Bowsite.com

My heart attack story

Not bow or hunting related but my story could definitely save your life.

Nov 10th 2010. Pulled an all day sit in a climber watching a creek bottom. About as relaxing a day as I can think of. Saw plenty of deer but not the buck I was after. Got home watched the news a few cold beers dinner & bed by 8:00 . Woke up @ 10:00 wife knew something was wrong as I never wake up said I looked pale. I had no chest pain but knew something was wrong. Had an anxious or adrenaline type feeling & bad heartburn or what I thought was heart burn. Drank a glass of milk & what probably saved my life was I chewed up some bayre aspirin. My father died from complications during bypass surgery after a heart attack at age 51. So I was always cosciencs of the possibility & always had aspirin handy. I was feeling worse & said let's drive to the hospital & my wife called 911 this definitely saved my life cause by the time the paramedics arrived I was cold sweating & going down hill fast they gave me nitro & hauled ass to the hospital. Got more nitro in the er & while being prepped for heart cath my heart stopped. The crash team came in my wife said they shot something into me and started cpr & I woke up just as they were fixing to use the paddles to shock me. The doc said 2 out of 10 survive the heart attack I had. If you smoke stop (((NOW))) if you have a lot of stress in you life make changes to get rid of it. No you can't change hereditary but ya can change other contributing factors. At the time of my heart attack I was 49 hauling seafood from va to Boston & Maine getting very little sleep doing so & smoking 3 packs of cigs in the 36 hours it took to do a round trip. That was a very stressful run but great $$$ Eat healthy.... Don't smoke..... Eliminate stress.... If for one second you think you have a problem chew up some aspirin.... Unless your minutes from the er call 911..... If this saves a life it's worth it.

So I'm guessing they put some stents in your heart?

Yes 2 stints had one 100% and another 90% blockage both on left side of heart . July 2013 had another 90% blockage opened with stint detected during a stress test. Been 8 years now no problems & have to pass a stress test every 2 years to keep my medical card for my cdl .

Todd, Im glad you are doing good. Thank God

Glad you're doing well!! You definitely look at yourself and life differently when you almost walk thru the pearly gates. I know you're not the first hunter to have heart issues....this is a good topic for all.

You were very lucky! I’ve got heart issues too and your warnings are spot on. Glad you’re doing well and thanks for bringing this up. Never know, could save a life.

Thanks for passing along.

Glad you made it through and thanks for passing along your cautionary tale and I hope it will help someone else.

I do believe you mentioned your handle "timex" was kind of derived from your heart attack experience.

"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Scary story for sure thanks for sharing this Lewis

Anymore alot of insurance companies will pay for a stress test after a certain age.It's always worth checking on

Scary stuff and if that doesn’t change your lifestyle, nothing will.

The question many want to ask though is; was it a “Herd”of hospital staff? ;)

I had one myself back around the last week of May of 2021. Strange experience, as I never had any pain, just felt “funny”. Wife carried me to the ER, and I’m now wearing two stents to keep my pacemaker company. The worst part about the whole damn thing was putting up with the hospital routine.

So glad you made it, and thanks for sharing this. Almost everyone I know who had an attack, didn't expect it. Just happened. The lucky ones get to an ER right away. The hunter I was guiding was not so lucky, and died in my arms on the mountain despite my best CPR efforts.

I thought was having one a year ago and drove myself to the ER. Had most of the symptoms you described. After a battery of tests they figured out I don't have a heart problem, but rather Pulmonary Hypertension. That's a constriction of the arteries between my heart and lungs. Heart is good, no blockage, but since this is a progressive and incurable disease I will most likely go from failure of the right side of my heart from having to work extra hard to pump blood to my lungs.

Next week they are putting a catheter in my heart to measure pressure while I ride an exercise bike, to see how far it has progressed. I now look at every day as a gift, as I'm sure you do too.

good advise timex and glad you are okay

Glad you are ok now, Timex. Now move forward!! Hope the test goes well Jaq. You're probably still in better shape than most with all your mountain and trying to keep up with your bride.

Ya Jaq....hope your test goes well.

It's cliche but I always tell folks to live life to your fullest everyday. I try to live by that.

Those heart attacks with non-specific pain or none at all are the deadliest. Classic chest pain is more of a pressure or heaviness that starts on the left side of the chest and radiates down the left arm. Usually not a pin-point pain- some say it feels like someone stepping on their chest. Your wife did the right thing! If you think something is wrong, call 911! No first responder would ever fault you for a false alarm.....................would rather be that than calling 911 too late and responding to a full arrest or dead body.

Glad you made it and sounds like you have made a lot of changes. Smoking is the #1 risk factor and easiest way to cut your risk of future events!(by QUITTING ;-) The other big ones are diet and exercise. A little bit of cardio can really help- even just treadmill or bike 2-3 days per week 20-30 min per day.

Glad to hear you were smart enough to call 911 and get help. Your family and friends I am sure are glad you are still here.

I have coronary artery disease. Today I'm eighteen days from my quadruple bypass. I did have five stents over three episodes. The fifth stent went inside a previous stent. All summer long I was aware of a problem as I rode my bicycle Monday, Wednesday and Friday for at least an hour. My goal was 1000 miles, which I reached in nine months. At first I attributed my shortness of breath to the elevations I was climbing and the high humidity. No pain, but a sensation of a presence in my left breast. By the end of September I found myself stopping, catching my breath and pressing on again. At 73 I am getting old and that also was a factor, or so I thought. My blockage was 90+% and involved all my stents having to be bypassed. My cardiologist was amazed I hadn't had a major heart attack, but the wife, an RN attributed that to collateral circulation around the blockages. My first stents were in my late 50's, so they got me this far, and the new pipes should last me into my 100's. I'm hoping to get back on my bicycle late January/early February and log at least 1500 miles next year, Lord willing.

I can't stress enough to others to exercise and watch their diet, because despite my condition likely being genetic, the exercise and diet made me survivable.

Yup I know all about it, 01/06/2021 I had heart attack, many people that I know never made it, I got a second chance on life, I’m glad you still here

Anyone who has concern, and that should be EVERYONE, as part of sound cardiac testing, insist on getting a Calcium Score Test. This is the end all, be all of heart tests. You can have a great Echo, a great EKG, even a great stress test, and drop dead 2 days later. This CT scan detects calcium deposits in your arteries. A score of ZERO means none are present, the higher you go, the higher the risk for a heart attack. This is not part of a normal examination, you must insist on it, and you may have to pay out of pocket for it, usually between $100-$150. Not that much for peace of mind and getting ahead of real killer.

I was informed in March of 21 that I had one also. I don’t know when I had the actual Heart attack. Had some issues with shortness of breath and fatigue that I was attributing to having covid in December of 20. So they did some stress testing and that’s how I found out. The Cardiologist who did my heart cath told me I was a lucky man at the age of 55 to have a 99% blockage in the widow maker and that the only thing that saved me were what they called Bridging Collaterals. I had never heard of them and they told me in layman’s terms that the blood vessels created their own bypass and that it was actually uncommon for men under the age of 75 to have them.

While discussing when I may have had the attack because I never had the classic symptoms,He told me that 90% of those who have the classic symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath and arm numbness all at the same time don’t survive. He also said though he couldn’t be sure was that a 20yr old daily baby aspirin regimen that a family Dr. put me on due to my family history of heart disease was contributing factor in me surviving. Timex and everyone else who’s survived one Glad you still around and here’s to tomorrow cause we got a second chance.

No guarantees' that Heaven will be full of 400" elk or 200" whitetail so we need to take care of ourselves while here so we can pursue these earthly critters!

Scary stuff and if that doesn’t change your lifestyle, nothing will.

The question many want to ask though is; was it a “Herd”of hospital staff? ;)

Just keep it real for everyone and in regard to my posting above about the Calcium Score Test. 4 years ago today, my best friend, aged 48 died of a massive heart attack while celebrating his wedding anniversary. He had his full physical and stress test 2 weeks prior. Sometimes you don't get a second chance. If not for yourself, do it for your family.

Register here to reply to this topic