Best of luck to you Gimp. I do Respiratory Therapy (my day job) in the ICU setting, so I know what you are going through. I wish you a speedy recovery!
Jim
A little bit of a warning to you guys. My Heart Attack was not preceded by the normal symptoms of chest pain in the center of my chest, arm pain, neck pain, shortness of breath, or the feeling of weight on my chest.
Because of this I didn't think I was having any heat trouble. I had experienced a short twinge of pain in my upper left chest months ago but it only lasted 15 minutes or so and went away. I mentioned this to my doctor the next time I was in on a different visit, and he stated it did not sound like a heart attack but if it happened again I should go to the ER (Hospital Emergency Room) and have it checked just to be safe.
Last Thursday morning at work I got the pain again and it was a low level annoyance. After a few minutes I started feeling "unwell", for a better word. Nothing specific, just a nagging feeling of something not right. When I stood up I felt queezy, so remembering what the doc said I headed for the hospital.
The EKG in the ER was normal as were my initial blood workup.
The attending doctor stated there were no indications of a heart attack, but since I was almost 60 and had never had a stress test he recommend I stay and have a heart Stress Test performed to be safe, so I did.
The stress test indicated "an anomaly" as the doctor put it, but not necessarily a clogged artery and recommended a heart chateterization to see what was going on.
They found a clogged artery and used balloon angioplasty to open the clog, then inserted a stent, which is a mesh cylinder which expands to hold the artery open.
So, now I'm home for a while until the doctor says I can go back to work. Can't lift over 8# (3.7Kg) till the artery where the catheter was inserted in my groin heals.
I ate what I thought was a reasonable diet with Oat Meal (Rolled oats boiled in water or milk, high in fiber) for breakfast most days, lots of vegetables, fruit, fish chicken, and seafood, beef about three times a week, etc. I only cooked pork about once a month, and sausage about the same. Bacon and eggs maybe once a week.
I didn't get a lot of exercise due to leg and back pain from a bicycle accident 12 years ago (hit by a car head on and broke the right tibia and fibia in several places and took years to heal).
I used to be a heavy drinker (made my own beer, and won several awards for it) but quit a year and a half ago.
So, now I'm on a new died that excludes a lot of foods I like due to their salt content, and new meds to take. Hopefully this is the last such episode.
So, if you get chest pain that is not central and no typical symptoms, it still may be a heart attack. Take care y'all.
Glad to hear that they caught it before it caused any real damage. I lost my uncle to a heart attack last week and my father had one when I was about 5 or so... its scary stuff.
Hope you heal fast so you can get back to doing the things you love.