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CanadianSteve

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CanadianSteve

Guest
I'm putting this in the section which should perhaps be renamed Get to Know You - before it's too late.
Last Thursday Nov. 7 I had what they think was a mild heart attack. Let me skip to the end of the story to assure everyone that I came home from hospital today, a week later, after getting a clear result on an angiogram test yesterday. That is, the pictures showed all my heart arteries to be normal, no blockages or narrowings. I am supposed to be able to go on with life, taking some medications each day and gradually getting back to normal activity levels.
I left work that day with a slight feeling of tightness in my chest, just bad enough that I knew I couldn't go on and teach my last class of the day.
Sorry, I have to interrupt this message, but I am not joking here. I will continue my story when I can get back on. Also, it's good to be back on LWOS, I have a lot of catching up to do
 
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legend

Guest
All the best for a speedy recovery Steve. I hope you are well on the road to good health.:)

p.s Hurry back so I can have an ally in my arguments with Willow and Space Monkey. They are getting out of hand again.;)
 
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CanadianSteve

Guest
Thanks, guys.

As I was saying, I went to the hospital with tightness in my chest and neck, nothing sharp or painful, just uncomfortable. The initial blood test and ECG showed nothing irregular, and the pain went away in about 2 hours with some medicine. But a later blood test 8 hours later, and a 3rd one the next morning showed an enzyme increase, which is supposed to indicate heart muscle damage. So I stayed in hospital several days, probably with some delays because it was the weekend. No pain or tightness came back and the heart monitor kept showing a regular low heart beat. By now I was on blood thinner medication, a pill to lower heart rate, and another to lower blood pressure, which was high when I first came in. to hospital. An echocardiogram, like an ultrasound, showed only a little change in the left ventricle's action, and the angiogram the next day showed only normal looking arteries. So I'm not sure what it was, but I was glad to get a clear picture. (Hazy, let me know what your fiancee thinks.)

I had very few risk factors - don't smoke or drink, only 48 (old for LWOS but not in life:)), exercise regularly, diet was pretty healthy, no family history, etc. The unhealthiest thing I did was stay up too late most nights, often on here, then drink a lot of coffee to get going in the morning, and sometimes nap after work. I think that was an unhealthy cycle, and I am resolved to quit coffee and go to bed earlier.

Anyway I guess it was a warning of some kind. I welcome any advice or insight from any here with medical knowledge, or now that this thread is here, feel free to discuss any North American sports issues.
 
Willow

Willow

Assistant Moderator
Messages
108,307
Ditto on what midas said. Sounds like you're looking after yourself well after mate. Good luck... get well soon.
The only advice I can give is to exercise a good exercise. Its supposed to be the best because it uses most of the body and gets the blood flowing without stress. You don't have to be Mark Spitz about it,one or two laps of breast-stroke 3 times a week is a good start... you'll soon increase this over time.
Excuse my ignorance if you're already doing something similar.
Also, I assume you are talking to someone about the best foods to eat.
 
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st ted

Juniors
Messages
217
Steve,
Your brush with mortality sounds a bit scary to me.
I'm with Midas on this one in a comparison of lifestyles.
Anyway to the topic.Mate, reading your history (age,habits etc) there does not appear to be an identifiable trigger to your condition.
May I be so bold as to suggest that areas other than physical may require investigating.
Stress related tension can also be a cause for such an extreme reaction.
If you want to tell me to piss off and this is none of my business please feel free to do so.
Personality type, professional issues and personal/domestic factors may contribute to a stress related physical condition.
Things like moving house, stressful work environment, personal goals(either achieving or not achieving them) significant loss e.g.death in the family,loss of a job,loss of a limb, or anything else that causes a major alteration to ones circumstances are all stressful occurrences that can manifest in a physical reaction.
I am sure you are aware of all these things, but it is often harder to do something about remedying an issue/s than it is to recognise it/them.
The upshot being that it sounds as though a re-appraisal of priorities may not be out of place.
I am the same age as you and let me tell you it comes as a bit of a surprise when a contempory with a far healthier lifestyle ends up requiring diagnostic investigations and medications to hopefully reach our three score and ten(actually I wouldn't mind another ten thrown in).
Your episode will not go to waste as it has helped harden my currently pissweak resolve to again try and give up the smokes.
As for the booze,well why they continue to make beer and produce red wine and import bourbon I'm f**ked.
Good luck with your recovery.
 
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CanadianSteve

Guest
Thanks again to all for your thoughts.

Willow, I'm a terrible swimmer. I used to jog a fair bit, and played basketball and squash until in my early 40s a sore knee started to hinder those. Since then I've regularly bicycled outdoors and used cardio machines indoors - stationary bikes, stairclimbers and my new favourite, an elliptical motion machine called a Cross-Trainer. Do you know the kind I mean, I'm sure they have them in your fitness places. I have tried running in deep water with a life jacket on. It probably has similar benefits to swimming, but I don't make the time to go to a pool enough. I saw a newsclip of Simon Whitfield, our triathlon gold medalist in Sydney, doing water running to recover from an injury before the Commonwealth Games. Maybe I will try to do it more.

Anyway, the cardiologist who looked after me in hospital booked me to come back for a stress test on a treadmill next week. I think he scheduled it sooner than usual because my angiogram showed no signs of artery problems, so perhaps I can shorten the normal recovery schedule. He was earlier talking about being off work 6 weeks. I wouldn't mind that, except that school basketball season is about to start, and I was going to be coaching my own son's team as he is in his first year og high school and is quite a good player.

As far as diet, a nutritionist spoke to me in the hospital. She went through a survey of my eating habits and concluded I was already eating ok. A few small changes were suggested - more fruit/vegetables, smaller amounts of meat, and fewer sweets. They also tested my cholesterol there, and I learned that the results measure 4 things. My "bad" cholesterol was low or safe, my good cholesterol was a bit low, but my triglycerides were high. The 4th measure is an overall measure, I think, and it was ok.

There was a nutrition thread here a month or two ago, which began with a long article from Time magazine. It ended abruptly because the original poster, who I forget, had a family problem which took him away from posting. I look forward to that being updated sometime.

I feel fine now and look forward to seeing how soon I can get back to normal activities. I'll try not to rush it. If I have any advice, it would be - keep checking your cholesterol and blood pressure, quit smoking, eat well. Oh, and start going to church if you don't already;)
emlove.gif



 
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CanadianSteve

Guest
If you want to tell me to piss off and this is none of my business please feel free to do so. - St Ted

No, I put this thread out here, so I won't tell anyone to mind their business.

I have thought about the stress angle. I've always thought I'm the laid-back type (Type B, is it?) who doesn't let stress get to me. But maybe I hold some things in too much. As far as lifestyle, nothing terribly upsetting, but perhaps the constant busy - ness of life with 3 teenagers, a mortgage, etc. does add up. Teaching can be stressful, but I thought this year was off to a good start with good classes. (We start in September, after a nice 2 month break in July-August.) I keep coming back to my bad sleeping patterns and dependence on coffee; maybe that unhealthy pattern made any stresses worse. BTW, I stopped drinking coffee in the hospital, and didn't have any of the withdrawal headaches that used to keep me from quitting. Unfortunately, an improvement in sleeping patterns will mean less time spent on LWOS. But for now I'm off work so I can come on during the day.

Thanks for your concern, St Ted. BTW, a number of my hard-living friends here have also expressed surprise on why this happened to me and not them.
 
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imported_Hazy

Juniors
Messages
715
Ok Steve - here is the prognosis from Dr.Hazy (an Australian Dr Nick) but with expert advice from his nurse associate.


The angiogram is the 'gold' standard for looking for coronary artery occlusion (blockage).

There <u>may</u> have been a clot that was dissolved by the medication etc before the angiogram was performed. (depending on what you were treated with)

Two other risk factors are stress and a positive family history (parent <u>or</u> grandparent).


and as with all medical advice received over the internet, please check with your local GP. :D
 
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CanadianSteve

Guest
Thanks, Hazy. I feel confident that with medication and a few lifestyle changes I'll be fine. It's my second day home today, and I feel good. I appreciate everyone's concern.

Oh and St. Ted - piss off! Hey that felt good, like stress relief.

Just joking, mate:D
emlove.gif

 
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imported_midas

Juniors
Messages
988
st ted
Sounds like we have similar habits.As a lifelong devotee of tobacco,booze and wanton women,I console myself with the fact that while I may not make it to100,at least it,ll take the undertaker a week to get the grin off my face.
 
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imported_Hazy

Juniors
Messages
715
Steve - with the cholesterol tests - the 'fourth' measure you refer to, we have a similar one in Australia (and I imagine globally) that measures the ratio between the good and bad cholesterols.

The good and bad cholesterols can both be within 'safe' limits, but the ratio of good to bad is also important.

This I know myself, without referring to the nursey type...
 
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pepe

Guest
sorry to hear the news steve, you'll be as fit as a mallee bull beforeyou know it old son,we can't have our only north american member carking it on us,maybe we should recruit a backup in case you are'nt so lucky next time;).

pepe
 
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