I almost bit the big one Friday. OT

Friday I had a heart attack. I'm 41 so I'm younger than most heart attack victim's. I was out cleaning the drive way out with my tractor. I first got my car stuck then got the kubota stuck. I was trying to get the tractor out when I noticed that my chest was kinda hurting. I didn't worry to much about it, I have acid reflects, so it was fairly common to have some chest pain. At first the chest pain felt like gas and my stomach was upset, next i realized that my throat was getting sore. By this time my chest was really hurting, I started to get the hot and cold sweats. At this point I realize something is really wrong here so I called 911, and an ambulance was on its way. The chest pain by this time was so intense my neck shoulders and ears also started to hurt, I have never been it that much pain before.


I know this really isn't about hot rods or tech but I almost died and if this could help any one here that would be great. My dad had two heart attacks and I didn't know the symptoms. There are more symptoms and everyone is different, but for God sake if you ever think your having a heart attack get you ass down to the hospital ASAP. I almost didn't make it!!!!!

 

you can never be to young for these kind of things to happen. my wife is 27 and on oct 19 of this year she had a stroke and over the week of thanksgivung she had a second one

 

Glad to hear everything worked out.

I started having bad leg pains back in September. I ignored them for several weeks until I couldn't anymore. When I went to the doctor I ended up in the hospital for several weeks with pulmonary embolisms and severe blood clots in my femoral artery. I've been out of work since, no return in sight because the clotting in my leg may or may not have become a permanent part of the artery. Too bad I didn't get it checked out sooner.

So I definitely have to second your statement, if you don't feel right, GO TO THE DOCTOR! You and I both got lucky, someone else might not.

 

WOW Glad you are ok and new what was happening. Im a heart attic waiting to happen.. Duecevw

 

glad you ok

 

Mulefarmer, glad to hear your all right. That's something thats always in the back of my mind as my father had a couple heart attacks when he was in his forties and had a bout with paracardiasis. later shawn

 

Wow! Glad you made it.
I just read somewhere that if you think you are having a heart attack, make yourself "cough" and keep coughing as it make the heart pump.

 

Glad you made it !!!!!
Folks listen to this guy.....if you have ANY sharp chest pain call 911, take an aspirin and get your butt to the hospital fast !!!!!! Better to be wrong than dead !!!!

 

The heart can't feel pain, so your brain "assigns" the pain whever it wants to. That's why cardiac problems are so confusing. The enzyme tests that tell the tale on muscle damage are highly accurate, so get to a good hospital asap. Fortunately, the meds and monitoring methods are well developed, so you'll do well.

 

if you think its gas its not,,dont fool around go too the hospital...i was 39 for my first..thought it was acid too,, they have been in my heart 6 times,,had a mini stroke,,,,,,if you dont have money dont let that stop you!!!! they have too help you..dont take a chance, its better to be safe then sorry ,,you dont come back from dead

 

Thanks for sharing - glad you are OK!!!

 

Glad to hear you're okay, been there. Had mine on vacation in Indy (Brickyard 400) and had to have by-pass surgery at Methodist Hospital. I thought I had gas and was drinking Coke to try to burp it up--then Mylanta, then the arm pain started---bummer.

 

Glad to hear your OK! Damn! I'm 41 too. Haven't been to the doc in 12 years. Maybe I better go for a check-up.

Poured a 36' x 24' slab and footer last summer by myself for my extra garage and had similar symptoms. Hopefully, I didn't do any damage.

I have a family that needs me too.

Thanks for the 'heads-up'.

 

Heart attack are somewhat different but both could be fatal
Hopefully this will help someone,someday, somewhere

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the
lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage
when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors
say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:



*Ask the individual to SMILE.



*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.



*Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.



If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and
describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.



After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify
facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the
general public to learn the three questions. They presented their
conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last
February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and
treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.



A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people,
you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

 

Wow...I get those same symptoms all the time, and I thought I was just getting old!

Glad you're back up and around...hope you stay above the terra firma for many long years to come!

 

good to hear you're on your way to recovery brett. enjoy the holidays.

 

i suffered a heart attack when i was 26 so you cant be to young for one.i was having breakfast with a couple of friends at the hot cake house when it happened.at first i was kinda joking about how many people got/had heart attacks at/from the hot cake house but a couple minutes into it i was calling an ambulance.

 

Hopefully the doc gave you something to prevent future complications -- blood thinner? cholesterol lowering drugs? glycerin? Glad you are OK!

 

Glad to hear you're OK. I had a heart attack 2 months ago. I had just been drag racing the weekend before and had been eatin' Rolaids all day. My buddy asked me what was wrong and I told him I thought it was heartburn. After the heart attack the cardiologist asked me if I had any prior symptoms, so I told him about the incident at the track. He said that the muscles around the heart and the esophegeal muscles are all the same type of muscle and they're all in the same vicinity of each other and he said that sometimes the symptoms will mimic something else. Kinda like having a tooth ache and you'd swear it was the one next to the one that really is causing the pain. Anyhow, if you even THINK it could be your heart, get it checked out, guys. I was life-flighted to Savannah (90 miles away) and the doc told me that chances are that if I would've gotten there any later, I may very well have died. He said that about the time they got me into the Cath-lab, my heart completely stopped and they had to revive me. Really gives you a new perspective on life. Thinking back, it sure was a good thing I didn't have the heart attack at the track... this new car was running 6.90's @ 190 mph!!!

 

Glad you're okay now and thanks for the reality check. Staying alive is always on topic in my opinion. Take care of that ticker.

 

Thanks for the advice. Glad your OK.

 

Glad your Ok I think a heads up like this is very much ON TOPIC !
Another tip by doctors is if you even remotely think your having a heart attack take ASPIRIN right away,ASPIRIN, not Bufferin, tylonol,etc IT MUST BE ASPIRIN this tiny little pill greatly increases you chances of survival.usually a patient that presents with a heart attack has already had a couple they passed off as "gas" or some other minor issue.My doctors have me on the ASPIRIN a DAY regiment and I'm monitored closely due to a long history of heart disease in the family.

 

Glad you are OK, I had one at 37 years old. Turned out to be a combo of "Sleep Apnea","Stress" and "High Cholesterol". Dad had 3 triple bypasses in less than 3 yrs. in his early 40 s. Take care everybody,we can't be restored quite like "old iron".

 

In February of 2007 I was eating breakfast with Jeff Holt and was having trouble swallowing all the sudden. I went all day and finally after a nap I was starting to slur my speech and so I called my dad. He told me to eat a couple aspirin (as in chew them and do my best to swallow) and get my ass to the emergency room. Turns out I was having a brain stem stroke. I went from the hospital, to rehab where I had to re-learn how to walk, talk and swallow again. I take 5 pills a day to keep my blood pressure in check and am all good... for now.

Oh, yeah. I just turned 40 in August...

 

glad your ok, that can be real scary. i went in for a physical, they said everything was ok (other then the murmur i could here for the past year). i'm a fat ass and the most movement i get is working on the cars. i did notice about 5 years ago i was getting more tired and outta breath easier (and has progressed since then), i thought i was just getting older (i'm 39 now). no major chest pain just a twinge here and there, but the lack of energy and shortness of breath is pissing me off. now that i read this i'm going to make an appointment with a cardiologist to have him check out the murmur among other things.

being fat and old sucks.

 

Not quite 2 weeks ago was the 2nd anniversary of my open heart surgery......at 35. During my illness (which was roughly 6 months) I had kidney failure, a collapsed lung and 2 small strokes. Do not fuck with health. Docs these days are absolutely amazing. I owe my life to them. That said, they can't fix everything.

Glad you are still north of dirt. It's a good place to be. Hope everyone appreciates it before they keel over. I know I do.

C

 

Over 200,000 people die each year from Pulmonary Embolisms. I was also almost one of them. I'm 41, rarely sick, never had any health issues before. Two and a half years ago, and after a month thinking I had a cramp in my leg I ended up in the ER 15 minutes away from "walking toward the light". Pay attention people. We need all the good HAMBers we can get.

 

Thanks all.

I am so glad to be home. I thought that I might never see home again, or my 2 spoiled dobermans. When I was riding in the ambulance, I just kept telling myself, that I just needed to make it to the hospital. They were all so great from, ambulance drivers, too the nurses, doctors and all the people that helped me in the ER. They saved my life, and not only that, they always had time to pat me on the arm or give me a wink or a smile.

 

That's something else I noticed...ALL of the health-care professionals were just that, PROFESSIONAL!!!

Another thing to note, just because you passed a physical a few weeks prior doesn't exempt you either. I had just passed an NHRA mandated physical to upgrade my license less than 3 weeks prior to the heart attack.

1oldtimer, don't wait to get checked out, I had been noticing the same exact symptoms (although no murmur) and was "too busy" to get it checked. After all was said and done, I'd had one artery that had 100% blockage and two others that were 70%. I'm 5'11" tall, 180 lbs., don't smoke or drink, so I thought I'd be the last guy to have a heart attack! WRONG!!!

 

Great to here that you are ok. I had mine in 2003 at 53. Doc has me on three different meds and told me to lose weight. I quit smoking 30 years ago and it was easy compared to losing weight. I just can't seem to keep the fork out of my mouth!