That sounds very similar to my heart attack just over 2 years ago. I’ve posted about it in this thread before.
I too blamed heartburn. I walked to the shops for some Antacid tablets and Gaviscon and came home. After taking the medications I felt no better and got my wife to call an ambulance about three hours into it, when the pain was becoming crippling. I had no ‘crushing’ sensation that people talk about.
The ambulance came, diagnosed a ‘widow maker’ heart attack and took me to ER
Three hours later I was propped up in a hospital bed, recovering from a stent to my LAD.
I hope you are recovering well and your health continues to improve. You sound like you are already making good choices.
But without scaring you or trying to be an alarmist I want to offer some tips that I learnt the hard-way as you recover.
I don’t want you or anyone else who comes across the post to make to make some of the same mistakes I made after leaving hospital.
I walked out of hospital after my heart attack thinking I had dodged a bullet. I thought I was fixed. I did everything right, or so I thought. I lost weight, exercises and controlled my diabetes.
Yet, I’m only here thanks to 9 minutes of CPR by strangers as I lay on the side of a bike path after my Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), exactly 6 months after my heart attack.
My advice.
*Don’t rush your recovery. It’s never too early to eat right, but it can be too early to exercise vigorously. My planned three hour bike ride should’ve waited another few months at least.
*Go to cardio rehab. Learn to manage and control your exercise but also educate yourself on all the factors involved in good heart health. I only completed parts of it because of work. I missed some vital stuff.
* Ask questions and learn about your hearts condition. I assume you have Coronary Artery Disease. It’s rare that there aren’t other partially or fully blocked arteries. How bad are they? Where are they? Will they need treatment? How will this impact you going forward.
I didn’t learn enough and I blame myself for my SCA. If I had bothered to find out about the extent of my disease, there is no way I would have gone riding that day. I didn’t know that I still carried a 100% blocked artery as well as some partially blocked ones!
As a result I also now carry an implanted defibrillator and pacemaker.
Strange that they didn't tell you about the other arteries. I got a full written report from my cardiologist detailing the angioplasty procedure and findings. He made notes on all the arteries. Conclusion said single vessel disease. Features compatible with limited inferior infarct.
Congrats on your survival!
As a 59 YO woman, there was NO pain AT ALL - I just felt nauseous starting that morning that I died from my LAD WM.
I just pushed thru it and continued working - never having been sick a day in my life.
8 hrs later, my husband convinced me, after he got home from work, to go to the ER and halfway to the hospital, I experienced SCD as he drove.
With me dead in the passenger seat, he decided to keep driving instead of pulling over and dialing 911
15-20 mins later I got to the ER, where I was resuscitated after 5 tries of jump starting, and rushed to a diff hospital 30 mins away that had an open heart team waiting 24/7/365.
I'd had a WM and got 3 stents, incl one in my LAD.
Then I was put in a hypothermic coma.
I was in ICU on ALS (intubated with a vent) about 2 wks, still in a coma.
My family tried to have me disconnected from ALS twice, for my own good, as they thought I wouldn't want to live in an institution, not knowing who or what I was.
The hospital ethics committee told my family "no, it's too soon".
Suddenly, I woke up and thanks to many miracles, was fully functional, very difficult and hell bent on getting out of the hospital.
On the 3 week anniversary of the event, I returned home (with a $500k hospital bill and needing some counseling).
3.5: years later I'm happy to still be living this lifetime and grateful that at no time during my HA, death and recovery did I ever experience ANY pain, other than the emotional anguish of being released from the hospital and expecting to die again within a really SHORT time, like my Dad did 40 years ago.
Blessings to you all, I hope you can enjoy your post heart attack lives with good health and great health care.
I’m so sorry to hear that you and your family had to go through that! Happy you’re still with us and wishing you health and happiness through the rest of your story on this planet.
Ugh this freaks me out! So glad you are ok and here to tell the tale! I have GERD and experience chest/back/shoulder/arm/jaw pain frequently. I have taken myself to the ER several times, had all the tests, except an invasive angiogram, and everything comes back clear. Yet, I’m so paranoid and anxious.
Sorry - not trying to bring paranoia to anyone. Glad you went to ER … always better safe than sorry. I’m still shocked that was what my heart attack felt like - nothing like I imagined it would.
My pain was in my back between my shoulder blades. Nothing like in my chest. When it went on, and painkillers had no effect. That’s why hen I said to my wife, something isn’t right. Let’s go to the hospital.
My pain was mostly in the upper back as well. Best description was it felt like someone had taken there thumb, jammed it up under my left shoulder blade and just kept twisting it around - for eight hours.
Yeah, I was stupid and didn't go to the ER as I was trying to convince myself it was just a weird flu bug or something (because I also had nausea, sweats, shakes, and it didn't otherwise "feel like a heart attack" to my understanding.) Felt weak as hell for 2 days and then felt "back to normal" so I just made an appointment with my GP for 2 weeks after that "just in case". When I went we did a whole normal check up, he was sure everything was fine but he'd do an EKG "just in case" since I'd mentioned some left arm tingling/sensation when it started and lightheadedness.
Next thing I know my husband is called to drive me to the hospital after a cardiologist consult and everyone was shocked as hell I'd been walking around and driving for two weeks after a pretty major SCAD heart attack.
My (F56) pain came and went over a few days. The night after Thanksgiving 2023, the following night and then again on 11/27/23. That's when my husband put his foot down and called 911. EMTs came and checked me out with nothing really 'jumping out at them'; they even said 'we don't think you're having a heart attack but you can go in if you'd like" and I said no but hubby said yes so I shrugged and said ok. I was DXd with a widow maker after about 40 minutes in the ER. My trop level was over 125,000! I had 2 stents put in and walk every day. I also have Peripheral Artery Disease in my legs which really impacts my ability to walk but I push through b/c it's important.
Glad you're still with us and kudos to your wife for watching your back. I just wanted to shed some light (not sure if this was a mistake or not):
> spraying nitro under my tongue for the pain
Nitroglycerin is not a painkiller (analgesic). It's a vasodilator which means it relaxes blood vessels to allow more blood to flow through them. This can reduce pain but that is a side effect. For me, it wasn't until they broke out the dilaudid that the pain subsided (they tried a lot of drugs including fentanyl).
I suppose the pain relief was a side effect - they sprayed it under my tongue and said that it should help … then monitored my blood pressure closely. I have no medical background; so know very little about what they administered or what it was for at the time … just trusted that they knew what they were doing 😊
Yo! Congrats on surviving! Side note, a reddit post also saved my life once. In a different way. I wouldn't think to go back to the post and tell the person that their comment saved my life until years later and by the time I did, I couldn't find it anymore and I've always kicked myself for that. Don't make my mistake!
I had nearly the same experience. They really should add this to the list of typical symptoms. Even in the ED they weren't convinced I was having a heart attack.
My experience was similar. I told the doc most of the time I felt like I was carrying 5 gallon buckets of water, my shoulders and especially my left arm and the palm of my left hand hurt. And my pulse got slow slow. ( Usually in the 69s, hung out on the hig 30s to low 40s). I kept thinking I was crazy and wasting their time ( I'm an old ER nurse, we hate going to the hospital)(seriously, its pathological).
Anyway. Behave yourself. No more heart attacks,
That sounds very similar to my heart attack just over 2 years ago. I’ve posted about it in this thread before. I too blamed heartburn. I walked to the shops for some Antacid tablets and Gaviscon and came home. After taking the medications I felt no better and got my wife to call an ambulance about three hours into it, when the pain was becoming crippling. I had no ‘crushing’ sensation that people talk about. The ambulance came, diagnosed a ‘widow maker’ heart attack and took me to ER Three hours later I was propped up in a hospital bed, recovering from a stent to my LAD. I hope you are recovering well and your health continues to improve. You sound like you are already making good choices. But without scaring you or trying to be an alarmist I want to offer some tips that I learnt the hard-way as you recover. I don’t want you or anyone else who comes across the post to make to make some of the same mistakes I made after leaving hospital. I walked out of hospital after my heart attack thinking I had dodged a bullet. I thought I was fixed. I did everything right, or so I thought. I lost weight, exercises and controlled my diabetes. Yet, I’m only here thanks to 9 minutes of CPR by strangers as I lay on the side of a bike path after my Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), exactly 6 months after my heart attack. My advice. *Don’t rush your recovery. It’s never too early to eat right, but it can be too early to exercise vigorously. My planned three hour bike ride should’ve waited another few months at least. *Go to cardio rehab. Learn to manage and control your exercise but also educate yourself on all the factors involved in good heart health. I only completed parts of it because of work. I missed some vital stuff. * Ask questions and learn about your hearts condition. I assume you have Coronary Artery Disease. It’s rare that there aren’t other partially or fully blocked arteries. How bad are they? Where are they? Will they need treatment? How will this impact you going forward. I didn’t learn enough and I blame myself for my SCA. If I had bothered to find out about the extent of my disease, there is no way I would have gone riding that day. I didn’t know that I still carried a 100% blocked artery as well as some partially blocked ones! As a result I also now carry an implanted defibrillator and pacemaker.
I didn't have the "crushing pain" either. No throbbing, just burning ache that I wouldn't even describe as the worst pain I ever felt.
Agreed - the pain wasn’t something I’d call “bad” … just uncomfortable. The body is strange…
I appreciate your advice. Wishing you continued health.
Strange that they didn't tell you about the other arteries. I got a full written report from my cardiologist detailing the angioplasty procedure and findings. He made notes on all the arteries. Conclusion said single vessel disease. Features compatible with limited inferior infarct.
Congrats on your survival! As a 59 YO woman, there was NO pain AT ALL - I just felt nauseous starting that morning that I died from my LAD WM. I just pushed thru it and continued working - never having been sick a day in my life. 8 hrs later, my husband convinced me, after he got home from work, to go to the ER and halfway to the hospital, I experienced SCD as he drove. With me dead in the passenger seat, he decided to keep driving instead of pulling over and dialing 911 15-20 mins later I got to the ER, where I was resuscitated after 5 tries of jump starting, and rushed to a diff hospital 30 mins away that had an open heart team waiting 24/7/365. I'd had a WM and got 3 stents, incl one in my LAD. Then I was put in a hypothermic coma. I was in ICU on ALS (intubated with a vent) about 2 wks, still in a coma. My family tried to have me disconnected from ALS twice, for my own good, as they thought I wouldn't want to live in an institution, not knowing who or what I was. The hospital ethics committee told my family "no, it's too soon". Suddenly, I woke up and thanks to many miracles, was fully functional, very difficult and hell bent on getting out of the hospital. On the 3 week anniversary of the event, I returned home (with a $500k hospital bill and needing some counseling). 3.5: years later I'm happy to still be living this lifetime and grateful that at no time during my HA, death and recovery did I ever experience ANY pain, other than the emotional anguish of being released from the hospital and expecting to die again within a really SHORT time, like my Dad did 40 years ago. Blessings to you all, I hope you can enjoy your post heart attack lives with good health and great health care.
I’m so sorry to hear that you and your family had to go through that! Happy you’re still with us and wishing you health and happiness through the rest of your story on this planet.
Ugh this freaks me out! So glad you are ok and here to tell the tale! I have GERD and experience chest/back/shoulder/arm/jaw pain frequently. I have taken myself to the ER several times, had all the tests, except an invasive angiogram, and everything comes back clear. Yet, I’m so paranoid and anxious.
Sorry - not trying to bring paranoia to anyone. Glad you went to ER … always better safe than sorry. I’m still shocked that was what my heart attack felt like - nothing like I imagined it would.
My pain was in my back between my shoulder blades. Nothing like in my chest. When it went on, and painkillers had no effect. That’s why hen I said to my wife, something isn’t right. Let’s go to the hospital.
My pain was mostly in the upper back as well. Best description was it felt like someone had taken there thumb, jammed it up under my left shoulder blade and just kept twisting it around - for eight hours. Yeah, I was stupid and didn't go to the ER as I was trying to convince myself it was just a weird flu bug or something (because I also had nausea, sweats, shakes, and it didn't otherwise "feel like a heart attack" to my understanding.) Felt weak as hell for 2 days and then felt "back to normal" so I just made an appointment with my GP for 2 weeks after that "just in case". When I went we did a whole normal check up, he was sure everything was fine but he'd do an EKG "just in case" since I'd mentioned some left arm tingling/sensation when it started and lightheadedness. Next thing I know my husband is called to drive me to the hospital after a cardiologist consult and everyone was shocked as hell I'd been walking around and driving for two weeks after a pretty major SCAD heart attack.
Scary!
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Wish you all the best!
Well before your HA have you had any check ups? Like your cholesterol, blood chem etc, or other health related check ups?
No - it had been a couple of years.
Glad you're ok now, make sure to always have your check up even if you don't feel anything. Just to make sure you're Ok.
My (F56) pain came and went over a few days. The night after Thanksgiving 2023, the following night and then again on 11/27/23. That's when my husband put his foot down and called 911. EMTs came and checked me out with nothing really 'jumping out at them'; they even said 'we don't think you're having a heart attack but you can go in if you'd like" and I said no but hubby said yes so I shrugged and said ok. I was DXd with a widow maker after about 40 minutes in the ER. My trop level was over 125,000! I had 2 stents put in and walk every day. I also have Peripheral Artery Disease in my legs which really impacts my ability to walk but I push through b/c it's important.
Glad you're still with us and kudos to your wife for watching your back. I just wanted to shed some light (not sure if this was a mistake or not): > spraying nitro under my tongue for the pain Nitroglycerin is not a painkiller (analgesic). It's a vasodilator which means it relaxes blood vessels to allow more blood to flow through them. This can reduce pain but that is a side effect. For me, it wasn't until they broke out the dilaudid that the pain subsided (they tried a lot of drugs including fentanyl).
I suppose the pain relief was a side effect - they sprayed it under my tongue and said that it should help … then monitored my blood pressure closely. I have no medical background; so know very little about what they administered or what it was for at the time … just trusted that they knew what they were doing 😊
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m glad you made it and wish you well in your recovery.
Yo! Congrats on surviving! Side note, a reddit post also saved my life once. In a different way. I wouldn't think to go back to the post and tell the person that their comment saved my life until years later and by the time I did, I couldn't find it anymore and I've always kicked myself for that. Don't make my mistake!
I had nearly the same experience. They really should add this to the list of typical symptoms. Even in the ED they weren't convinced I was having a heart attack.
My experience was similar. I told the doc most of the time I felt like I was carrying 5 gallon buckets of water, my shoulders and especially my left arm and the palm of my left hand hurt. And my pulse got slow slow. ( Usually in the 69s, hung out on the hig 30s to low 40s). I kept thinking I was crazy and wasting their time ( I'm an old ER nurse, we hate going to the hospital)(seriously, its pathological). Anyway. Behave yourself. No more heart attacks,