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Heart Attack

  • 1.  Heart Attack

    Posted 08-17-2020 10:12
    Hello to All,
    I am new to this forum and want to share my journey. I was a healthy person with no known medical problem and not on any medications. My coronary calcium scoring test was zero in November, 2019 which I got done as  a screening test due to my family history. My LDL at the time of heart attack was 89. My risk factor was h/o smoking. On Jan 17 after coming back from a workout I had some chest pain and was getting to go to ER when I collapsed in my house. After 40 minutes CPR they got my pulse back and I was transferred to the hospital. I was in coma and placed on ventilator. The initial EKG showed STEMI and was taken to cath lab. I was noted to have 100% proximal LAD occlusion and got a stent put in. I was placed on hypothermia protocol. After 48 hrs. when I was weaned off the protocol, I regained consciousness and was still on the ventilator and impella device was still supporting my heart. The next day the cardiologist pulled off the device however I had developed pneumonia by that time. It took almost 8 days to come off the ventilator and then took another week of hospital on the inpatient side. After which I was transferred to inpatient rehab. My total hospital stay was of 26 days. After inpatient rehab I started cardiac rehab for 2 weeks however covid-19 hit us and the gym got closed. I started working out at a slow pace. Presently I am running 4-5 miles/day 5x weekly. I have started doing weight training also. I feel great as I am watching my diet and keeping my weight under control. 


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    Faisal
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  • 2.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 08-17-2020 12:01
    Hello Faisal,
    Welcome to the club. It sounds like you are making a very good recovery. Hope you are not smoking anymore. There will be some challenges ahead but nothing you can't deal with. Remember this group is here to help each other. We all have different stories of heart issues, but the one thing we have in common is we are recovering and sharing with each other. 
    Some of us have a genetic disposition to our heart issues that we can do nothing about. However by taking care of ourselves we can reduce the percentages against us on that score. 
    Keep up the good work and if you have any questions of us as a group do not hesitate to ask. 
    Take Care 

    Richard Short
    Chapter 395





  • 3.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-04-2020 13:42
    Thank you Richard for your kind words. Yes.....smoking is a thing of past. I do appreciate your support.


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    Faisal
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 08-17-2020 18:26
    Faisal, welcome to the club nobody ever believes they'll join. Much of your story is familiar to the members, seems our heart disease came as a shock to most of us. I had just passed a major physical and was in Yellowstone snowmobiling when a ski caught in a tree root and I became intimate with a pine tree and a 600 pound snowmobile. When I had difficulty breathing I thought I'd broken a rib. Much to everyone's surprise, it wasn't that serious, I was enjoying a heart attack. In fact the experts felt I'd had at least 5. Three hospitals and five weeks later I was sent on my way with four new canals to direct blood flow and a spiffy new Mitral valve. They kept me heavily sedated for 3 days after the open heart. My surgeon insists it was to let my battered heart rest, but I suspect it was to let the nurses rest. A brief reprieve then another hospital and a shiny CRT-D to manage my wayward heart. Here we are 14 years later and the doctors and my children are still wondering why they saved me. Clearly you are doing the right things and sounds like recovered pretty well. Make the most of it and enjoy life, you got a second chance, but remember nobody has ever survived life so make the most of it, I have and I've loved every minute of it (especially spending the kids inheritance.

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    Warren
    TucsonAZ
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  • 5.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 08-17-2020 19:39

    Hello Faisal. I don't usually post or message anyone. I think I have posted twice since the whole covid thing started, not that I am proud of it .  Anyway, you definitely are in the right place, I am a quiet person, kind of private, but on a daily basis I receive emails from the heart failure group and a couple of others. Every day I read something which helps me on a daily basis. 

    Last year I was 49 and had my first CABG X4 in May. I had a defibrillator installed is July, and this February I had 2 stents placed because  I had  3 of the four that were 90-95% blocked again. As others have stated on a regular basis, it's like getting a second chance. Keep the faith, it sounds like you are doing great.

    Jerry.



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    Jerry DiLauri

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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 08-17-2020 20:22
    Wow..just like you i read these everyday+dont post much. 2yrs ago@48 they found aneurysm in my widow maker+did a triple. Im very curious as to why you had blockages again requiring stents?? Hope all is good now

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    Dave Klein
    OH
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-04-2020 15:39
    Hello Dave,

    Blockage was a surprise for me too as I just had Calcium scoring done a month earlier.....but to my surprise I was been told after the cardiac arrest that calcium scoring test picks only hard plaque and in my case it was a soft plaque that was dislodged resulting in widow maker!!!

    Thanks for the wishes.






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    Faisal
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-04-2020 13:52
    Thank you Jerry for your advice. When I read my other friend's experiences on this forum it makes me feel how lucky I have been. I appreciate your kind words.

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    Faisal
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-04-2020 13:47
    Hi Warren.....I loved your narration of events. It gave me a good laugh. I needed it.
    Friends like you are blessing.



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    Faisal
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 08-18-2020 12:23
    Hello Faisal,
    Welcome to the group and glad to see you getting better to a normal life. You seem to be knowledgeable about your condition and how to manage it . I am sure you have already beaten the odds and will stay healthier.
    Best of luck.
    Tanveer 
    --
     
    Tanveer Hussain
     





  • 11.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-04-2020 15:41
    Thank you so much Tanveer for the wishes.
    Well I am trying......its a continuous struggle.

    Need your prayers.

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    Faisal
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-05-2020 10:18
    Hi. So happy you survived to find us. My story is different from many (but not all) I see on this group. However, I connect with everyone here. I too was healthy and active. Then I had, what I now know, a gallbladder attack. I was about to have surgery when one of the doctors noticed something on an x-ray from the URGENCY room. My gallbladder surgery was cancelled and after many test, I was diagnosed with ASD (atrial septic defect). 

    I feel fortunate that I didn't have a heart attack to find out I had a problem with my heart. After everything was figured out and I had surgery, my doctors said that there was no possible way I would have survived a stroke or heart attack if it had gotten to that point. And I was on the brink of that point. 

    I'm personally still in shock 2 years post OHS. But when I hear stories like yours, I cry because I can't imagine what you and your family went through. Thank you for sharing with us. It reminds me how blessed I have been in my journey. God Bless.

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    [Carrie] [Kashani]
    Parapro
    ISD
    [White Bear Lake [MN]
    Carrie
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    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-06-2020 23:12
    Dear Carrie: what an amazing story. Did you ever have the gall bladder surgery?
    that doctor saved your life by making such a quick diagnosis .

    its been my experience that many people planning other surgeries have heart issues discovered during the preop exams.
    Marilyn B. Rosenhouse
    Mobile: (214)850-0655


    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Heart Attack

    Posted 12-06-2020 23:45
    Hi Marilyn. Thank you for asking. I did have the gallbladder surgery. I was also blessed to meet the doctor who noticed something on the x-ray. He was my anistisologist. I got to give him a hug and thank him for saving my life. That is still a very precious moment for me. However, I seem to be getting more than just my heart repaired and gallbladder surgery. It was kidney stones since, and now I have another organ acting up. Not sure which one yet (just starting my doc visits, but I always feel like I'm going to be told I'm gonna die this time. I'm getting better at not waiting as long to go to my doctor when something isn't feeling right tho. I guess maybe PTSD...
    My heart was damaged from working so hard, the right side is enlarged. I was supposed to have this unbelievable new feeling of life after recovering but I haven't got it yet. I just keep hoping God must have big plans for me if He's fixing me up so much...lol! I'm sure my day is coming. God Bless.

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    [Carrie] [Kashani]
    Parapro
    ISD
    [White Bear Lake [MN]
    Carrie
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    Original Message


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