Update: I was given some meds to speed the recovery and mitigate the effects of a likely mild MI before the cath on Monday. I guess they’ve kicked in, because i feel superb. Better than I’ve felt in weeks. Alert, calm, and just fantastic all around. I can’t help but feel sorrow for the millions of people who do not have the health insurance I enjoy. The year 2014, when Obamacare kicks in, can’t come soon enough for this nation.
So, it turns out I probably had a mild heart attack a few weeks ago. At the time it was stomach pain, like in the upper GI or gall bladder region, and not much else. Nothing like what you read about. At first the cardiologist thought I was ok but he ordered a few tests just to make sure, turns out my ejection fraction slightly off, inverted T wave on part of the EKG, persistent high blood pressure, etc. He suspects a near full block at or near the very tip of the heart, the part that points down. We’re fixing to find out for sure: I’ll be cathed next Monday and there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll angioblast a blockage and/or put in a stint at that time. I am going to try and tweet/blog through some of it just for kicks.
Yikes! Hope everything works out okay, and with minimal repercussions from your employer.
Oh, hey, have fun with that. I hope your other health issues don’t make this more complicated and annoying than it has to be. Best wishes.
Men are more likely to have classic heart attack symptoms, but that means they don’t always have them.
I’m glad you have a diagnosis and I am glad they are going to take care of it for you. Pay attention to the docs, and then Workout Girl can help with your rehab. I’ll be thinking about you.
Yeah, yikes says it pretty well. Take care of yourself and do what the doctors tell you to do.
Full block: arterial or nervous? =:o
I have experience with heart catheterization of the electrical kind: a signal injector, a signal tracer, and a short blaster. (I expect that any EEs reading this are cringing.)
Take it easy; let the Versed do its work. If you have an iPod or similar, bring it. They may even let you have it in the cath lab. After the procedure you’ll be in bed for hours with a weight on your groin. Give yourself a week or two to recover, depending on your general state of health. (And take free Internet health advice for what it cost you.)
Good luck and good health to you!
Wish you all the best! Just started reading your blog and thoroughly enjoy it! My husband had a stent put in back in 1999. Made him feel so much better getting good flow after years of not having it. Didn’t realize how bad he had felt until he started feeling good again – LOL. Glad you caught it before it caught you.
As someone who sees a cardiologist on a regular basis, you have my sympathy.
Hang in there, good sign that you feel well, from everything you said, your outlook is good. I don’t speak from medical prespective, just survived 2 silent MI’s and 4 not so silent ones. Cathed in 2004, stent inserted at same time. Still kickin’ with the chickens !!!! Cherish all the time you have, lookin foward to many more years of you giving us christians HELL !!! Good luck and best wishes.
Best wishes through your visits and procedures. Glad the outlook is good, and take good care of yourself. You are special to a lot of us!
Don’t count on tweeting/blogging through a cath once you get to the lab. But don’t worry the drugs are great! If you are aware of much you won’t give a rip!
AAAAGGGGHHHH! Get well soonest!
Don’t count on it. I was eagerly anticipating watching and questioning during my cath 8 years ago. Since they said I would be semi-sedated, but would be able to see what is going on and maybe ask questions. The told me they were starting the anesthesia and the next thing I knew was that I wondered why I had a large snowball pressing on my crotch. I always thought that I had been given a little extra to make sure that I shut up.
I’m glad you’re feeling better, and the problem is being identified. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Well as far as bad news goes,you have a fair amount of good mixed in. You will not be tweeting through it unless your anesthiologist is slacking on the good stuff. Good luck, and may all of your nurses be kind.
I’m very sorry to hear of your illness, glad you are now feeling better.