personal story of YOUR heart attack

[texasstyle]

Hi everyone. It's me. I believe my husband had a heart attack last night and he thinks it was heartburn. He did not seek any medical help. He has kidney failure, Congestive heart failure, and something wrong with a valve in his heart but sure what that is called. Anyway, as I was waling past the bathroom he was standing there with his eyes closed looking down and maybe dizzyish you could say a little. When I asked if he was ok he said no which alarmed me because when he got the normally "drained" from dialysis fatigue  he says he ok. He said he had tightness in chest . He sat on the edge of the bed and belched a couple times thinking it was heartburn. He continued on with the mild to moderate I guess chest pains for a bout 20minutes or so before it was all over. He was pale and had the chills for a bit. Although he was not in extreme labored breathing he did have difficulty. At one point near the end he said he finally took a full, deep breath. My neighbor took his pulse and said it was running about 100. (she also said to get checked out) Shortly after he was in the living on a hot day with the AC turned off under 2 winter blankets. Checked his temp it was 101.1. A little later 101.6. As of this morning it was just about normal. He said over night he  had some chest soreness and a little hard to breath. He's doing better today but cripe almighty, I'm worried as heck! He did take a spill in our pkg. lot while walking the dog the other day. Got some scrapes but nothing else. I wondered for a second if that anything to do with it. So.... now if this was you or I, we would've gotten checked out. I know indigestion does not cause a fever and difficulty in breathing. From my experience heartburn is lower pain, not up in your upper chest. If you've had a mild heart attack i would certainly like to know your symptoms. Was it anything like this? Sometimes I imagine a heart attack only as a falling to the floor kind of thing. Any info on symptoms other than the "normal" ones would be a great help. Thank you all for all you do!!!!  Carolyn

[Poppylicious]

*gasp* ... I think I would have immediately called for an ambulance if it had been Blokey, but I know that doesn't help you now.  I have no experience of heart attacks at all (but hearsay leads me to believe that no one heart attack is necessarily similar to the next and people don't always respond to their pain as depicted in films), but really think that you need to seek medical advice about this straight away.

I hope he is okay (and you, of course). 

*huggles*

[lola]

Otto for like 2 years talks about chest pain, arm weakness, shortness of breath, heart beating out of his chest etc etc etc........ HELLO he's on dialysis so we never thought anything of it but last week we ended up going to the ER after his symptoms lasted 18 hrs and he was in AFIB and had to be shocked. Otto has promised the Dr's from now on he will get in and not wait(as everyone was running around the room he was on FB with his itouch, and I was texting )

[KICKSTART]

They vary so much , from complete collapse to ,like you said 'heartburn symptoms'. I had one and didnt even know ! When my PD was stopping working i got fluid overloaded quickly (thanks doctors!) which resulted in mine. The only way i found out was i was sent for a heart /chest scan to make sure i didnt have any fluid left there and i was told ..'oh it looks like you had a small heart attack , you've now got a leaky valve ! Great ! I also have Angina now ..or so im told ..this is like chest pains that pass, ranging from a sharp pain in the middle of my chest to rapid heartbeat ,to indigestion type symptoms. In your hubbys case better to be safe than sorry. I now have one of those GTM sprays for if things get a bit worrying !

[Stoday]

I had a heart attack in 2005. I had three warnings which I didn't respond to because I didn't recognize them as heart problems.

First was when I was visiting a dam in Lesotho, up in the mountains. I got suddenly short of breath whilst sitting down in a car. I put it down to the low air pressure because we were some 2,800 meters high.

Second when I was in a plane flying over the Himalayas. I woke up feeling bad and finding it difficult to breath. I thought the airline must have been saving costs by restricting the circulation and refreshment of the air. After 5 minutes I recovered.

Third was in my kitchen, sitting down. I started shivering, got breathless and thought I must have caught influenza. Then I thought perhaps not because the symptoms had built up so quickly. However, I went and laid down on my bed for a bit and recovered.

That night I got the real McCoy. The usual symptoms plus the pain. Was I glad to get two shots of morphine when I got to hospital!

[RightSide]

They vary so much , from complete collapse to ,like you said 'heartburn symptoms'.

Or vice versa.

My dad was sure he was getting a heart attack, so he rushed to the hospital.  It turned out to be a bad case of indigestion.

[texasstyle]

Thanks for all your responses. Each story so different. I took the time to print out instructions on how to do CPR for my refridge. Hopefully I never need use it, but I feel can only be a benefit to learn. You never know where, or who, may need it. I'm keeping my eye on things. Always in a bit of a worry like I think all patients/caregivers natrually are.

[casper2636]

Even as a retired nurse, it is so hard for me to judge my pains. Sometimes, after dialysis, my heart beats like mad, my blood pressure goes down, and I get incredible chest pressure. I feel like I'm having a heart attack. But if I lay down, it does pass with time. Now , you all are making me wonder - could it be?

[BillB]

Texasstyle,

Heart attacks manifest in so many symptoms that it would be folly to guess.  My right main coronary artery was totally blocked by a blood clot on 13 Apr 96.  I was helping unload a trailer load of groceries at a store in Alabama.  Both my arms got weak and tingled.  I broke out in a cold sweat and struggled to breathe.  My heart hurt as if someone was squeezing it.  I got dizzy and suffered from what I thought was heartburn.  I continued unloading the trailer and drove my truck back to our warehouse (90 miles) because the pain eased off.  After arriving home, I couldn't go to sleep and my wife (bless her) make me go to the ER.  Long story made short, when the ER doc heard I was suffering from heart pain, he put me ahead of everyone else and hooked me to an EKG which showed the heart attack.  I was then rushed to another hospital where I had angioplasty performed that morning and six stents placed in the artery the next day because the artery was already closing up again. 

From your hubbies symptoms, he could be having angina (heart pain). True heart burn should be eased by an antacid, heart pain won't.  I know how hard it is for a man to admit pain sometimes.  We're supposed to be manly.  But with your hubby already having congestive heart failure along with a valve problem could mean his heart needs attention.  A trip to the ER would not be fun but may be the best thing for his health and your peace of mind.  After the 4 days I spent in coronary care, I pay a lot more attention to what my body is trying to tell me.  To this day, I still have angina under exertion and always will since my delay in going to the ER caused a lot of damage to my heart.  I gained the six stents along with an implanted ICD which cost me my job but I'm alive.  That's the most important thing to me.  Hope everything is better with your hubby.

BillB

[plugger]

Last year I got off a stationary bike I was working out on.  I felt what I thought was heartburn, went home, laid down, then fell asleep later.  The next morning I woke up without the pain, but was sweating and felt overly fatigued.  I saw the doctor and the next thing you know I was on a plane to Denver, with a paramedic sitting across from me waiting for me to keel over.  It turns out I had my right coronary artery blocked.  Fortunately, I had been developing this "collateral circulation", essentially made my own bypass.  I spent a week in the hospital before they cut me loose and I'm on heart meds now.

From what I understand, the pain from a heart attack manifests itself differently depending what area of the heart is blocked.  Even though I got lucky with the 1st round, my luck may not hold out on a 2nd round; so I think it is a real good idea I take my meds and get periodic check-ups.

I would highly recommend your hubby gets this checked out.  Like I said, round 2 may not go so well.

[tito]

Had a heart attack in 1999. I had a few days of neck and shoulder pain, which I thought was nothing. I then developed a cough, especially at night and difficulty breathing. I was 42, so I didn't think it was the heart.

I finally went to the hospital where they said I had congestive heart failure and faced immediate heart surgery. The attack, though minor, had damaged the cordae of the mitral valve, and blood was leaking backwards. I had a single CABG and mitral valve replacement (mechanical). Have been fine ever since - no pain.

Had a stress test last Sept. for transplant - all is well.

You certainly can miss the symptoms - but these sound too serious to ignore.

[Jean]

On Nov. 15, 2007, I had heartburn from lunch and then stupidly ate hot dogs for dinner. I have had long time heartburn problems.I took everything I had, and it did not stop. However, I was restless, so I decided to go to the store. While I was there, it simply got worse, until I could no longer get my breath. I sat down at the pharmacy center and in about 5 minutes, I asked the girl to get an ambulance for me. I began to sweat profusely, and the paramedics thought I had an upper respiratory problem, so they transported me,and less than half an hour later I had the attack. Didnt bother me too much, as I was unconscious. They did an angioplasty and I was sent home 5 days later with only a small amount of scarring. However, I am now haveing problems with it again. I did carry sublimal nitrogen and had to use it twice, before I saw the Cardio lady. She gave me 24 hour nitro, and I have had a stress test. Waiting for the results. However, knowing what I know now, I would have gotten your hubby to the ER pronto. Especially with the sweating. Yes, it is scary to be rushed to the hospital, but better safe than sorry. Dont ignore the heartburn.

[Sax-O-Trix]

I'd make him go to the doctor just to make sure everything is okay...

[casper2636]

Jean,
Thank God you had the common sense to call for help!

[Jean]

Casper, that really struck me funny!!!! I sat in that chair ( in the supermarket no less ) and thought about my co-pay of $50.00 for entirely too long. Next time, I wont worry about the almighty dollar.

[RichardMEL]

poor TS if it's not one thing it's another isn't it?! 

The real problem here is that your hubby is too stubborn(or whatever) to get checked out. Me I'd rather get checked out and be told that it's nothing to worry about, then find out down the track that "if only they'd found out sooner...."

[KICKSTART]

Sorry off topic ...RM when did you become a global mod and put up the new piccie then ? Better watch my P's & Q's now 

[RichardMEL]

lol I've had my moderator's hat for months now.. as you can see from the pic I just uploaded - I'm not wearing it!!! 

I thought change was as good as a holiday. Had the same dorky dialysis pic for 3 years. Time to update! Sorry if it scared you! (or is that scarred?) 

[Jean]

My gosh, Richard, you look 10 years younger in this pic. Its a good one, I like it.

[Trikkechickk]

I would have to say, Richard, much better picture.  No way would I have my photo taken in the "dialysis position"!

[RichardMEL]

since it's all about me I'll just comment that my hair is greyer - but it was taken by a professional photographer who did a good job (picture was taken at a sponsorship dinner for my footy club).

thanks for the compliments