PSA: Recognizing a Heart Attack

Update on my angiogram. I was expecting the doc to find a minor blockage in one or two arteries and place a stent or two and call it done. Nope. Turns out that I have 80% blockage in two arteries and 50% in another. It looks like the recommendation will be triple by pass surgery. I'll have a consultation on Monday with my cardiologist and the surgeon.
There goes my summer boating plans. I am glad however that I did not ignore symptoms and sought treatment before I found myself flopping around on the deck of my boat with a widow maker!
Carpe Diem ya'all
 
Update on my angiogram. I was expecting the doc to find a minor blockage in one or two arteries and place a stent or two and call it done. Nope. Turns out that I have 80% blockage in two arteries and 50% in another. It looks like the recommendation will be triple by pass surgery. I'll have a consultation on Monday with my cardiologist and the surgeon.
There goes my summer boating plans. I am glad however that I did not ignore symptoms and sought treatment before I found myself flopping around on the deck of my boat with a widow maker!
Carpe Diem ya'all
Great Scott man! Please take a long hard look at that Beautiful/Bad ass, avatar pic of yours and get back there ASAP! I know you will. Prayers heading your way.
 
Update on my angiogram. I was expecting the doc to find a minor blockage in one or two arteries and place a stent or two and call it done. Nope. Turns out that I have 80% blockage in two arteries and 50% in another. It looks like the recommendation will be triple by pass surgery. I'll have a consultation on Monday with my cardiologist and the surgeon.
There goes my summer boating plans. I am glad however that I did not ignore symptoms and sought treatment before I found myself flopping around on the deck of my boat with a widow maker!
Carpe Diem ya'all

Never hurts to get a second opinion, or third from a different group, different hospital. 50% blockage is not significant enough to fix. In fact, at 50% if they treated it that could very easily be considered malpractice (google Dr Mark Midei, St. Joesph's Hospital in Baltimore, or Dr. Joe Cinderella in Salisbury) . Did they FFR the 50% lesion? There is zero evidence supporting fixing a 50% lesion....

If you want to get technical, 80% blockages need a lot of rationale to be fixed. Again, did they FFR both lesions? What was the FFR number?

My point is 80% blockages in 2 arteries and a 50% in a 3rd is absolutely not grounds for CABG. Given your symptoms and abnormal stress test sure something needs to be fixed. But CABG?? Damn, that shouldn't be in the cards.

Yes, there are instances where it could be indicated depending on the exact locations of the lesions but I'm not buying it!

Good luck in your decision making process! Lots to consider....
 
Never hurts to get a second opinion, or third from a different group, different hospital. 50% blockage is not significant enough to fix. In fact, at 50% if they treated it that could very easily be considered malpractice (google Dr Mark Midei, St. Joesph's Hospital in Baltimore, or Dr. Joe Cinderella in Salisbury) . Did they FFR the 50% lesion? There is zero evidence supporting fixing a 50% lesion....

If you want to get technical, 80% blockages need a lot of rationale to be fixed. Again, did they FFR both lesions? What was the FFR number?

My point is 80% blockages in 2 arteries and a 50% in a 3rd is absolutely not grounds for CABG. Given your symptoms and abnormal stress test sure something needs to be fixed. But CABG?? Damn, that shouldn't be in the cards.

Yes, there are instances where it could be indicated depending on the exact locations of the lesions but I'm not buying it!

Good luck in your decision making process! Lots to consider....
Thanks, I will be asking some very pointed questions for sure during the consult. I was impressed with the Cath Doc's conservative approach of just getting the images and not automatically placing stents just because he was there. He explained prior to surgery that there are several variables to consider which each case. The guy ahead of me had kidney transplant done years ago as well as quad bypass. He returned form Cath with a stent in one of his by pass graphs. He is in his early 70s. I could not help but think for the grace of god go I.
Cheers
 
Especially when it triggers an asthma attack, then I get short of breath and light headed. That combo sent me to the ER twice in the 2000's. I have since figured it out. But I could easily have a heart attack and overlook it.

Well, turns out thos post was truer than I knew.

Went to the dock ahead of my wife and, son and his girlfriend. It was hot so I was being careful and pacing myself. Roled up the canvs, taking my time. When I leaned over to stow it in it's spot. Got a head rush. No biggy, happens, I usually have low blood pressure in the mornings. Wife and kids came down and I got light headed again. Only this time it didn't go away. Wife wouldn't let me play captain, so I laid on the floor. 5 minutes in I start a massive asthma attack. Inhaler doesn't touch it. Wife wants to help me to the car, but at this point I can't get enough air to talk. Got her to understand that I needed an ambulance. No way could I walk to the car even at the bottom of the ramp. Ambulance shows up and the start a breathing treatment. Helped a little. T got me to the ambulance and started a second treatment and steroids, and the breathing distress resolved. He hooked me up to an EKG and told me there was a problem. EKG at the ER read the same. Ok, breathing resolved, slight aunamoly on the EKG. I'm going back to the boat. Just have to pass the troponin test, no problem. Wrong high and climbing. Strong evidence of a heart attack. They believe a blood clot caused a blockage that became 100% blocked this morning and then passed. Doc said I dodged a bullet. In hind sight, this all started Monday, but I've already written a book here and I'm tired. Just happy to be here to share. If everything didn't happen in short order, may not have been.
 
Update on this. As soon as the echo cardiogram came back the cardiologist came to see me. The other docs' conclusion was based on the EKG and the fact that my troponin levels were slightly elevated (122). The echo told a different, more conclusive, story. Down side is my heart muscle was damaged. Up side is the cardiologist said it was a classic case of a severe uncontrolled asthma attack (rescue inhaler did not work after multiple applications) causing oxygen starvation to the heart resulting in muscle damage. The major difference is I can add maintenance drugs to control asthma. He said with my personal fitness, family history and general health there was very little heart attack risk moving forward. I will have a stress test for precautions. I have a friend of a close friend who is going to take me on as a precaution. I am going to add a pulmonologist to the team for the asthma because my regular doc was doing a shitty job.

Long story short, it was the best outcome I could have hoped for. Scared the shit out of my family. Well me too, honestly. When I was on my boat unable to breath, speak and rapidly heading down the tunnel I was sure I was going to die right there and then.
 
Update on this. As soon as the echo cardiogram came back the cardiologist came to see me. The other docs' conclusion was based on the EKG and the fact that my troponin levels were slightly elevated (122). The echo told a different, more conclusive, story. Down side is my heart muscle was damaged. Up side is the cardiologist said it was a classic case of a severe uncontrolled asthma attack (rescue inhaler did not work after multiple applications) causing oxygen starvation to the heart resulting in muscle damage. The major difference is I can add maintenance drugs to control asthma. He said with my personal fitness, family history and general health there was very little heart attack risk moving forward. I will have a stress test for precautions. I have a friend of a close friend who is going to take me on as a precaution. I am going to add a pulmonologist to the team for the asthma because my regular doc was doing a shitty job.

Long story short, it was the best outcome I could have hoped for. Scared the shit out of my family. Well me too, honestly. When I was on my boat unable to breath, speak and rapidly heading down the tunnel I was sure I was going to die right there and then.
Sounds like you received some good care and diagnosis with docs not just assuming HA. So many stories of Docs chasing symptoms down the wrong path while the real culprit continues irreversible destruction. I hope the course of treatment is successful and you can enjoy the boat and family without an ugly black cloud following you around.
CD
 
We've all seen it on TV. A gentleman of a certain age, clutches his chest in clear agony and falls unconscious to the floor. That is most certainly one of the manifestations of a cardiac event. But let me tell you a less dramatic story.

I felt a bit of indigestion on Sunday. No big deal, must have been something I ate. The feeling lingered into Tuesday morning getting slightly worse. Then a very slight tingling of the right hand. Subtly lingering in the background was the feeling that "somethin' ain't right". Told the admiral that something was going on in my chest, and off we went to the ER. Two stents and one cautionary tale later...

I would not presume to dispense medical advice, except to say research the signs. Don't let TV dramas lull you into a false sense of security. And finally, listen to that little voice.

Many of us here are gentlemen of a certain age, so thought I would share.

Your description is a very common scenario. This is where the "denial' syndrome stems from. The pain is not typical or confused with indigestion. In fact, its not unusual to see patients who had full blown heart attacks but never knew it, had no symptoms. They catch them during a check up or at autopsy.

The best thing to do is at a certain age to get tested so you know your risk. Based on your risk profile you'll know if you have any such symptoms to suspect a heart attack and run to the hospital.

Take care of those stents.

One last thing, not all heart attacks are an event. Often times they are a process that occurs over days, so the symptoms are atypical. The key is knowing your heart health by getting a cardiac stress test for diagnostic purposes.
 

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