A M I

[62pilot]

Well last Wednesday night I had a bout of acid reflux, this kept me up most of the night and I was Dead tired Thursday morning. Yet the epigastric pain continued. I took a Pepcid with no relief and headed off to work at the ER.
Once at work I got a GI cocktail,( Donatol, MOM and Viscus Lidocain ) I thought this would cure my burning abdomin.
Two ECG's and a round of lab work later I was on my way to the Cardiologist and a date with a stent. I was given Retavase and Heparin in the ER that stopped my MI and several mg's of Morphine that made my pain go away.
End result no real heart damage and I got to come home today for an unexpected two week vacation.
I'm 44 yo and never thought this would happen to me.








Tom

[Bilbobaker]

Wow.
Glad you didn't have any permanent damage.
Hope your on the mend and can enjoy some flying on your unexpected vacation.
My prayers for your speedy recovery.

[Bilbobaker]

Tom
How do you feel today?
(does it hurt etc?)
Don't those things get inserted from an artery in the leg?
I thought about you and that stint thing all night. \
Sometimes I get kind of a crushing chest/heartburn once in a while and it bugs me knowing that it's the same symptoms as that of a heart problem.
You gonna stop smoking?
Heck I bet you got a list of things you are looking at changing.
I know I would.
Bill

[62pilot]

Well I aint smoked since Thursday, and I feel realy good. I get tired from just setting, feels better to get up and move around. I'm watching my sodium intake. Lots of new pills to take.

The stent placement wasn't that bad, I got to watch it on the monitor, I could feel it go into my heart and feel it expand.

I realy believe I am very lucky it wasn't worse. The heart Doc. said little if no damage. I got the clot buster in the ER pretty quick and got the blood flowing in under the golden hour.

All I can say is if you have pain don't try and second guess it, go see a Doctor. I thought it was acid reflux. Boy was I wrong. I always figured I had another 20 years before I went through this stuff.




Tom

[Viper Pilot]

Tom,

I thought mine was muscle cramps, and took relaxers I had around the house. Bad decision on my part. I must've had 70 mini heart attacks in a two-week period before I went to the ER.

had a stent placement 8 years ago, and along with a life-style change I've had no problems. Keep away from the smokes, walk at least 3 miles a day, and watch what you eat. Good luck.

P.S. I probably sound like your doctor, so I apologize. But he does know what he's talking about.

[62pilot]

BIG diet change and rehap twice a week. Aint smoked in a week and a half. And my Doctor has a real deep voice.








Tom

[Bilbobaker]

Good for both of you guys.
I quit smoking over 12 years ago and don't want to ever go back.

I'm still on the see food diet though. :o
That's see not sea. I like to eat, but I'm extremely energetic so I don't gain a lot of weight gain but I do have a very high cholesterol count so I have to take statins and I hate doing that.
In fact the only med that I really like taking is Ambien, but I better be heading for bed within a half hour of taking it or I get kind of forgetful and silly to boot.
Plus colors start to look different for some reason.

[CoastalFlyer]

I'm 44 yo and never thought this would happen to me.
Happens to the best of us. ;)
I'm glad to hear you caught it early and all seems well.

I had 2 stents put in about 8 years ago, after a very sudden severe shortness of breath. Started gasping, couldn't get enough air in my lungs. Pulmonary Edema. Way too scary, not being able to breath. :mad:

Only symtom was a very slighly achy feeling in my left shoulder and arm the night before, kind of like you feel when you are starting to get the flu.

The stent placement was painless as was the entire experience, except for the shortness of breath. That scared the :eek: out of me.

I'm now very sensitive to too much sodium and watch my intake. Raises my BP and can cause me a slight shortness of breath. Need to lose weight but definitely take better care of myself.

Watch your BP (I didn't) - they don't call it the silent killer for nothing. And, of course, quit smoking (sorry, I had to).

[62pilot]

I'm used to being on the other side of the stethoscope.





Tom