“People can experience a variety of symptoms, including shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and other symptoms. Women and people with diabetes can experience more symptoms than just discomfort,” says Reid. he said.
That was my case. On a recent fateful weekend, I told a friend that I was feeling anxious due to the stress of my elderly mother’s health. My breathing became shallow and my left arm became numb.but i didn’t have chest pain or pressureI didn’t feel any pain in my arm.
As we started walking through the park, my friend checked my pulse multiple times. It was steady and he encouraged measured breathing to help me relax. I followed his instructions, but as I continued walking, I found myself unable to take deep breaths. Then, after walking half a mile, I had to stop.
“You need to go to the hospital and get tested,” my friend said. We turned around to go back to where we had parked and called my girlfriend’s wife. After a few minutes I had to stop again. Then my friend noticed that I was sweating profusely. That lifted his alarm.
I’m 66 years old, and my first awakening occurred 12 years ago when my doctor noticed an abnormality on my treadmill test during a routine physical exam.Then a cardiologist diagnosed his two stentor a mesh coil placed inside an artery to keep it open and improve blood flow.
Walking has always been a place of respite for me, and for 15 years I have been going for walks with my doctor friend once a week. But the day of my heart attack, I knew something was wrong.
As my symptoms worsened, my friend offered to call an ambulance or drive me to the hospital, but I was afraid to be alone while he went to get the car. is. I texted her wife and she arrived within minutes and rushed me to the emergency room, which was only 4 miles away. My friend called ahead to let me know I was coming, but when I wobbled into the hospital, the staff sat me in a wheelchair in line behind four other people.
“We have an emergency,” I said to a passing officer.
“Everyone here has an emergency,” he said, continuing to walk.
“Please help me,” I said to my wife, my voice and breathing weak. She made her move.
The next thing I knew, the emergency room staff was applying defibrillator pads to my back. Someone gave me an aspirin with a sip of water. Someone put a nitroglycerin pill under my tongue. They took off my shirt and started taking off my shorts. I grabbed my underwear and tried to maintain some semblance of modesty, but was rejected. “All is not well, sir.”
Moments later, an electrocardiogram shows that I’m having a heart attack, and nurses and nurses carry me down a series of hallways on a stretcher, with lights flashing rapidly on the ceiling as they perform a cardiac catheterization. We headed to a room where it was revealed that an imaging test had been done on my arteries. One of my previous stents became completely occluded. The cardiologist removed the blockage and inserted a new stent inside the old one.
All this happened on Saturday. Fifteen minutes after surgery, still recovering in the cath lab, I asked the cardiologist who had just saved my life if I could return to my college journalism class on Monday. he couldn’t believe it.
“Don’t you understand that I had a heart attack?”
I did not do it. My wife wasn’t either until that moment.In fact, it turned out that I had the so-called disease widow heart attack, This is a condition in which the left anterior descending artery, the largest artery of the heart, is blocked. This artery provides 50 percent of the blood supply to the heart muscle, and “the widow is immediately at life-threatening risk,” the Cleveland Clinic says. In my case it was 100% blocked.
Cardiac arrest, or the heart stopping, kills 300,000 to 450,000 people each year in the United States. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. As Reed later told me, blockage in my arteries It could have been fatal if his heart had stopped, but I think he was lucky.
“You were also paying attention to your symptoms and being with someone who could help you get prompt treatment,” he said. “Some people can have a heart attack within hours because they aren’t paying attention or don’t know enough to recognize that the symptoms could be a heart attack.”
In that case, much damage may have already been done, Reed said. “Even if you open the artery, the function of the heart muscle may not be restored. It is important to seek medical attention early to avoid permanent damage to the heart. ’,” he added.
Both Reed and my friend pointed out that panic attacks often mimic heart attacks. Shortness of breath is common to both. However, Reed said panic attacks usually subside within about 10 minutes for him. “If your symptoms don’t go away quickly, be sure to seek medical attention. … A missed heart attack can have very serious consequences.”
“I think the only lesson to be learned is if you have any doubts, get tested,” my friend said.
I’m lucky to be alive. I am also lucky to have a devoted wife who rushed me to the hospital and tearfully reassured my three children that I would be okay. I am grateful to my caring friend who stood by my wife from the moment I was admitted to the hospital.
A few days later, I left the hospital feeling hurt but grateful. But before her wife drove me home, I asked her wife to drive me to her park. I got to see the scene where my life almost ended. I needed to feel like I could finally resume the healthy habits of my old life.
We know we need to make changes, especially to reduce stress. I have started cardiac rehabilitation, but I am also taking care of my body. Feelings of emotional well-being, bouts of sadness, and even hopelessness that are common after a heart attack. I look at my life through a new lens and work hard to envision a hopeful future worthy of the second chance I’ve been given. I have a long road ahead of me, but I don’t have to walk it alone.
Do you have a story about a personal health challenge, an unusual diagnosis, or another personal health journey? To submit an essay, please contact us at: voice@washpost.com.