through the emotional ramifications now.
Hello So for more than a year I was suffering from "heartburn" or so I thought, GP was diagnosing me for heart burn, after getting a second opinion, I got stress ECG, physician said something definitely wrong, immediately admitted me, did a angio, for 3 block arteries all 90 percent blocked, well for a triple bypass, luckily before I had Andy serious Heart Attack. 2 years later, I suffered a mild heart attack, after lifestyle changes and taking all meds, one of the new bypasses actually got blocked, 4 stents put in. I am diabetic, high blood, and have high cholesterol, otherwise doing fine now. Seems life is better. Had the Triple Bypass when I was 38M Mild Heart Attack 39M Hopefully turning 41 this year Let me know if you have any questions, or need more precise information :)
Almost the same thing that happened to me. Although my symptoms only started 3 months before my heart attack. I was not experiencing burning in my chest though, just a hell of a lot of burping. I went for a second and third opinion and all of the doctors said the same thing. GERD / Reflux and anxiety. None of the doctors ever though to even do an EKG, much less order cardiac testing or consider cardiac causes. I think a lot of doctors do not keep up to date with medical research since it is now known that excessive burping is a known possible symptom of angina even without any pain and that chest pain doesn’t even occur in the majority of heart attacks. Doctors are too lax in not even considering cardiac causes simply because of being young, especially when you are not experiencing the “hollywood heart attack” symptoms.
So true, the doctors become complacent, especially if you been seeing them for years
Absolutely right. I'm not so young but look healthy, athletic and lift weights. Drs assumed too much in my request for heart check ups. Recently had angina found out Ive likely had a 100% block of the LAD for years and 90% of the RCA. Had robotic (minimally invasive surgery) but doing ok now. Had Drs and myself been more proactive in 40's I might have avoided this
Wow for years? How did you even survive that long with those blockages? I think one problem with doctors, especially older doctors, is that they don’t take the time to stay up to date with medical journals and attend conferences. They are too focused on how many patients they can squeeze in for 15 minute sessions and overcharge them. There needs to be more regulation on doctors visits worldwide with a minimum consult and examination time of 1 hour per patient. Doctors don’t give a shit about the patient anymore, only how much money they can make. And in their rush to get to the next patient they more often than not either misdiagnose or miss a diagnosis completely. Look how many people only get diagnosed with cancer and heart disease by the time it’s too late when it could have been prevented and controlled.
I was told by head doctors at Cedar Sinai and Hoag Heart centers that I survived because my heart/arteries had time to find new pathways, I think capillaries, to supply blood. Plaque calcified which was actually a good thing....if it was soft and happened quickly the plaque can break off , cause clots and heart attack. It was literally years of not even feeling pain and lifting heavy weight in gym, running etc. Being told by doctor after doctor how good in shape io am. Finally I had angina to prompt my plan of action. And, you are right on for some of the issues in the industry. Really, CAC (even with a 0 score), tread mill tests, and other tests are just reactive. A CTA is proactive. If I knew 10 yrs ago what I know now, I would have paid the $1500 for a CTA...insurance won't pay for that unless a doctor has a compelling reason for it. The medical industry is totally reactive to heart disease with most of their testing. Guess one could also get an angiogram as a routine check, but most people won't.
I think it's because of the risk associated with angiograms. Personally I wouldn't just opt for one as a routine check but I do think the CT Angiography which is accurate enough should be recommended more if there are heart disease related symptoms that are not picked up on stress tests and echocardiograms. This test is very safe with no real risk of complications. I am in South Africa and as of this year on my medical insurance plan a MDCT Angiography CT scan covered by the insurance has been added so all I need is a referral from my cardiologist to get one. If I really start feeling concerned I will push with my cardiologist to refer me for the scan since it will be covered.
That's a good point. I suppose even here in the states if you have a real valid reason backed by the doctor, they'll pay for the CTA. Wow, never heard until now of an MDCT Angiography. "Multidetector computed"....what does this mean? It finds more than just the CTA? If so why wouldn't anyone just skip the CTA and do the MDCT ?
Hello! I had a Heart Attack last April, at 33 years old, on Easter Sunday. Work was closed that Friday, so I spent the day relaxing at home. Around 3pm I started experiencing what I *thought* was heartburn. I’ve had routine heartburn plenty of times before, so I took some Tums and thought nothing of it. My wife and I went out to a Mexican restaurant that night, saw a movie, etc etc - no more issues that night. Saturday afternoon rolls around and the heartburn comes back. “Those damn tacos from last night!” I thought to myself. More tums. Took a nap. Blah blah blah. Didn’t think twice about it. Late Saturday night, at exactly midnight rolling into Sunday, the pain comes back. With a vengeance. And I *still* chalked it up to heartburn. But, now, the Tums weren’t doing anything. The pain was so bad now that I couldn’t sleep, so I sat up all night on the couch. This, in retrospect, is when I should have - FOR SURE - gone to the ER. But alas… At 8am on Sunday, the pain has still not gone away. My wife took me to an urgent care where I expected they’d give me a prescription strength remedy, tell me to follow up with a specialist, and send me on my way. Wrong. They did an EKG “just to be safe,” which is when things started to really accelerate. A few minutes later I’m in an ambulance on the way to the ER. At the hospital they determine my troponin levels are through the roof. I’m rushed into an angioplasty where it was determined that my LAD was 100% blocked, a blockage that only ~12% of people survive. A stent was placed to resume blood flow. So that was almost a year ago, now. I’ve had additional stents placed to clear other lesser blockages, I’m working with a total of 4 now. What Factors Do I Think Lead Up To It: There’s definitely family history for me. But, the family that have/had issues were significant smokers (I don’t smoke) and were much older when their issues came up. My cardiologist has encouraged me not to dwell on the “why,” advice that I try to follow. I’m a heavier guy, but not crazy. I *had* been doing a low-carb/high fat diet for several years leading up to this. Was that an issue? Maybe. I also wonder about Covid symptoms and inflammation caused by the virus. But, ultimately, I’m focused more on the future. Day to Day - I’m much more physically active than before. I was never really into cardiovascular exercise in the past. I knew I *should* be exercising more, but here we are. Now a days, I try and ride my stationary bike 10-12 miles, four times a week. I have a goal to ride/walk/move a total of 2,024 miles this year. I’ve also modified my diet - less fat, less “junk.” Will the reduction in fat actually make a difference? Who knows. One thing that has stood out, following the attack, is how I’ve sort of become the de facto barometer of heart issues in my friend group. I’ve got plenty of friends that are older than me, heavier than I was then, and that *appear* to be less healthy now than I was then. Immediately following my HA I think a lot of them really freaked out. “Shit, if it happened to him…am I next?” I get a lot of questions about my cholesterol, my triglycerides, what does my cardiologist think about X, Y, and Z. Ultimately, I encourage them all to prioritize their health and get checked out.
What was your trip in level and did you chest discomfort end immediately after the stent or take time?
I forget the exact numbers, but the doctor in the room looked visibly concerned. It wasn’t a question anymore, in her mind, as to what was happening. When I woke up from the procedure there was still some minor discomfort. It was like I had been punched in the chest… but two days ago. If that makes sense. My procedure was around… 11am, give or take. By ~8pm the pain was completely gone, if not before.
Hi! I had my first heart attack at 39. I didn’t know it then, but my heart attack was caused by taking the migraine medication sumatriptan. That medication caused rare heart conditions Coronary vasospasm and cardiac Microvascular Dysfunction. It was honestly a very scary experience for myself, my employee, and my family. I was at work at the time and it wasn’t one of those clutch my chest, I’m meeting my maker sort of feelings, but there was definitely something wrong. My life didn’t change much day to day after my first heart attack, I was a bit more fatigued, and I continued to have chest pain, but since I didn’t know what was causing it, my cardiologist just dismissed my concerns. I didn’t make many lifestyle changes after because my cardiologist told me it was a fluke and I was going to be fine. No cardiac rehab, no nothing. Now 7 years and at least 1 other heart attack later, I am completely disabled, and making the best of the borrowed time. I don’t know if my story will help you at all, but I’d be happy to answer any questions here.
I (55F) was taking sumatriptan for migraines. I had a heart attack on 11/27/23. I also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol and smoked and was very sedentary. If the sumatriptan “helped” me to have my heart attack I was going to have anyways I guess I’m glad I had it young enough to have a better chance at recovery at 55 vs 75
If you took sumatriptan the same day as your heart attack, you may want to speak to your cardiologist and whoever prescribed the sumatriptan to you.
Ohh I’m gonna. I’m going to switch my PCP bc she’s the one who put me on sumatriptan
53. Ran marathons. Widowmaker. No idea. Post Covid, both infected and vaccinated. Not great family history, but certainly not that bad. Eeesh. Don’t know how I feel. Grateful and pissed simultaneously.
Hey, So I was 28 when i had my first MI, was classified as MINOCA so no clogged arteries. Factors are unknown, never had concerns previously. Family history is unknown as a don’t have anything to do with my biological parents. The experience was definitely something that most people won’t ever have to go through, you go from having severe health anxiety and not trusting your body to kind of just accepting the fact that your hearts not healthy and could potentially have another MI at anytime. Lifestyle changes weren’t really a factor for me diet and fitness wise. But I have given up smoking and now try to limit junk food. Life hasn’t changed to much on a day to day basis, when you’re still young you need to still work to put a roof over your head and survive. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out and I’ll get back to you.
Have you ever had any since then?
First as in you've had multiple? I'm also curious what your symptoms were
I'm a 43 male, I just experienced a widowmaker heart attack this past December 26th. The week leading up to my event I was suffering from intermittent stomach pain that would come and go in waves. It would wake me up at night. Obviously no chest pain. Christmas night I'm in bed and my chest starts burning. We chalked it up to anxiety about my stomach pain. So I went to bed. I woke up at 3 in the morning and the burning in my chest was pretty severe. I thought it could have been heartburn from Christmas dinner. But I couldn't get comfortable and started sweating. So I woke up my mother (was staying at her house as I live out of town) and we drove to the ER. They gave me an EKG and immediately saw that things were off. I'm surrounded by nurses putting IV lines, and giving me an echo. Next thing i know everything goes black. When the lights come back on they're asking me if I know where I am. I had just coded. At that point they rush me to the cath lab. Where they tell me I coded gain for 10 minutes. They got my pulse back, intubated me and got a stent in. I was in the hospital for 5 days and released. It's been only 6-7 weeks but the hardest part has been the mental aspect of it. Personally my anxiety has always been an issue. But now every little ailment of feeling I have has me considering a trip to the ER. They still don't know if there was a link with the stomach pain and the heart attack. I hope not because this past week the the stomach pain has come back and I'm seeing a GI specialist tomorrow. For my family it was definitely traumatic. My mom witnessed me coding the first time. My brothers were in the waiting room and heard the "Code Blue" alert when I coded the second time and knew it was me. We're all trying to deal with this fallout but it's going to be a process. I am supremely grateful I survived and by all accounts will make a good recovery but the mental aspect has been beyond challenging. I am not overweight, I'm 5'10" 165, I would run a mile a day and lift weights. I didn't smoke, I didn't really eat junk food (fast food maybe once a year if that). I drank only socially on weekends. A glass of wine or two with dinner. I did have high cholesterol. But the fact that this happened given my age and health factors is a big mystery that they're chalking up to Genetics.
35M heart attack with a 100% blockage of my LAD last September. Was very active and still am. Gym 3-5 days a week and cardio. No family history. The experience was pretty bad heart palpitations followed by cold sweats. I actually didn’t go to the ER until a week after. Used to eat lots of sugar, sugary drinks, energy drinks, processed food, meat, etc. I now eat a whole food vegan diet. EF back up to 45-50% with cardiac rehab.
>What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age? LAD heart attack with total occlusion of the right cardiac aetery at 49. Realistically, eating too much, smoking too much, not exercising enough. I've no history of heart issues in the family, but hadn't really considered eating like I was still in the army and doing phys 4 times a week when I'm not. >What the experience was like for you and those close to you? To be honest it presented as heartburn/indigestion that didn't get any better, I'd put it down to a large Chinese meal where id eaten more meat in one sitting than in the previous week. Sitting upright/sipping cold water/gaviscon (UK version of pepto-bismol) seemed to help, and after 3-4 hrs I took a couple of codine tablets and got 4 hrs sleep. Symptoms hadn't resolved by morning, and at lunchtime and with prompting from my wife, I decided to go to the local minor injuries unit. My son suggested going to the local main hospital, since if it needed investigation, they would send me there anyway, and we have a crisis with ambulances in the UK, so id end up sitting around. I drove myself to the hospital, (my son came along), and went to A&E, where I got an ECG within 5 minutes. When the technician said they'd have to do another one to check results, I knew something was up, and a doctor came in, gave me a GTN spray, aspirin and morphine. About an hour and half later I was out of theatre with 3 stents in the LAD, hospitalised for 8-9 days (it's a bit hazy), then off work for a month. It turned out I'd had a warning one about 3 weeks previously whilst I was at work (I work nights and alone), which I'd also put down to indigestion and "walked it off" Since then I've had 2 procedures to stent the right artery (tricky location and they had to go in from the left side to get to it, there were multiple blockages), and have 3 stents on the right as well now. In my personal experience, it was great. I went to hospital in extreme pain, and they made it go away and filled me with drugs to boot. For my family it was a lot more traumatic. For starters I didn't really comprehend how serious LAD heart attacks were, nor the importance of swift treatment. On top of that, my wife doesn't drive and my daughter had school, so visiting was hard for them. My wife is still effected by it as is my daughter to a lesser extent. >How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis? What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment? Stopped smoking/drinking immediately, although I vape (tapering down the nicotine, currently on 6mg/10ml), cut salt to a max of 3g/day, cut saturated fat to a max of 10g/day, reduced sugar intake, upped exercise (took up horseriding), lost 20Kg. A lot more conscious of my body/diet, and generally more appreciative of things in general. A bit long winded, but a lot happened. Happy to answer more questions though.
What did the warning one feel like? The one you had 3 weeks before the main one.
I was at work (I work nights), and got a bad indigestion like pain, which I now know to have been an actual heart attack. But I'd eaten a fairly hefty, solidly salty and greasy meal about 2hrs before, so I just had a drink of very cold water and walked it off, it faded after 40 minutes or so and I thought nothing of it.
Gotcha! Glad to hear you're doing better. When you say indigestion, like you felt like you had to really poop or it was heartburn or pain in your stomach?
I'm now 44 and had my attack at 42. My circumstances are totally abnormal. I'd be willing to share via DM.
24 years old 100 percent blockage of my LAD. I have had 11 heart attacks since. 3 widow makers. 6 stents. My cardiologist said I won the genetic lottery. I turn 48 next month. It was terrifying at first thinking I was going to die at such a young age. Now I am happy to wake up every day. It has taken a toll on me though.
Wow, what causes that?
Part 1: Inferior STEMI 23 months ago at age 31. Risk factors: 1. Smoking 2. Bad diet (lots of coffee creamer which is filled with saturated fat and I was drinking 10 to 20 cups of coffee a day, ate pies very often and had takeout almost every day for the 3 years prior to my heart attack) 3. Inactivity. I’m a software developer so I sit behind a desk all day. 4. Stress. The company I was working for at the time was not the most delightful to work with. I was put under a lot of stress and ended up working evenings often because I was the only developer in the company and my deadlines were harsh. Executives didn’t understand an ounce of my job so explaining the complexity of things and fighting against unrealistic deadlines were hard to navigate. Despite my risk factors I have always been a skinny guy with a weight between 55 to 60KG’s at 1.67m tall. Never had high cholesterol, blood pressure or high blood sugar. Unfit for sure though. The experience itself: Honestly the mental toll it took on me afterwards was probably worse than the actual heart attack. I started experiencing my symptoms around 3 months before the heart attack. I was burping excessively. Like every few seconds. Uncontrollably. I would sweat randomly during the day for no reason, but not like cold sweats. I was misdiagnosed with reflux and anxiety. In the last few weeks leading up to the heart attack I was experiencing heavy night sweats but chalked it up to the hot weather. It was right in the hottest period of summer here. Also developed covid which was dismissed by my primary care doctor as just the flu because I was mostly asymptomatic. The covid diagnosis was only made when I had the heart attack where they detected antibodies from recent infection. The day before the heart attack I had some left arm pain that went away after like an hour. Dismissed it as maybe I just slept awkwardly because I often sleep on my left arm. The next morning it came back with a vengeance, I was having cold sweats and I was pale. Went to the ER and was told I’m having a heart attack. I wasn’t expecting hearing that I’m having a heart attack. I never experienced any chest pain other than discomfort or any shortness of breath leading up to the heart attack, not even while it was actively happening. Just from the EKG alone the cardiologist knew I had a blood clot in my left circumflex artery and told the hospital to administer a clot buster (Metalyse) and transfer me to his hospital where they have the catheter lab when I’m stable. They say normally after 4 hours of being given the clot buster you are out of the woods from having complications like bleeding on the brain, clot bursting into smaller pieces and travelling through the heart etc., so that was really stressful waiting it out because my mother passed after being administered that same clot buster in hospital when she had a clot from a dog bite and it broke into smaller pieces and travelled through her heart. I was transferred to the hospital with the cath lab and got one stent in the left circumflex artery the next day. They had to wait 24 hours after the clot buster was administered to do the angiogram. They found a 90% blockage that had to be stented in the left circumflex artery despite me not having high cholesterol. I felt immediate relief after the stent was placed, but started having bad anxiety after I was discharged 8 days later. The first few weeks were rough mentally. I felt like I was useless because I was flat and couldn’t do anything around the house without being tired. I live alone. Cried a lot during those first few weeks. Had my first full blow panic attack where I actually passed out and hit the ground flat a few months after. Dealt with anxiety, especially heart health anxiety ever since, even now. I get a lot of left arm discomfort still but my cardiologist is adamant it’s not heart related so I’m on Alprazolam 0.5MG twice a day. Been on it for about 17 months now.
Part 2: Cause of the heart attack: A bit unclear on that one due to my risk factors. Not having high cholesterol doesn’t really explain the 90% blockage. Never got a straight answer as to why the blockage in the first place from my cardiologist. Could probably be the smoking and diet that caused just that single blockage. The blood clot is assumed to have been caused by the covid infection. Cardiologist said that’s the best guess. Can’t be 100% certain. Lifestyle changes I made: I stopped smoking the day of the heart attack. Was clean for 8 months and relapsed. Still trying to quit again. Smoking the weakest cigarettes on the market in mg country with the least nicotene and tar and much less a day than I used to. Fully cut out the coffee creamer. Also scaled down on the amount of coffee I drink per day. In winter I’ll have like 5 to 6 cups max a day. Summer maybe 3 cups max. Cut out the sugar in my coffee and replaced it with a sweetener brand called Suki which is a plant based sugar alternative with zero preservatives and no aspartame. Heavily cut down on junk foods. I was never a guy that enjoyed drinking so I only have the occasional few cocktails. Since benzodiazepines and alcohol don’t mix I’m very cautious with alcohol. I quit the job I had the first opportunity I got and got a job in the same line of work for much, much more money at a company that puts a lot less stress on me and actually understands my job as a developer. I am in the telecoms industry now so it is still stressful at times, but far less than before. How it affected me / my family: Like I mentioned, the mental aftermath for me was personally much worse than the actual heart attack. It was unbearable at times. The anxiety has caused me to develop acid reflux where I get acid coming up my throat daily. Could also be the blood thinners but likely a combination of both. This seems quite common from the research I have done on this. I don’t have a partner or children. My parents (father and stepmom) weren’t really that supportive when it comes to the anxiety and mental aftermath. To them the stent is a cure and no matter what I tell them they just won’t listen. They give me crap about my weight all the time and tell me to eat whatever I have to eat to gain some weight, be it fat or not, not comprehending that it’s not a good idea with a stent. I have tried gaining weight in a healthy way and find it impossible. They did get a wake up call though because for those few months when I wasn’t feeling well before they heart attack they told me it’s all in my head and I must sort my shit out and get my head on straight. The heart attack was probably the biggest I told you so in the sense of not to just think because someone’s symptoms doesn’t fit a serious condition it doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong. I think it did make them look at their own health more closely at the end of the day. They just don’t understand anxiety. They are old school so anxiety is a foreign concept to them. The now vs then: 21 March 2024 will be two years to the day I had my heart attack. Overall I’m doing much better. Apart from the anxiety and acid reflux everything is good. The anxiety has gotten better. My 6 monthly lipograms, stress tests and echocardiogram results have been great. The numbers say I’m good. No pains apart from that left arm discomfort that no doctor can seem to find the cause of. The acid reflux sucks, but will hopefully improve when I stop the Clopidogrel in May. I still treat myself to some takeout and the occasional pie. I tried the bland and healthy diet, especially for the reflux and it didn’t help the reflux and with my cholesterol and HBA1C tests still being perfect I decided to enjoy my life and have my occasional treat. Trying my best to quit smoking again though. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me.
What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age? 52M - Some family history, and found out my Lp(a) was high - 209 nmol/l, prior to the HA elevated BP - 128/89, high LDL - 135, diet wasn't bad, was a vegetarian for 2 years prior, drank moderately. What the experience was like for you and those close to you? I was a trail runner, had a STEMI after finishing a trail half marathon. At first I thought it was just fatigue from the race, and sitting and resting didn't seem to reduce the fatigue. Decided to drive home to rest - but on the way started sweating, vision issues, a feeling on whole body uncomfortableness and minor chest pain. Saw a Hospital sign on the freeway, followed the signs and walked into the ER - still not expecting to be told I was having a heart attack. But after the EKG - they rushed me to the cath lab to clear a 100% on the LCX, 80% on a second branch, and still have a 50% on the LAD. 2 stents placed. For me, the two weeks after the MI were the hardest mentally, and the month after was hard physically. It was hard on my wife and grown kids the first couple weeks - seeing me in the hospital, and the physical toll the first couple weeks took on me. How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis? Just finished cardiac rehab, so still working on getting back to where I was running and physical activities, probably 60% there. Not much impact on work, I am a consultant and am able to work from home. The first month I did have significant brain fog and fatigue, but improved when I started cardiac rehab. 4 months post HA - I think it is just lifestyle changes and meds that are the biggest changes for me. What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment? On meds now, never was before. Moved from vegetarian to WFPB diet. Rarely drink alcohol anymore. Still limited in my running, not ready for a half marathon or longer yet, but slowly building up.
I'm 46, turned 46 beginning of last month. The day after my birthday I had a series of heart attacks and died 3 times on my living room floor. _What factors do you think led up to having a heart attack at such a young age?_ My cardiologist has no idea and chalked it up to genetics. I had 3 100% blocked arteries (luckily not the widowmaker) and received 3 stents. My cholesterol & triglycerides were normal 2 months prior. No diabetes, I am a non-smoker, don't and have never done drugs, and I have a pretty healthy diet. I drink, but minimally. I'm 6'4" and before my heart attack I weighed 210. Not skinny but not obese. I have no real family history -- Mom had a heart attack but is a heavy smoker, Dad has afib but never a heart attack. I do have a history of afib when stressed out, or if I consume caffeine, and SVT if I overdrink. _What the experience was like for you and those close to you?_ The day after my birthday I woke up and my shoulder was sore. I assumed it was because I'd brought in a bunch of gallons of water the night before and had carried too much. The wife and I were watching TV and my heart went into something I've not felt before. It was like afib, but different. I told her we needed to go to the hospital. I got up and got dressed and while putting my shoes on it switched to pain. Such intense pain I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. In the front of my chest I had this intense, burning pain and in the back was this radiating ache. I felt like I'd been shot in the chest with a large caliber rifle - or at least I felt like that's what being shot would feel like: small but painful in the front and big exit wound. I stumbled out to the living room and after looking at me she dialed 911. The local first responders got there 15 mins later and I was thrashing on the floor of our living room in pain. They hooked me to an AED and were sure I was just having a panic attack. I told them I was seeing stars and thought I was going to pass out. A few seconds later my heart stopped. They shocked me and did 3 chest compressions and I came back to. I, for some reason, apologized for falling asleep. By this time the ambulance had arrived with EMTs who took over. They told me I'd just been revived and I said "I am seeing stars again" and my heart stopped again. More shocks and more chest compressions and when I woke up I was super disoriented and tried to get up. They said I had died again and asked me to lay down. I told my wife I was so sorry she was having to go through this and then my heart stopped again. This time they couldn't get my heart restarted. So they pushed some drugs, loaded me on the bed, and rolled me into the ambulance as one of the EMTs continued doing compressions. My wife watched them drive away with me not knowing if I was going to be brought back this time. I came back about 4 minutes later in the ambulance. They had driven me about 1500 yards to a nearby airfield where they had called a Careflight to take me to our nearest cardiac hospital. It took forever to get me into the chopper because I was too tall so they had to rearrange stuff to get me in. I had some small talk with them that it was my first helicopter ride and thanked them for saving me. When I got to the hospital I was in and out of consciousness. They did a cardiac angiogram to locate the 3 blocked arteries and then did the surgery to install 3 stents. They put me on Plavix to stop clotting. I immediately started clotting - apparently I'm in the 10% of people who are immune to Plavix. My wife got to the hospital shortly after the stents were installed. They brought her in to see me right as they started to see signs of clotting and had to rush me back in to surgery. They pushed Brilinta as an alternative and gave me a thrombolytic to dissolve the clots. I stopped clotting, but it also dissolved the clot on my femoral artery where they'd run the lines to install the stents. So I start bleeding massively into my abdomen. They had to push 2 units of blood and install this really painful machine on my leg to seal the artery. I was left with 2 very large hematomas in my abdomen. I spent the night in the ICU and another 4 days in the hospital recovering. It took about 3 weeks for the hematomas to dissipate. My sternum still hurts today from the chest compressions, but luckily they didn't break any ribs. Almost all of the horrid bruises on my arms have healed, but I still have scabs where all the ivs and gas lines and cath line and such were hooked. The arm they pushed the blood transfusions through looked like it had been run through a meat grinder and that's mostly healed up now. It was traumatic for us both, but my wife had to watch me die 3 times on our living room floor and then drive an hour to the hospital not knowing if she'd arrive to hear I was dead. When she got there happy to hear I was alive she saw me rushed back in to surgery. She then got told I had complications and high odds of not surviving the night. We live alone with no kids and our families are many states away. She has a lot of health issues and for me to be the one who almost didn't make it was a big shock to us. _How has your life changed on a day-to-day basis?_ Vastly. I get tired very easily and with my medication cocktail I get short of breath very easily. Standing to brush my teeth is exhausting. I started doing daily short walks, per orders, when I got discharged. I can do my walks but I get really tired the remainder of the day after. With the diuretics and walks I dropped down to my normal 190 in just a few weeks. Apparently I'd gained a lot of water weight over the past year, doc said likely from having been in undiagnosed congestive heart failure for some time. I'm now really cautious with what I do, partly because I get tired but partly because I'm on anti-platelet drugs. I am starting to drive again, but only with wife in the car. I now carry nitro pills everywhere just in case. My wife had to pick up a lot of my tasks like taking out trash or mopping the floor. She changed a lot of her eating habits to make it easier on me. I feel like our entire lives right now are entirely about my heart. _What lifestyle changes have you made since that moment?_ I am on salt and fat restrictions which make consuming enough calories really tough. I basically can't eat enough of low salt foods to stop myself losing weight, so I'm losing about half a pound a day. That's going to become a problem soon. I have always been very anti-pharma, but am now on 8 medications with rigid schedules - did call them "life extenders" which makes it feel very much like the end of the line is now in sight. I stopped drinking and we no longer do our weekly date night at a restaurant; we cook at home. One of my meds gives me blurry vision so I limit my phone time because it now strains my eyes. I don't get to take my dog on walks anymore because I can't hold him. Wife has to do it. I get cold a lot easier, and I have help falling asleep because I can't lay on my side (hurts my sternum). My ability to focus and think properly is disrupted by meds and I'm still getting acclimated. Basically everything about my daily life has changed. We're also now looking at moving closer to the hospital because the doc said it's very possible my next heart attack will be the widowmaker getting blocked and proximity to a hospital and response time will decide if I live or not.
I really hope you're doing better now. Reading your post makes me feel much better about my rca stemi. Things went much better for me, but it's still really difficult to process. I feel for you.
I'm doing good, thanks. Sorry to hear you've joined the club and I hope you're doing ok. I hear you that it's a lot to process; still on that journey myself. I am definitely getting more adjusted to the meds, and I've made peace with the reduced salt and fat and the lack of alcohol. I'm now down to 179 pounds and can't seem to stop loading weight because the restrictions make it really hard to get enough calories even with multiple high calorie shakes a day. We did but a house nearer the hospital, which I'm hoping helps with some of the trauma I have from walking past where I died multiple times every day. I had an ablation a couple months after this post to help with the SVT, and that seems to have worked well, but now I'm getting a ton more PVCs, so we're monitoring that. I got through cardiac rehab, which went well. When exercising my heart is a beast. But I still get tired doing simple crap like driving, shopping, or brushing my teeth. Not sure why it how that's possible. But all in all I'm good and just working through the emotional ramifications now.