Add me to the list.......Heart Attack

Wow. Glad it worked out and you didn't ignore the symptoms.

RC Mech said:

Being on the younger end of members here, this post made me pause. We bust our asses to have a heart attack at 55? I’m not certain of your age, but generally f-that scenario.

Sent this to the wife, a pharmacist. She said of me (all of us):
“You need greens, almost-vegan diet with salmon.
Work out 5x per week enjoyable exercise.
Stress reduction.”

That last one is easier said than done eh. I find myself more often saying “IDGAF” when pressured by customers to have everything done yesterday. For what? I roll my eyes when I see people listing “works well under pressure” as an asset. Good for them. They’re just telling people they’re tolerant to piss-poor time management at the expense of their own health.

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I agree that diet is ok and one can get used to it. Salmon tastes good to me and vegetables can be well prepared and spiced with low sodium. The catch can be that eating better can cost significantly more money.

With aches and pains it becomes difficult to determine when to go and get checked out in emergency. I wind that if I have pain I am anxious about it and avoid being too strenuous. Heart disease is the top cause of death in the US and if one can survive a heart attack then they are doing good under any reasons they may be able to do so. After experiencing pain due to that motivation to make a large change in diet is much more likely to bring a major change. Too I think realistically what happens a lot is that changes can come at least moving in the right direction.

Bad cholesterol is the enemy of our circulatory system! It's starts and grows the plaque build-up and blockages in the arteries.

And the American diet certainly delivers plenty of it!

One natural thing you can do is to eat a lot of oats and oatmeal products. The oat fibers bond to the cholesterol, and it gets removed from the body.

The psyllium fiber in Metamucil does similar.

And a drink or two (especially wine) in the evenings can help keep the blood platelets moving, and not sticking together.

Btw, glad you came through OK, dkmc. I've never personally met most of the guys here on PM, but have interacted so much over the years that a lot of you guys seem like personal friends...

ToolCat

Glad to hear that you caught it in time. That's pretty scary stuff.

A few years ago I had some chest pains when I was in Arizona for the winter but had an appointment for an annual physical so I just waited until I got back to Michigan and mentioned it to my primary care doctor.

He sent me to see a cardiologist. The cardiologist told me that he was pretty sure that I would be the healthiest person that he would see that day as I always have maintained a very healthy weight and keep my BMI below 25. He sent me in for a stress test and the ultrasound showed something that they wanted to investigate further. Next up was a CT scan with dye and it showed two blockages, one being the widow maker that was around 80% blocked and another that was slightly less blocked.

A short time later I was having two stents installed and have been fine ever since.

Going back in time I used to eat a pretty shitty diet and loved chips and cheese supreme at our favorite watering hole. As I mentioned, I always kept my weight in a very healthy zone but a friend of mine who had experienced heart problems for years told me that just maintaining a healthy weight doesn't mean that your arteries are good and he was right.

Now I'm on Plavix and Lipitor and my physicals always have good numbers in the circulatory department.

Over the years I have known many who were not so fortunate and didn't live to see another day. Take care of yourself. You only get one life to live.

I'm collecting my thoughts for my next post, but while I have this thought, I'll post it...

As Machinists, we know that in order to produce parts we need data (a drawing) and measurement to insure the part is
made correctly to specs. When I go to the doctor next week, I'm going to ask for an Advanced Lipid Profile (blood test) for starters, so we can see what's going on with that. For example, colesterol is not just one number. Then based on that data, I (along with my doctor) will decide what medications are appropriate, including Statins, BP, etc. Rather than just "here's the standard pack of Chicklets we give to heart attack patients, swallow them down, and be happy" approach. I haven't been to a doctor in years, so this will be a brand new experience. I suspect I may have a time sorting thru different ones until I find one that will talk to me with interest, instead of the too common 'pit stop' visit.


Also if anyone reading this thread might be interested, here's a hour long video on Misconceptions around Cholesterol, Fiber, Dairy and Ways to Raise Testosterone. We have been following Dr Berry for the last year.

dkmc said:

I'm collecting my thoughts for my next post, but while I have this thought, I'll post it...

As Machinists, we know that in order to produce parts we need data (a drawing) and measurement to insure the part is
made correctly to specs. When I go to the doctor next week, I'm going to ask for an Advanced Lipid Profile (blood test) for starters, so we can see what's going on with that. For example, colesterol is not just one number. Then based on that data, I (along with my doctor) will decide what medications are appropriate, including Statins, BP, etc. Rather than just "here's the standard pack of Chicklets we give to heart attack patients, swallow them down, and be happy" approach. I haven't been to a doctor in years, so this will be a brand new experience. I suspect I may have a time sorting thru different ones until I find one that will talk to me with interest, instead of the too common 'pit stop' visit.


Also if anyone reading this thread might be interested, here's a hour long video on Misconceptions around Cholesterol, Fiber, Dairy and Ways to Raise Testosterone. We have been following Dr Berry for the last year.

Interview with Dr. Ken Berry: Misconceptions around Cholesterol, Fiber, Dairy and Ways to Raise Testosterone - Personal Health & Wellness Coach, Weight Loss Professional

Dr. Ken Berry is a family physician in Camden, Tennessee and is affiliated with Henry County Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Tennessee College of Medicine. He is the author of the bestseller Lies My Doctor Told Me which exposes myths and misleading health advice...

briangryn.com

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Thanks. I am not familiar with that test yet I appreciate looking at it. After being treated by a Cardiologist many consider the fact that Cardiovascular disease is a fact of life and then they use their protocols to lessen further damage. There are several different things a person may choose to do and diet is a big one. Vegan diet is hard for me 100% I managed to stay real close to that for a few months. I did lose a considerable amount of weight in the first year of the changes.
The Mediterranean diet is good with a great deal of research behind it over a good period of time. It is not a pure vegan diet yet will tell people to avoid red meat in favor of fish for example.

It could be worse....in the early 1970s,I worked with a guy who had a genetic trait that had killed every male relative at age 36 ......sounds unbelievable ,but he had stories of uncles celebrating making it past 36 ,and passing away the next day....his father had died a few weeks before turning 36..........The family hadnt known until an aunt did family tree research,and discovered how many related men had passed away young.......she showed the results to her doctor,and he contacted a medical professor.......and while the condition was rare,it wasnt unknown.

alphonso said:

At 62 I felt like I was going to have a bout of the shits until I realized the discomfort was higher up in my abdomen. After a helicopter ride to Austin Heart, I got 3 stents in anterior descending artery.
For a number of years I have had a brief feeling of squeezing spasm of esophagus. Usually less than a minute or so. Last December, at 76, it didn't go away. Wound up with a roto rooting and stent in the "widowmaker". Tried several balloons before going to the roto-rooter. 99% blockage.

Asked what happens to the ground out plaque and not got a good answer yet.

Coming up on a year on Plavix. Be glad to get off that stuff. I mean, where the fuck did that bruise come from? I didn't run into anything that I know of.

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So at 90% they were still able to stent it. That is amazing at 80% blockage years ago they only would do surgery. That is much better than a operation. Hang in there.

dkmc said:

Like some other members, I had the experience now as well. The warning signs can be easy to ignore.

A heart attack does not always come as pain in your left arm. Mine was between my shoulders in my back. Last Thursday 11/17 After some time of denial, and increasing discomfort, I decided it was time to go to Urgent Care (they were closing and getting ready to lock the front doors) where they hooked up the wires and saw problems on the Electrocardiogram. An ambulance ride and 45 minutes later, I was at the hospital, in the Cath lab getting 2 stents installed (one artery 100% blocked) in an expedited fashion. Then 3 more stents installed yesterday, (another artery 90% blocked) 4 days in ICU total. Funny thing, that Thursday morning I was in the middle of no where picking up a cement mixer from Marketplace. I worked pretty hard getting it on the trailer and was worn out from using the come-along. Shortly after I got home with it, the discomfort started. Discomfort NOT pain. Pressure. Uncomfortable feeling, not pain. So very lucky it happened here at home. Doing much better now. One of the doctors said, 'With heart issues "Heart Attack pain" means any pain from your navel to your head, not just sharp pain in your left arm". My message is, do not ignore it or brush it off.

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Glad to hear you're OK

About 10 years ago, I had a scare with intense vertical pain shooting down left side of my chest. Had just finished a service call and a heated phone conversation with my supervisor. Driving from NJ back to PA for next call in Easton, PA decided my wife needed to take me to the ER. She was surprised to see me in the school office and more surprised when I said need to go to the ER. So after a thorough exam and overnight stay with all kinds of monitors, turned out it was work induced anxiety attack. Never had one before, thought it was a heart attack starting. Best part was my wife talking to my supervisor saying they think I just had a heart attack. He made the mistake of saying so he can't make his next call. Just smiled to myself as my fiery redhead proceeded to rip him a new one.

Four months FMLA, some nice meds and a weekly bitch session before returning to work. Six months later found my dream job working 5 minutes from home back in a machine shop. Been loving life since.

Stents and angioplasty and bypasses are NOT cures. They will buy you some time until you change your life style and or diet. Once you have them and get complacent you can count on more if you are lucky and don't have a fatal attack. Even if not fatal once your heart tissue dies from an attack it does not regenerate so you may end up as an invalid.

There are three meds that will get rid of high LDL levels which in most people is the major cause of blockages. Repatha and Praluent which work the same (by destroying PCSK9 protein which destroys LDL receptors in the liver) and a newer medicine that only requires a biannual shot (LEQVIO, inclisiran )It works on a different principle but the results are similar . I started on Repatha and my insurance decided not to cover it so I had to use Praluent ; both are 150mg shots twice a month. Ldl rich triglicerides are also a cause of blockages. Statins increase the production of PCSK9 ( something I was not aware of until recently). Plenty of info on line.

Surprisingly all of the people that have bypass and stents that I have talked to and asked if their Doc's had ever recommended these meds said no. Do your own research!!

I asked my daughter , a pharmacist about that and she said it is not considered a "front line treatment". Statins are as well as Lipitor.

I was taking all the max doses of thinners and statins and still getting stents(14 so far) and 5 by passes. My symptoms were not typical but I could recognize them and every time I had to get a stent.

Cost may be a factor, without insurance about 400 a shot, with insurance 25.00 for a 90 day supply(6 shots). Don't know about Medi-Care but will have to find out when I retire. I'll be 78 in Dec. I had bypasses in 2005 had stents since but since I went on Repatha/Praluent in 2017 no stents until 2 mo. ago.

A good friend of mine had a heart attack a few years ago. Once he’d recovered enough to get about the ongoing treatment involved regular physiotherapy sessions in the gym at the local hospital. In the UK you aren’t allowed to drive for a while after a heart attack so my pal used to walk to the hospital. At the gym the nurse took his blood pressure before and after the exercise.

The first time he got allowed to drive he got in the car and drove over. When the nurse took his blood pressure she said “ You’ve driven over today haven’t you Mr Stables ? “. He said “ Yes, how can you tell ? “ She said “ Just by looking at your blood pressure readings “

My step son’s wife came over here from rural Ohio this summer and she refuses to drive in the UK. She said “ Are you kidding, it’s like the dodgems over here “.

My pal was quite a heavy smoker but when he was in the ambulance on the way to hospital he got his cigarette pack out and gave it to the paramedic. He said “ You can have these, I won’t be needing them anymore “. And he never did.

RC Mech said:

Being on the younger end of members here, this post made me pause. We bust our asses to have a heart attack at 55? I’m not certain of your age, but generally f-that scenario.

Sent this to the wife, a pharmacist. She said of me (all of us):
“You need greens, almost-vegan diet with salmon.
Work out 5x per week enjoyable exercise.
Stress reduction.”

That last one is easier said than done eh. I find myself more often saying “IDGAF” when pressured by customers to have everything done yesterday. For what? I roll my eyes when I see people listing “works well under pressure” as an asset. Good for them. They’re just telling people they’re tolerant to piss-poor time management at the expense of their own health.

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Yeah right, no way I can get my wife to have sex that often!

garyhlucas said:

Yeah right, no way I can get my wife to have sex that often!

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You gotta start slow and build her up to it, LOL

NO I am not a vet, but I have much respect.
The words are inspiring, for whatever reason, they feel right.
Drive on.