Catchy title huh? unfortunately also the cold hard truth.
An explanation? Back in November I went to my doctor with this feeling of a pulled muscle that wouldn't go away. It wasn't that painful, just a bit uncomfortable at times, it happened to be located in my left chest area. Yeah, yeah I know but heart attacks are supposed to be really painful right?
My doctor's office is in an upper floor of the hospital and he rushed me down to emergency, where hours and many tests later, they came up with nothing. I will say they have no sense of humor there and they frowned at all my witty answers to some really stupid questions. I mean really, asking me if I felt safe at home right after telling them I lived alone? NO I live in fear because my coffee maker went on strike and the refrigerator has threatened to make all my beer warm if I don't give into their demands!
Ok so long story short, I go to an appointment with a specialist, he wants to do a stress test and the only thing he tells me about it is that I'd have to walk on a treadmill for 7 minutes. They are pretty busy with others that have more serious issues than I do so it January before I go. I get there and they want to put some kind of Harkonian plunger device on my arm with an IV. Did I mention I have a major phobia of needles and need a lot of warning so I can syke myself up to allow one near me and even then if you let me see it, all bets are off!
So no stress test, but as I wasn't having any more problems he would wait on that test.
Now the uncomfortable feeling never went away and finally it got worse, still not the pain one would expect for a heart attack, but this time it actually had a pulse to it that matched my heartbeat. So I went and got the stress test. It went off with no problems now that I knew what to expect and this time the nurse I got was able to answer simple questions, like what exactly is in your "Nuclear" medicine? I don't think it's too much to ask what radioactive Isotope they think they need to inject into my body.
So all test results in, they have found and convinced me that it was my heart and I seemed to have survived two heart attacks in that region of the heart where the "Widowmakers" occur.
So I was put on nitroglycerine patches and come back in a month, unless there is any more problems.
One the way home from work last week I got another pain, much worse than any before. Still not the level of pain I would expect from a heart attack.
So after this long detailed story, I'm scheduled to go back in on the 24th for them to do the angiograph (sp?) and possibly put in a stint.
Comments
Actually...
..."angiogram" and "stent".
Actually putting the stent(s) in would be "angioplasty". As it sounds as though they told you, once they're in there for the test, they'll stay for the work, if it's needed. (Been there, done that, more than once.)
Eric
Exactly
That's exactly what they told me.
Although the post is more on warning others of the possible signs of a heart attack. Personally I was unconvinced that was ever my problem until the results form the dye test came in. This was mainly due to all the talk about how painful one is and how badly a heart attack is portrayed in television. I would have never guessed the very mild pain I was having was a heart attack.
The second reason was to inform everyone why updates to my latest story have become sporadic. The main side effect of the nitroglycerine patches I have to wear daily can cause severe headaches. Of course these headaches seem to hit me the worst in the late afternoon/early evening when I normally work on my writing.
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
If you can afford it, or have
If you can afford it, or have insurance, -get an echocardiogram-. Even if you are clear, it's a baseline that can be used later. I've been having problems with circulation in one arm, so traded some work for a test at a customer (Cardiologist). $800 worth of exams later, they said that everything looked good and clear (at 47), including the arteries in my neck. Which means it's just a problem in my arm, which makes it a whole lot less nerve wracking to deal with.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
since the short form is EKG
are you sure of the spelling for echocardiogram?
Whatever you wish to call it
that's the one they run while you're on the treadmill. Which they stopped because they couldn't get my heart rate up to where they wanted to see it with me only walking (Which they told me several times only to walk and not run or jog) And gave me the chemical that induces the heart rate up.
Passed that one with flying colors
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
EKG is 'ElektroKardioGram' -
EKG is 'ElektroKardioGram' - the original German spelling of electrocardiogram.
so EKG. ECG would be the English.
An EchoCardioGram is similar. Generally, any doctor's office can give you an EKG, and they should give you one as part of a complete physical at any age. An echocardiogram requires more specialized (expensive) equipment, but can view what your heart and arteries are doing, not just the electrical impulses for your circulatory system.
Was fun. They stuff you on a treadmill where you have to go for a certain time until your heart rate is up - they use that as an EKG and to set a baseline. Then, while it's going nuts, you immediately lie down so they can jam a sensor into various points for a certain number of seconds. The tech said that the longest he had to have someone on the treadmill was something like 21 minutes to half an hour, for a professional athlete. They couldn't make it go fast enough to really stress him to start.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Nuuan's Spelling Is Correct...
Bibliophage explained better than I did, and posted while I was writing.
Best wishes for the 24th
Best wishes for the 24th
Be thankful
I have an acquaintance who -- at the time was in his late 30s -- is (note the word "is") a medical person. He was in his office at a hospital and dropped dead! His office mate heard him hit the floor, went in, assessed him and started CPR. My friend was shocked and revived. Short story is that he survived and now has a defib implanted in him. He had zero pain and warning before this event. He now takes every day as a blessing. Take care of yourself (so you can finish the stories -- the readers said selfishly!!!)
Speaking as a “medical person”
1/4 of all heart attacks the first symptom is falling over dead. We know this from the ones that hit the ground just right and the jolt restarts a rhythm. (Or the even rarer CPR success.) 1/4 the symptom is the worst heartburn ever - second bottle of maalox today and it’s doing nothing. 1/4 is the classic crushing left chest pain Richard Prior described so well in a monologue after his first one. 1/4 is something else. I know 5 people who get short of breath, take a nitro and it goes away. Women fall disproportionately in this group (the most common women’s symptom is excessive tiredness for about 3 days before - but how can you tell with our lives?)
BAK 0.25tspgirl
Silent Ones
Unfortunately, there is the phenomenon of "silent heart attacks," in which there may be few or no classic symptoms. It's more common in women than men, but it's now well documented to happen in both.
Always good to get things checked out. Early intervention is better than too-late intervention!
scary stuff
gesh we almost lost you! Take care of yourself, I dont want to be seeing your name on the "in memory of" list!
Been there... 3 years ago in May
I was at work and became short of breath, but no pain or discomfort. After 5 hours went to an Urgent Care, they did and EKG which showed irregularities common for 65 year olds but nothing of concern. To be sure they sent me to the hospital emergency where I was admitted. # days of tests, EKGS, Sonigrams, x-rays, CAT scans, stress tests, but other than normal irregularities they found nothing of concern. When every test was exhausted they decided to discharge me. One cardiologist asked if I'd let them do a catherization first, I agreed. A catherization is a camera slotted into the heart. When I awoke, they told me I had 3 blocked arteries in my heart. I agreed to open heart surgery to open or bypass the blockages. When I awoke they told me they found 6 blockages and bypassed all. I was discharged in a week and rehabbed in 5 weeks. I never had a heart attack.
During rehab I was debating whether or not to retire. A week before rehab discharge and return to work, my employer called to inform me the business had been sold and everyone laid off. I simply looked skyward and told God I heard her. I took the 6 months of unemployment, then retired.
I have no regrets. Good luck!
Boys will be girls... if they're lucky!
Jennifer Sue
Luckily, they don't have to
Luckily, they don't have to do a full catheterization now, at least not very often. They used doppler radar pulses on me :) (probably actually ultrasound, but still a doppler system)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Technetium-99 maybe?
What I had last, still have the card they gave me in case I had to go through any detectors for a week or so. Ah what fun times! Needles and more needles, tests and more tests.. I now know what some lab rats feel like, with extra doses of "hurry up and wait" added :) Glad you made it through the maze /hugs Weirdest feeling, though, has to be having your heart stopped with adenosine (sp?) to "reset" it Not the most fun feeling, having doctors and nurses hovering over you while you feel your heart stop; as I said, the weirdest feeling in the world, but a relief from having a heart rate pushing towards 300. SVT's suck! Glad you are doing better /hugs and do what the doctors say
Some Tests Don't Work
Five weeks ago, one of my closest friends was complaining to his wife about some chest pain. He had a stress test, EKG, dye, and some others, all of which indicated that there "might" be something. Then the doctors decided that they would insert a camera into his vein so they could look at his heart. Long story short - my friend had triple bypass surgery two days later.
Please be careful. I am no medical expert but it just doesn't "sound" right.