Health adventure

Saturday night, about 1:30AM, I woke with a great pressure on my chest. I knew immediately what was happening. Got the wife up and immediately drove to Broward General Hospital, which is 5 minutes away. Walked into the ER and said "chest pains". They flew into action. End result, after God only knows how many tests, yes, I had had a heart attack. Moderate, but still very scary. I had seen my cardiologist 4 days before and was given a clean bill of health. Whatever, not doing that well right now. 85% blockage on a cardiac artery. I am now the owner of a 4mm stent. Whole thing went as well as could be expected, but now feel very worn. I quit smoking Friday, not that hard to deal with considering the alternatives. Also turns out that I also have a problem with sleep apnea. Those two were contributing to the problem. Prior to this, my BP was 95 over 65 and all my cholesterol numbers were perfect. So now I have some life adjustments to make. It could have been far worse, like dead, but having world class medical care close by was a very good thing. Anyway, I just wanted to share. Wife is very supportive but a pain in my butt, as she needs to be. Seeing two doctors next week for follow ups. The adventure continues.

Glad you're still with us, mate.

Me too!

I'm sorry to hear this, but glad that it turned out as well as it did. Please take care of yourself and continue to get better!

welcome to the club … 3 yrs ago (seems longer) I had 2 stints put in … glad you're still with us

and congrats on the no more smoking

Glad you're on the sunny side of the grass. I've had a couple of those scares myself that luckily turned out to be minor. Congrats on the quitting.

Oh, wow. Glad everything turned out okay!

Glad you're here to tell us about it Chuck!

So glad to hear that you recognized what was happening and soughtnout medical help quickly, and that they were able to prevent it from being worse. Really really glad that you are still here to tell us about it!

Great news on the non smoking. Hang tough, you are tougher than cigarettes.

Sorry to hear about it, but glad it was you who's telling us about it.

Glad you're still with us!

Get better soon!

Glad to hear you caught it in time. Hope you get your strength back soon.

I watched the monitor as they put my stent in. Creepy but cool.

Quitting smoking is the single biggest thing you can do - at least that's what they told me.

You will be shocked at how much sodium is in your diet, once you become aware.

I had 8 weeks of cardio rehab. No one who knows me was surprised to hear that I finally had to go to 'rehab'.

Oy, I missed this somehow. Sorry to hear about the attack. Best of luck and medical science to you, man.

Quitting was the easiest tough thing I ever did. Were with ya.

Glad you're still with us. I'm sure you had a lot of information thrown at you over the past week so don't be surprised if some of it got missed or garbled.

example: recently a friend developed congestive heart failure and when he returned to work he was telling us all about things he now knew including his salt restriction..... he was convinced however that his cardiologist told him he could have all the sea salt he wanted because it didn't contain sodium. I don't know what had originally been said but this is 100% wrong and could have been fatal if not caught and corrected.

Upshot: if something seems odd, unclear, or counterintuitive>>>seek clarification. Memory is falible.

Glad you made it through, with all these changes you shouldn't have another. Undiagnosed sleep apnea was a pretty serious problem by itself.

Thanks to all of you for the support, but I would not expect less from my hive. Definitely has been a learning experience. Craving for a cig has been there, but I am dealing with it. Not going to give in, too much to lose. Wife has always been a healthy cook, low or no sodium. Low fat, etc. Went out for a good breakfast, but feel very tired. Hoping to be able to go back to work Monday, even if a short day. Really don't trust those shmucks to not mess up my clients. But Boss as been very supportive. Don't know if I will be paid for the week off. Here's hoping!

Someone posted a Dave Grohl song in another thread and I though it'd been awhile since I'd seen you post. Glad everything is OK.

Great to hear you are on the mend! Medical science is amazing--- especially when dealing with heart issues. Very glad that you realized what was going on---- and that the hospital is so close!

Glad you're still with us.

I had a nightmare the other day that my dad had a heart attack, and I was unable to yell for help due to fear. I decided when I woke up to put some baby aspirin in my referee bag, my car, and two in my wallet. Haven't done that yet, but I should really do that.

First thing my wife did was give me a baby aspirin.

Next step: Get the sleep apnea taken care of. Getting a machine and being able to get a good nights sleep has made a great difference for me.

Glad to hear you are okay. I hope I have the clarity to make that call if it ever happens and not just simply try to tough it out like an idiot (like my Dad did). Similar thing happened to my Dad. Heart doc gave him a clean bill of health, then he had a heart attack days later and got two stings put in. Dad was pissed. He told the cardio doc to go to hell and got a new doc.