OT: Heart attack

[Amaroq]

I'm sorry I haven't been on much recently.

The short form of the story is that I suffered a minor heart attack last week. I'm okay - I've no lasting damage, I'm in good spirits, and I have been discharged from the hospital to convalesce at home. It'll be a few weeks before I'm back to 100%, but the long-term prognosis is very favorable.
.
.
The long form of the story is that I began experiencing minor chest pain last Saturday, and had several episodes of it over the next few days. I'm 32, so a heart attack was somewhat unexpected, but the severity of it Thursday morning was unignorable, and I went to the emergency room.

I got there about four hours before the heart attack started, which meant that the doctors were able to perform an angioplasty before any significant damage occurred to the heart itself.

When they did the angiogram, they found that I had a 99% blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the major artery down the front left side of the heart.

For an angioplasty, they inserted a catheter in the femoral artery at my thigh, and ran it up to the heart, where they inflated a balloon to crush some of the blockage, and expand the artery enough to let full blood flow through. They then inserted a stent, which is a metal latticework cylinder, to keep the artery at this new, wider dimension.

Then they were done and out - though there was some excitement about hemorrhaging in the thigh, something about the wisdom of giving a fellow blood-thinning drugs which essentially turn him into a hemophiliac, then punching a hole in the femoral artery [:D] - and I was taken to the ICU for further observation.

The kicker of it is, I was awake and not on pain medication throughout the entire thing. Its a scary thing to know that this would likely have been fatal fifty years ago, and certainly seventy years ago, and now is something that you can watch live on TV.

They kept me under strict observation for two nights, and then let me go home: apparently, there was minimal damage to the heart muscle, and no complications elsewhere (though the bruise on my thigh still has me limping).

Anyways, its been home and bed rest since, but again the long-term prognosis is very good.
.
.
Its fun to see the board so vibrant and active - welcome aboard, you guys! Hopefully I'll get back up to contributing, but this note took me two days over three typing sessions [;)] so I'm not expecting too much.

[akw4572]

Wow, glad to hear it was caught in time, and you are recovering!  Hope it continues to go well.

[ganguy]

Glad you're feeling better, and glad you caught it in time. My daughter is a nurse at the heart hospital, so she is always staying on top of me about how I feel. I'm an old pro at this, I have had 4 of these procedures, and have 4 stents. During my last procedure, I asked my doctor if I was geting close to the world record for stents. He laughed and said, "You are not even close!"

Hang in there, rest, and play some PS!

Ron

[jzicc]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[SirWolf1960]

You are headed to my prayer list, my friend. Looking forward to seeing you here more as you regain your strength.
 
Steve

[PadresFan104]

Wow man, that's quite an unusual event for a 32 year old. I hope it's the first and last time you ever have a problem like that. Very happy to hear that you are recovering and that you caught it early.

[puresimmer]

Wow, thank god they caught it in time.

Take it easy man, and have I hope you have a speedy recovery. Praise modern medicine!

You are a wonderful asset to the community and I look forward to seeing you back on the boards.

[Cantankerous]

Get well soon!

[Edward]

amaroq, did the drs tell you the reason for the blockage?
happy to hear you are doing well.

[markprior22]

Glad to hear the prognosis is good.  Hang in there...

[KG Erwin]

I wish you well, Amaroq, and look forward to your informative posts when you return to the boards.

[Nth Power]

Wow, glad to hear your OK.
 
I hope you have a quick recovery!

[Claymore Cut]

Glad you are doing well, and Feel better!

[matt0177]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Amaroq!

[dneely]

Amarog:

Wow that is a wake-up call for many of us. Don't get a nurse that is too hot and get all the rest you need! I wish you the very best and hope you have a speedy recovery.

We have missed you around here!!!!

DNeely

[Nukester]

ORIGINAL: Amaroq

Anyways, its been home and bed rest since

At least you got a few days off from work !

Get well

[XCom]

Wow, quite a story!  Glad to hear things worked out.  Get well soon and back on the field, Amaroq!

[Beach23BoyP]

Glad you're OK!

[rmayer32]

Crazy at your age.. Wow!

Thank god you're okay and I hope you get back to 100% soon..

[akcranker]

Glad to hear you caught it early and no major damage.  Enjoy the rest and get well soon.  Hope to see you back on the forums and active soon.