Anyone Here Have A Heart Attack?
 

What are the symptoms right at onset? How do you know it is a heart attack? Are you generally coherent during the attack? How do you know when it's "over", assuming you are still alive? After you have "recovered", what are the residual signs that you suffered a heart attack?


JA

John, are you still there? Is this curiosity or should you be heading to the hospital?

Jay

I hope you're not a Hypochondriac?

[QUOTE=Jandrews; what are the residual signs that you suffered a heart attack?
JA[/QUOTE]

Death

A pain /constricting feeling in the center of the chest, like your heart being squeezed by a fist. pain in the left arm and jaw...with shortness of breath. Therer are other more nondescript things that I have heard of, but in general those are the signs.

If you live damage to the heart muscle.

And if you suspect ANYTHING, take a baby Aspirin (81 mg) immediately. In fact, if you are over 45, take one anyway.

Ian

Tabs has some of the CLASSIC signs ,problem is there are many more..
it's just heartburn is a favorite killer.
Lots of H-Attacks occur on the throne.
if your concerned..go get it checked.
Rika

Chest pain is the most frequent symptom and is usually described as a weight or constriction of the chest sometimes band like. Most people would characterize it as a discomfort and not a true "pain". However, many atypical presentations such as heartburn, epigastric, back, shoulder, arm, neck/throat, jaw, tooth, or even ear pain (or any combination there of). It is commonly but not always associated with sweating, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath. Around 8% of heart attacks occur without demonstrable symptoms (silent MI's).
Heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) typically occur when an atherosclerotic plaque in a coronary artery ruptures (literally pops like an inflamed pimple on the internal lining of the artery) and a blood clot forms and obstructs blood flow. You typically have about 30-45 minutes before irreversible damage to the heart begins. This means that immediate medical attention is imperative so interventions can be performed that restore blood flow by removing or dissolving the blood clot. You are also at greatest risk in the earliest period of the heart attack for "sudden death" when coordinated electrical activity of the heart ceases due to changes related to the lack of oxygen in the area of heart muscle effected by the blood clot.
There is no safe time to wait. It is better to immediately dial 911, take an aspirin, and accept an ambulance ride to the ER even if it turns out to be indigestion. I have had numerous people die while they or their family members attempted to drive them to the ER.

I'm still here LOL!! No issues that I know of, but this is something that I do fear. You hear all of these stories of otherwise healthy people dropping dead behind the wheel, or on the basketball court, or on the throne as someone here mentioned. I have never smoked, drink very, very little, cholesterol is 150, I workout somewhat regularly...I do like good food though.

A few weeks ago, I was walking innocently down the aisle to my office and when I got within about 50 feet of the door, it felt like someone shot me in the middle of my upper back with a cross-bow! My vision blurred, and I almost passed out from the sharp pain. It hurt when I inhaled deeply. After just about 2 minutes, it was tolerable and I could talk. It turned out to be (I think), a pulled or strained muscle in the middle of my upper back. I could twist a certain way and re-create the pain. I did not go to the doctor and it went away completely in a day or so. I have a "suspect" back anyway, as I have had a laminectomy (L4/5) 15 years ago, and have had a couple other excrutiating "pulled" muscle issues while working out. I am 6'6" 275 lbs and built like an NFL linebacker...43 years old, though.

I had a treadmill stress test a couple years ago as part of an Executive physical. Got my heart rate up to 170 or so and it was tough. The cardiologist looked at the scan and thought I had good blood flow.

More detail than you wanted, but this is something that has intrigued me for awhile....i.e. how do you know when, as Fred Sanford would say, "this is the big one...I'm coming to see you Elizabeth..."!!

JA

Until the lights go out, you can't be certain ;). More than 90% (more like 95-98%) of people that show up in the ER thinking they are having a heart attack aren't.

A few examples from my image files in case you are curious.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739161.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739234.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739280.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739302.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739339.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1197739371.jpg

Why is it so rare that we hear about women having heart attacks? Just curious.

I had a chest x-ray and ekg done last year and the radiologist asked me why I had bothered. I said because I'm a light smoker. He looked at the x-ray again, said he saw no evidence of it and not to worry about it. He saw my motorcycle helmet and jacket and said that was something I did need to worry about.

Urban myth. It is still the leading cause of death in women.

You have ribs in your back that can pop out on one end that causes excruciating debilitating pain.

Sometimes in this state you can get startled, flinch which makes it worse and you end up dropping to the ground like a sack of bricks unable to move or breath. About the only thing you can do is lay there with uncontrollable tears streaming down your face hoping to die so the pain stops.

Or so I've heard.

Very good friend of mine had a heart attack. She was about 48 or so and started feeling the squeezing of her chest. At that time she had no health insurance and being a tough old bag she did not go to the hospital but drove home.

Sat it out for a while then a couple of days later got it checked out. Yes, she had an heart attack but against Doctors advise did not get any futher treatment. She went on a super low fat/salt diet and lost weight and so on. 14 years later she had a job with excellent health insurance and went in for an exam and found a couple of the arteries still clogged, so she got a bypass.

Would not recommend this for anyone but Lynn survived and toughed it out. More women than you think have these..

Because we die first.

I just about had a heart attack when I got the video my girlfriend sent to me!!!! God I love webcams!!!!

Go ahead Mr_Wizard and test my cardiac health...post up!

sfj911....tell us a little bit about what we are looking at there. Some look like something isn't right, and others resemble a honey-baked ham. Shed some light for us pedestrians.

JA

Ha ya'll wish. I get little presents like this from time to time. She really knows how to keep my spirits up while im in Iraq. They keep getting better and better as my time over here gets shorter.

I did suffer a heart attack last Jan 2/07, age 51 woke up for work and felt like I broke my collar bone in my sleep. Got up for work didn't feel great went to the bathroom and vomited looked in the mirror and told my wife I was going to the hospital. I had seen the same look on my dads face a couple of times when he had heart attacks.

My son drove me about 3 minute drive I walked in hospital in great chest pain and 2 minutes later on the operating table. Woke up about an hour later recovering from angioplast and installation of 2 stents. My arterys were 100% blocked. Stayed in the hospital 4 days.

A week later I went back to work light duty for 3 days and then back to normal.
I work as an industrial carpenter (steel and industrial installations).

I now watch my diet, exercise 2-3 days a week. I sometimes feel stange like more trouble is coming which is probably all in my head. I can't leave yet my 356 is not finished yet.

Thanks for sharing that story, Larry. That's the kind of honest description I was looking for. How do you "feel" after the angioplasty? What did the doc say was the primary cause for your 100% blockage? Can you describe the feelings that make you think further trouble is brewing?


JA

After my angio I felt a lot of small pains, Felt very vulnurable like I could die at any moment. There was always a bit of pain to remind me of the event. When I got home from the hospital I was uneasy and had to take a shot of nitro to cut the pain, that was the only time I have needed my nitro. I still carry it but now I don't think about it as much.

The bockage was plaque that ruppurded in the artery blocking it in three places. I had high cholesterol and father, mother, and grandfather all had heart attacks at age 57, I thought I had a few years to go.

In the last few weeks I have felt pain in the left and right side of my chest. I am hoping it is from sub consciously thinking my 1 year anniversery or stess from Christmas and work.

I have been exercising alot, work out at the gym and walking sometimes 20 kms on Saturdays.
I entered a half marithone and did a walk run 21 kms. Completed no problems.

One suggestion is to get your cholesterol checked!

my dad had one when he was pretty young, maybe late 30s. I'm not sure what he felt, I assume angina. He was sweating and felt cold and clammy.

He passed away almost 20 years later of something else. He got his cholesterol and BP under control and never had another heart problem.

I'd be happy with 20 years, I may change my mind if I make to 19 years though.

I have my Cholesterol under control with Lipitor and many other drugs about $ 250.00 a month. Calculate $250 x 12 months x 19 years holy crap, there goes freedom 55.

Larry

What was the look?

Looks like folks answered the first few questions adequately. After an MI, symptoms range from none (until the next cardiac event!) all the way to signs of heart failure if a significant percentage of heart tissue died. These can include shortness of breath with or without exertion, swelling of the extremities, fatigue, angina if you have persistent blockages, etc.

In short, there is no substitute for 2 things: Porsche (of course!), and getting to a hospital ASAP as someone mentioned, ideally one with a cath lab, if you even think you are having an MI...just a few rambling thoughts from 10 yrs of medical practice...YMMV

To ease one's mind consider the following: 1. Annual head to toe physical and blood work. Inflamation is an early sign of bad things to come if not treated; 2. Consider getting a cardiac calcium score and a stress test.
I eat healthy and exercise regularly and have minimal stress but after my brother had two attacks this got me to worrying just a bit. Cardiac speacialist said I'm in better health than most 21 years olds. So I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

My Dad had a massive heart attack when he was 45 in 1970 -before clot busting drugs, before bypass surgery, etc. He was a heavy smoker and ate like we used to with lard, etc. He died in 1990 after 20 years of small heart attacks and mild strokes. Mom had a mild stroke maybe 10 years ago..she was also a life long smoker until recently. I was diagnosed with Wolfe-Parkinsons-White Syndrome (tachycardia) when I was 19 years old and lived with episodes all my life. So, I grew up pretty much KNOWING I was likely to have cardiac issues....and probably die of it!

3 years ago as I approached age 50 I wanted to know were I stood. I gulped REAL hard and paid out of pocket to go to "Heartcheck America" and have one of their scans. I pretty much knew there would be blockage I just wondered if it would be manageable, or if an angioblasty or (mutliple) bypasses would be necessary?

It turned out I had ZERO percent blockage! My doctor says for my age, ethnicity, family history, my admitted less-than-ideal weight (5'-10", 200 lbs) I have won the cardiac lottery. This only underscores (to me) that you can't know for certain what your health will be EVEN with family history taken into consideration. I have never smoked, I am a "picky eater" so I don't do sauces, gravies, condiments, etc. Ironically, that immaturity is probably in my favor health-wise.

If you have NO family history AND do all the rights things...my story tells you to reconsider. Don't be too certain you won't have cardiac problems any more than I was so sure I would!

Just turned 44. went in for a physical ab out a month ago, not having any problems but just going through a nasty divorce wanted to know what was going on inside. Did treadmill echo cardiagram. As soon as I finished the tech wanted me to talk to the doc, hmmm doesn;t sound too good. Sure enough he saw what looked like a blockage on the bottom portion of the heart. Going Monday morning to have a nuclear test. Am I nervous? Hell yeah. Cholesteral was 96, blood pressure just a bit elevated, work out 3 to 4 times a week, none of my levels were out of wack. Cardioligist seems to think the first test was wrong and did an EKG in his office and he said it looked fine, man I hope he's right.

cool-chick, the look I saw in the mirror was a dead guy looking back. My face was grey and life less.

Larry

Wow.

Thanks. And thanks for the advice, and to everyone else as well. And to the OP for posing this question. I knew some, but not all, and it's been very informative to me.

Dan...great story. Tell us a little about your experience with "Heartcheck America". What is their process, what kinds of tests, what was the cost, how confident are you in their methods/findings, etc...


JA

Actually the ability to predict cardiac events by Calcium score is no better than going to a specialist and having a history taken (do a search on Pubmed) and a few labs.

Most heart attacks happen from blockages which are less (that's right- less) than 50% of the diameter of the vessel. No extracorporeal technology (ie no non-invasive test) has the ability to image the vessel well enough to look at plaque burden. Calcium score is a surrogate for plaque burden. The blockages most likely to rupture and cause heart attacks are typically the ones with the least calcium....

Here's my near miss story:

Turned 40, took my first cardio stress test. As I was pooping out, the tech kept asking, "do you feel okay?" I said I was really tired, but fine. Later the doc said there was an "irregularity" in my ekg, suggested I see a cardiologist soon. "How soon?" This week he says. "Should I be worried/do anything differently?" Oh, just don't get your heart rate up too fast.

That was one long week. I had psychosomatic chest pains, shortness of breath - I was convinced I was about to have a coronary incident any minute.

Had a cardiolyte study done. But before the results came back, the cardiologist looked at my ekg and said that he thought nothing was wrong. Apparently, I have an inverted T wave under stress. But at rest, it returns to normal. No big deal apparently.

But like I said, that was a long week.

Another time I'll tell you about the negative leukemia scare. Getting older sure is fun sometimes.

I concur. There is no reliable noninvasive technology that is readily available to conclusively diagnose risk of MI. And there are certain uncommon syndromes that can cause MIs or strokes even if you have great artery patency.

The smartest thing to do is work on improving modifiable risk factors (smoking, diet, exercise, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose) and get regular exams, especially if you have a strong family history of heart disease. Take a baby aspirin (81 mg) once a day with food unless you have a reason you cannot (known allergy, bad asthma, stomach ulcers for a few). Your doctor can tell you more.

I had what felt like indigestion after dinner monday night.Went for the malox and the bottle was empty, drank some milk and still no relief.I then asked my wife to drive me the 2 miles to the hospital.I walked in the door was taken to the exam room and out I went.I got jump started and they did a angio put in a stent on the 100% blockage and in a week they will decide what to do about the other two blockages.
Do not wait if you think you are having an attack ...the doc said had I coded at home I would not be here.
At only 55 it is now time to rethink a lot of things.

Wow! That was sooooo lucky "jwhcars", you had your attack right in the hospital. How fortunate are you!

Thanks for sharing too Dan, great story!

Glad you guys are all A-OK; thanks for sharing.

The odds were about 50/50.....;)(true actually). Glad you're here. Bet it was a blockage in the right coronary....Just get through the next procedure and get your risk factors managed ASAP.

Today was my turn....or so I thought. Things have been pretty stressful at work, trying to keep this project on track despite the odds. Perhaps, I have been making more of it than necessary as I want to use it as a vehicle to get out of my organization...further I was expecting a call from another agency about a position...and trying to get two days worth of work done in one day before a 3 day trip to NM after returning from a 3 day trip to AZ...stress city.... :)

So I'm on the phone with the Deputy of the Division explaining something that'd gone wrong and my left arm starts tingling. I start thinking "heart attack" (start feeling nauseous) and told him I'm not feeling well, I have to go. I'm at remote site instead of my usual office...Went up and down the hall looking for aspirin. Nobody had any. The lady a couple of doors down told me to sit down and put my feet up, she got me a glass of water. We decide the call the Ambulance to take me to the hospital. At this point I start freaking out a bit. (well, really before) hands all sweaty...short of breath.... security shows up, then the ambulance...

At the hospital, I felt all "*****ty" like I had just given blood, just weak...Turns out that they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Blood pressure was high, but after being there a while (my wife showed up) it went back down. Wonder what it was?

I think I just scared the ***** out of myself.

ER doctor was Dr. Fuchs. Really. :)

Man, glad you're ok. I got food poisoning day before yesterday and would have contemplated suicide if I weren't happily married. Yesterday I had the hiccups for a good 10 hrs. and today my chest and collar bones are sore from so much vomitting and hiccups. I always wondered what chest pains felt like and now I'm sure I never want them.