Dodging A Bullet!

[W1RC]

Sometimes just plain intuition is a good thing.

Lst Sunday I was out putzing around with one of my cars when I felt a strange sensation in the center of my chest just under the breastbone.  It felt like heartburn, kinda - sorta.  I also felt a slight numbness in my left shoulder.  I decided that it might be a good idea to take a run over to the local hospital and check it out.

Well, you guessed it.  I was admitted right away and hooked up to all kinds of measuring equipment and given blood thinners and a bunch of other stuff. On Tuesday I had a cardiac catherization and they found a narrowing in one of my arteries caused by plaque from eating too much fat.  Fortunately this was in a "good place" and the docs were able to implant a stainless steel stent which will hold the artery open hopefully forever.  The chances are better than 10% that it will be all the intervention I will need.  Interestingly enough, all along, my cholesterol numbers have been pretty good, so "normal" cholesterol readings are no indication of plaque buildup in your arteries.  

I was lucky - very lucky this time.  I live seven miles from the finest medical facility in Northern New England (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center).  Everyone there was just great.  There was no damage to my heart and now I am back home, a bit sore from the catheter but otherwise unscathed.  The cardiologist told me that had I ignored it this time the next time could have been worse - a lot worse.

So now I have to watch my diet (which was pretty unhealthy by the way) and participate in a cardiac rehab program at the hospital.  You can be sure I will take it seriously.  I am just going to have to cut down on all the good things to eat and be more mindful of what my food contains.  It will be hard to walk by Angelina's at NEAR-Fest without stopping for a greasy Italian sausage sub or a big box of French fries, etc.  I am only hoping that the dietician will allow me such a "treat" once in a while if I am a good boy.  Man, am I going ever to miss my favorite linguica pizza too.

I am posting this to share my experience with my friends here on FONE.  Even though this symptom is not a classic heart attack indication if you ever feel ANYTHING in your chest that does not seem normal get your butt to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.  It's easy to write it off as "heartburn" or something innocuous but, trust me, it may be much more serious.  In this instance my instincts paid off big time.  

Guess you guys (and gals) will have to put up with me for a bit longer!

73,

MisterMike, W1RC

[flintstone mop]

Good thing that you are sensitive to your body, Mr Mike
Some folks would shrug off an incident like that and go on their merry way....
It's just moderation,,,that's all...

[steve_qix]

Wow, you definitely made the right choice!  I don't know if I would have made the same choice or not    That was very good thinking on your part !!!!

[SM6OID]

Thanks’ for reminding us of the importance of taking care of our body!
I wish you all the best of luck in your new second life…

[KA3ZLR]

Hi Mike,

Have you been Taking an Aspirin a day or anything..? helps thin things out.


73
Jack
KA3ZLR

[W1UJR]

Glad you made it in time Mike!
For many of us, including myself, that is a very timely post.

Over the last few years I've been very activity working on my own health, we're all starting to get to that age where these issues become a real concern.
Our western diet is horrible from a health standard, but that is what society wants to eat, so that is what business caters to.
I'm terribly guilty of eating from convenience rather than from health.

Let me share something which I am very much considering, have you read or seen the movie "Forks Over Knives"?
http://forksoverknives.com
I just sent a copy to my folks.

It's largely based on a lifestyle change from one of the very well respected docs from the Cleveland Clinic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYTf0z_zVs0

A very different kind of lifestyle choice, certainly not what most of us are used to, but may very well be the next big thing.
Western medicine, while really doing miracles, is reactive, not proactive, we need to switch to a wellness model.
I'm in the process of crafting a wellness plan for our staff at work on just this concept.

I wish you well, and hope, given the time off from the biz, see you at HossTraders.

[W3GMS]

MrMike,

First I am glad you doing fine and second thanks for sharing your experience with all of us on AMfone.  By doing so, you may have saved someone who will encounter a similar condition. 

Your very smart in doing what you did.  Its probably a small percentage of people that would chalk it up as a "fluke".  Personally, I don't believe it flukes and everything that happens to us has a cause behind it.  You investigated the cause and as the result of your keenness, will  be around to tell the story! 

Martha and I try to eat healthy, but every now and then we treat ourselves.  One thing that I am getting troubled over is when we go out to eat, the horrible choices on the menu.  Eating at home where you can prepare food properly is ultimately much healthier.  In a few years we want to do another cross county road trip and the part I am looking forward to the least is eating out for 4 or so weeks. 

Glad your doing well.  Keep us posted... 

73,
Joe, W3GMS     

[wa2fns]

Thinking that if you have low cholestrol your good to go is a trap. 4/5 yrs back I experienced similar thing while at work. The pain passed in about 20 minutes but I was close to the point of telling employers to call 911.The pain down the left arm was the tell tail sign.
       Doctor and cardiololgists visits showed nothing abnormal on tests.Sure showed up on stress test.2 arteries 50% blocked, one 90 %.The highest my cholestrol ever was was 206, 186 at the time of incident,now in 140s with medicine.
        Had stent done, it blocked again 2 yrs later, larger longer one put in.Me and Plavix for the duration.If there is a family history of heart problems ( had 2 grandfathers pass early ,from that, one at 40 ) be aware. I am sure the 45 yrs I smoked had nothing to do with this( sarcasm)  Our good health is our most valuble possession, just like Granma said !    WA2FNS

[W1QWT]

Hey Mike glad you acted on the symptom and especially glad you avoided surgery and will be with us longer.
As you know I had a similar experience three years ago but I had no symptoms! I just was lucky enough to have it noticed at my annual physical from my EKG. Well I wound up with the cathertization which was quickly followed by a quad bypass. I am glad you didn't have your chest ripped open as I have chest nerve discomfort from the surgey still today. Just the thought that they had my heart offline and me running on a machine for awhile was scary.
Anyway I can vouch for the cardiac rehab programs as very good programs. I continued working out and eating correctly after my episode and have lost 80lbs and last year I ran a 5 mile road race and finished! So work hard and don't be depressed by it. You'll be better than before.
We can swap hospital stories at Nearfest.
Regards
Q
PS
I say I had no symptoms but in hindsight I did. I was out of breath with minimul exertion. No pain at all
however. Also my cholesterol  before the bypass was around 180. Now it is 130 and my LDL is only 60

[The Slab Bacon]

Mike (and others),
                         Sometimes we need things like this to slap us in the face and tell us we are not doing something right. As everyone here knows, I had a very rude awakening a year ago on December 18th, and then again the first week in February of this year. I have died twice and been lucky enough to come back. (ornery as ever) When you have a major / life threatening health issue, dont take it lightly, it is an indication that you need a major life style change! ! !

Having both diabetes and liver cirrhosis has required a pretty massive overhaul of my diet and other activities. It has not been easy, but myself and my doctor are seeing major improvements. (Believe me, I wouldn't hesitate to commit mass murder for a hot fudge sunday and / or a good piece of fried chicken fried in bacon fat! ! !)
But if you want to stick around, you gotta do what you gotta do! !

As we get older these problems become VERY apparent and slap us in the face hard!
all I can add is to see your primary care doctor and have a full checkup often. Especially as many of us are in the 50+ category. We are like an old car that has 150,000 miles on it and has been run hard the whole time. Something is gonna break down! Not when but IS is the key word here. Get checked out often and prevent it BEFORE it happens. Pay heed and listen to your doctor's advice before you end up like me! !

Take care of yourselves and stay well! ! ! ! ! !

[KD0HUX]

 GLAD YOU DODGED THE BULLET I AM WATCHING MY DIET NO MORE THAN EVER.      HIGH  CHOLESTROL  IS NO JOKE

[Bill, KD0HG]

Had I not moved from the Chicago area and that Chicago diet some 30 years ago, I would have been expired by now.

While I do grill steaks and burgers on the weekends, I am convinced that a regular diet of supermarket red meat is really, really bad for you.

[K5UJ]

I gave up smoking 10 years ago.  I loved to smoke.  Quitting was tough; the first month was the worst.  Around 6 years ago I got one of those full body CT scans, mainly concerned with any possible tumors in my lungs developing.   Well, that was clean but they found plaque buildup in one of my arteries, the one they call the "widow maker."  I did the treadmill stress test with a cardiologist, and was given a pass, but he told me to start aerobic exercise.  My GP doc put me on a dramatically different diet.  I had been the saturated fat king.  Funny you should mention the "Chicago Diet" Bill!  Ben and Jerry's, Brown Cow yogurt, the kind made with whole milk with the cream on top, brats, steak and cheese sandwiches, steaks and potatoes, deep dish pizza, double cheese burgers, onion rings, bacon, sausage, eggs and steak, whole milk, low fat no fat what is that?  Meat balls, Polish Sausage....I'd bring frozen beef and mac dishes to work and dump cheddar cheese on them and melt it all in a microwave.  I once tried spam with cheddar cheese melted over it.    (That was a bit much, even for me.)

That all suddenly went out the window.  Hello, salads, skim milk, fruit, nuts, whole grain breads, soy "ice cream," protien shakes, fiber and no saturated fat.   It stank...for about a month.  Then it turned out to be pretty good.  I kept telling myself, "This isn't bad, just different. And I'll get used to it."  And I did.   Most diets fail because the person gives up for lack of ideas on using the new ingredients, and not giving the change enough time to work.  You don't change anything with your body overnight.  I started feeling better; have more energy and that afternoon slump vanished.

I've backslid a bit since then.  I have an occasional hot dog (there are a lot of good trash food places around here--it ain't Boulder Colo.) or ice cream.   I also am not good about exercise.  I climb stairs, and do a lot of walking.  I'll get a workout at the hamfest tomorrow! 

I don't mind making all this public if it gets a ham to take his diet seriously.

Glad you had a wakeup call Mike and noticed it.

[The Slab Bacon]

<snip> "  Funny you should mention the "Chicago Diet" Bill!  Ben and Jerry's, Brown Cow yogurt, the kind made with whole milk with the cream on top, brats, steak and cheese sandwiches, steaks and potatoes, deep dish pizza, double cheese burgers, onion rings, bacon, sausage, eggs and steak, whole milk, low fat no fat what is that?  Meat balls, Polish Sausage....I'd bring frozen beef and mac dishes to work and dump cheddar cheese on them and melt it all in a microwave."  <snip>

Rob, ROB,
              You're killin me! ! ! (literally)   

[KA3ZLR]

At the Last Port Flush,and Blood test my Cholesterol level was at 128.
I'm 54 now on an Aspirin a day no other drugs as per the Oncologist.

Thank the Lord.

73
Jack
KA3ZLR

[KB2WIG]

"I once tried spam with cheddar cheese melted over it"

Try it with Provolone.

klc

[w1vtp]

DANG! Guess that means you can't eat those pork fat laden sawsages at NearFester.  Seriously, glad you caught it in time

Al

[flintstone mop]

"I once tried spam with cheddar cheese melted over it"

Try it with Provolone.

klc

ME TOOOO.........that was deeelishus

[W1RC]

We can swap hospital stories at Nearfest.

Q - that's the last thing I want to start doing.  I never liked listening to the old buzzards on the air detailing their latest medical procedure. 

The only reason I started this thread is to get the guys over 50 to think about their own mortality and to take unusual sensations and indications seriously.  I'm a bit overweight but my cholesterol numbers have always been in the "normal" range.  My diet was all the wrong things but the cholesterol numbers indicated "normal" and so I thought everything was okay. 

Well, I was wrong.  Fortunately this time I dodged the bullet and thank God I don't have to go through what you endured with bypass surgery.  I am not going to take any unnecessary chances and am watching what I eat.  I am hoping that every once in a while I can indulge in a "grease log" sandwich at Angelino's, a nice home-made linguica pizza or even my favorite jambalaya with shrinp and Cajun sausage.  Yummy!

But not for a while.  Thanks guys for all the best wishes.

73,

MisterMike, W1RC

[WA1GFZ]

Angelina's is getting to be a rip off anyway.

[W1RC]

Angelina's is getting to be a rip off anyway.

I seem to recall he was getting $8.00 for an Italian sausage sub at the Military Vehicle Rally in July which is the last time I saw him.

[k4kyv]

A friend of mine who is also a medical doctor had a close call about a year ago.  The clinic where he worked just got in a new scanner for detecting plaque build-up, and he volunteered to be the first guinea pig to test out the new machine. The results came back, indicated that more than one major coronary artery was 90% blocked.  He ended up having open-heart surgery, and was told that if his condition hadn't been discovered when it was, he probably wouldn't have survived another year. He is in his mid 60s.  He says he never had any symptoms and heart problems were the last thing on his mind, although I think he did mention some family history.

I recall a few years ago, they were widely advertising some kind of non-invasive scan with little or no ionising radiation, called the "life test".  I think my wife had it through her work and checked out OK. Haven't heard much about it recently, and tried a web search, and all I could find was industrial testing to determine the expected life of a manufactured product.  Don't know if it didn't turn out to be what it was cracked up to be, or if I got the name wrong.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Well, I'm glad you got through it okayfine, old friend. We're been through too many hamfests and swapped or been part of too many war stories over the decades to have you leave just yet. I still tell folks about the day we went to get your FREE T-368 and how I skipped outta work early because radio is so much more fun than computer stuff. Things like that are what make life amusing. BRRRRR.

I wouldn't sweat the greasy sandwich now and then unless the doc says 'none'. Moderation is the key and your own particular chemical makeup is what makes the difference. Common sense is as or more important than diet. How many times have you heard some gi-normous person tell you that they were on such-n-such diet, then the next time you see them, they're even bigger? It's more about choices than anything. Doesn't matter what the doc says if you don't listen.

As we were saying t'udder day, exercise helps a lot. Go out to your garage, get a long pipe, thread it through the handles of a couple R-390s and do a few reps like we discussed. Or strap a GRR-5 onto your back and go jogging. You'll be a new man.    But seriously - once the docs spend a bit more time figuring out what's what for diet purposes and what makes you tick inside, you'll have a good roadmap to follow for better health. In the end it'll come down to personal responsibility and common sense, both of which you seem well-equipped with.

Yes, there'll be no talking about cataract operations, liver spots, or new dentures at NEAR-Fest. There'll be plenty of time for that someday when we're old buzzards. Besides, your ticker has your undivided attention now.

[KA3ZLR]

"I once tried spam with cheddar cheese melted over it"

Try it with Provolone.

klc

Hi


Poor mans Steak Fried Jumbo with Provolone cheese.


73
Jack
KA3ZLR

[WA1GFZ]

Last year I bought a bag of rolls from Angelina's and we feasted on pickled eggplant.
Good thing you got fixed up Mike now get off that golf cart and walk.

My smartest friend from grammer school is a heart guy in Hartford Hospital
I'm told he is verrrrry good. Jim Gallager.