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OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 7:13:37 PM

Amaroq

Posts: 1100
Joined: 8/3/2005
From: San Diego, California
Status: offline

I'm sorry I haven't been on much recently.

The short form of the story is that I suffered a minor heart attack last week. I'm okay - I've no lasting damage, I'm in good spirits, and I have been discharged from the hospital to convalesce at home. It'll be a few weeks before I'm back to 100%, but the long-term prognosis is very favorable.
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The long form of the story is that I began experiencing minor chest pain last Saturday, and had several episodes of it over the next few days. I'm 32, so a heart attack was somewhat unexpected, but the severity of it Thursday morning was unignorable, and I went to the emergency room.

I got there about four hours before the heart attack started, which meant that the doctors were able to perform an angioplasty before any significant damage occurred to the heart itself.

When they did the angiogram, they found that I had a 99% blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the major artery down the front left side of the heart.

For an angioplasty, they inserted a catheter in the femoral artery at my thigh, and ran it up to the heart, where they inflated a balloon to crush some of the blockage, and expand the artery enough to let full blood flow through. They then inserted a stent, which is a metal latticework cylinder, to keep the artery at this new, wider dimension.

Then they were done and out - though there was some excitement about hemorrhaging in the thigh, something about the wisdom of giving a fellow blood-thinning drugs which essentially turn him into a hemophiliac, then punching a hole in the femoral artery

- and I was taken to the ICU for further observation.

The kicker of it is, I was awake and not on pain medication throughout the entire thing. Its a scary thing to know that this would likely have been fatal fifty years ago, and certainly seventy years ago, and now is something that you can watch live on TV.

They kept me under strict observation for two nights, and then let me go home: apparently, there was minimal damage to the heart muscle, and no complications elsewhere (though the bruise on my thigh still has me limping).

Anyways, its been home and bed rest since, but again the long-term prognosis is very good.
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Its fun to see the board so vibrant and active - welcome aboard, you guys! Hopefully I'll get back up to contributing, but this note took me two days over three typing sessions

so I'm not expecting too much.

Post #: 1

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 7:19:36 PM

akw4572

Posts: 96
Joined: 2/6/2005
Status: offline

Wow, glad to hear it was caught in time, and you are recovering! Hope it continues to go well.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 2

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 7:46:43 PM

ganguy

Posts: 33
Joined: 6/25/2006
Status: offline

Glad you're feeling better, and glad you caught it in time. My daughter is a nurse at the heart hospital, so she is always staying on top of me about how I feel. I'm an old pro at this, I have had 4 of these procedures, and have 4 stents. During my last procedure, I asked my doctor if I was geting close to the world record for stents. He laughed and said, "You are not even close!"

Hang in there, rest, and play some PS!

Ron

(in reply to akw4572)

Post #: 3

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 7:48:28 PM

jzicc

Posts: 48
Joined: 5/18/2006
Status: offline

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 4

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 8:03:46 PM

SirWolf1960

Posts: 124
Joined: 8/20/2005
Status: offline

You are headed to my prayer list, my friend. Looking forward to seeing you here more as you regain your strength.

Steve

(in reply to jzicc)

Post #: 5

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 8:26:19 PM

PadresFan104

Posts: 1223
Joined: 8/8/2005
Status: offline

Wow man, that's quite an unusual event for a 32 year old. I hope it's the first and last time you ever have a problem like that. Very happy to hear that you are recovering and that you caught it early.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 6

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 8:28:41 PM

puresimmer

Posts: 2299
Joined: 7/24/2005
Status: offline

Wow, thank god they caught it in time.

Take it easy man, and have I hope you have a speedy recovery. Praise modern medicine!

You are a wonderful asset to the community and I look forward to seeing you back on the boards.

_____________________________

Developer, PureSim Baseball

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 7

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 10:01:23 PM

Cantankerous

Posts: 65
Joined: 3/19/2002
From: Dallas, TX
Status: offline

Get well soon!

(in reply to puresimmer)

Post #: 8

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 11:34:07 PM

Edward

Posts: 140
Joined: 9/21/2005
Status: offline

amaroq, did the drs tell you the reason for the blockage?
happy to hear you are doing well.

(in reply to Cantankerous)

Post #: 9

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 11:36:56 PM

markprior22

Posts: 51
Joined: 8/19/2005
Status: offline

Glad to hear the prognosis is good. Hang in there...

(in reply to Edward)

Post #: 10

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/11/2006 11:56:29 PM

KG Erwin

Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline

I wish you well, Amaroq, and look forward to your informative posts when you return to the boards.

(in reply to markprior22)

Post #: 11

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 12:57:12 AM

Nth Power

Posts: 23
Joined: 6/18/2006
Status: offline

Wow, glad to hear your OK.

I hope you have a quick recovery!

(in reply to KG Erwin)

Post #: 12

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 2:29:53 AM

Claymore Cut

Posts: 270
Joined: 5/16/2006
Status: offline

Glad you are doing well, and Feel better!

(in reply to Nth Power)

Post #: 13

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 2:41:04 AM

matt0177

Posts: 27
Joined: 6/17/2006
Status: offline

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Amaroq!

(in reply to Claymore Cut)

Post #: 14

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 2:42:03 AM

dneely

Posts: 227
Joined: 8/20/2005
Status: offline

Amarog:

Wow that is a wake-up call for many of us. Don't get a nurse that is too hot and get all the rest you need! I wish you the very best and hope you have a speedy recovery.

We have missed you around here!!!!

DNeely

(in reply to Claymore Cut)

Post #: 15

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 3:04:24 AM

Nukester

Posts: 472
Joined: 7/3/2006
From: Newburgh, NY
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Amaroq

Anyways, its been home and bed rest since

At least you got a few days off from work !

Get well

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 16

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 5:38:51 AM

XCom

Posts: 193
Joined: 6/6/2006
Status: offline

Wow, quite a story! Glad to hear things worked out. Get well soon and back on the field, Amaroq!

(in reply to Nukester)

Post #: 17

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 7:45:36 AM

Beach23BoyP

Posts: 288
Joined: 8/20/2005
Status: offline

Glad you're OK!

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 18

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 8:16:07 AM

rmayer32

Posts: 32
Joined: 11/25/2005
Status: offline

Crazy at your age.. Wow!

Thank god you're okay and I hope you get back to 100% soon..

_____________________________

Rick

(in reply to Beach23BoyP)

Post #: 19

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/12/2006 8:37:38 AM

akcranker

Posts: 477
Joined: 12/12/2005
Status: offline

Glad to hear you caught it early and no major damage. Enjoy the rest and get well soon. Hope to see you back on the forums and active soon.

(in reply to rmayer32)

Post #: 20

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 2:58:16 AM

Amaroq

Posts: 1100
Joined: 8/3/2005
From: San Diego, California
Status: offline

Thank you all for the good wishes, I deeply appreciate it - and as a number of you have said, I'm feeling very lucky to have caught it so soon.

If you're going to take one lesson from this thread, man, if your chest hurts, see a doctor. Early in my attack, the pain in the chest was mistakable for 'sore pecs', so I attributed it to a workout the previous day... but sore pecs don't keep you from drawing a full, deep breath, and if I'd waited much longer, I could have suffered real damage to the heart tissue.
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Ron, four?!? Wow, so you know exactly what I'm going through! I'd been wondering - how long will I be laid up? Its still very tiring - even PureSim "wears me out" after an hour or two right now, and visiting Blockbuster to pick out a few movies was an epic adventure. I feel like an old man!
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Edward, yes, actually, we've got a good guess what caused the blockage. I'd known I had an extremely elevated cholesterol level since I was a child. My dad had a heart attack at age 38, and his total triglycerides were over 500 - (where over 200 is considered bad news). I got quite a chuckle when the chief cardiologist at Stanford came down to talk with me - apparently he'd watched my operation due to 'professional interest'

- and he said "I suggest you seriously consider a vegetarian diet"... I've been vegetarian for 17 years, which, in combination with drugs, had kept my cholesterol under 300... but clearly that wasn't good enough!

The good news is, I've had a loud wakeup call to how seriously to take it, and we'll be addressing it with more drugs, more exercise, and less pizza.

My dad's closing in on the 20-year anniversary of his, and he's healthy, trim, and has never had a recurrence, so there's hope I can do the same.

(in reply to akcranker)

Post #: 21

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 3:23:51 AM

SittingDuck

Posts: 1166
Joined: 9/1/2002
Status: offline

Glad to hear you made it ok, Am. Question: were you taking regular physicals? I know you're only 32, but just asking.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 22

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 3:33:26 AM

Amaroq

Posts: 1100
Joined: 8/3/2005
From: San Diego, California
Status: offline

Thanks.

Yes, I was, and having blood drawn to measure cholesterol was part of that regular monitoring process.

(in reply to SittingDuck)

Post #: 23

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 3:35:03 AM

SittingDuck

Posts: 1166
Joined: 9/1/2002
Status: offline

So just really, really bad genetics it sounds like on cholesterol, right?

Gads, I have that too, but nowhere near that bad.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 24

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 4:05:37 AM

lynchjm24

Posts: 240
Joined: 8/21/2005
Status: offline

quote:

more exercise

It's good to have you back. When I read this thread yesterday, I was going to be lazy and play some OOTP. Instead I went running.

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 25

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 4:20:37 AM

Silverbullet

Posts: 114
Joined: 8/20/2005
From: New Jersey,USA
Status: offline

Glad you are OK.
Have a speedy recovery.

(in reply to lynchjm24)

Post #: 26

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/13/2006 8:50:22 AM

akcranker

Posts: 477
Joined: 12/12/2005
Status: offline

Hmm I'm only 26 but with you having a heart attack at 32 it makes me wonder if I should go get a general checkup and start taking better care of myself...

(in reply to Silverbullet)

Post #: 27

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/14/2006 7:25:22 PM

Amaroq

Posts: 1100
Joined: 8/3/2005
From: San Diego, California
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sitting Duck
So just really, really bad genetics it sounds like on cholesterol, right?

Yeah, its a very rare genetic condition, essentially Mendellian and dominant, so it was a 50-50 shot whether I'd get it or not. I did, my brother didn't. Unlucky.

quote:

ORIGINAL: lynchjm24
It's good to have you back. When I read this thread yesterday, I was going to be lazy and play some OOTP. Instead I went running.

**grin** Thanks, and glad to hear it!

quote:

ORIGINAL: akcranker
Hmm I'm only 26 but with you having a heart attack at 32 it makes me wonder if I should go get a general checkup and start taking better care of myself...

It can't hurt! Get a general checkup and have them check your cholesterol - risk of heart attack seems to be a blend between a 'levels over time' and 'current level'; the good news is, if its high, you can do what you need to to bring it down, like my dad did, and reduce future risk.

(in reply to lynchjm24)

Post #: 28

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/14/2006 8:12:44 PM

verizon32

Posts: 168
Joined: 5/23/2006
Status: offline

I glad your ok.

Once in a great awhile my heart feels like its beating too fast. I feel no pain.

I just have to sit and relax a little and then I feel normal again.

Is that something to worry about?

(in reply to Amaroq)

Post #: 29

RE: OT: Heart attack - 7/15/2006 4:29:37 AM

Amaroq

Posts: 1100
Joined: 8/3/2005
From: San Diego, California
Status: offline

That was nothing at all like my symptoms, and I'm not a doctor.

Arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) can range from 'nothing to worry about' to serious in its own right; if you're concerned about it, mention it to your doctor.

(in reply to verizon32)

Post #: 30