I'm 67 years old and I'm married and enjoy spending time with family and friends, maintaining our property, building things, woodworking, former avid skier but quit after my heart attack and heart failure......might ski again with doctor's approval. I go to the gym at my hospital's wellness center where I'm in a cardiac maintenance program that is a continuation of the cardiac rehab program I went through after my heart attack.
I had a 100% blockage of my LAD in April of 2016 while traveling on business in small-town Alabama....rotten luck! It was over 20 hours before I was transferred to a larger hospital that had a cardiac care unit and cath lab, and because of that delay, I had extensive permanent damage to my heart and have HFrEF as a result. I was in the ICU for 5 days and when I was leaving the hospital to return home to Raleigh, NC, the interventional cardiologist who saved my life said that the team gave me about a 10% chance of living at the time I arrived in the ER, so I am extremely fortunate and very thankful to be alive.
My EF hovers at 30% so I have a Boston Scientific S-ICD. Immediately following my heart attack, I drastically changed my diet and lifestyle. I followed and continue to follow the Ornish diet and lost 55 lbs. in 6 months. My blood chemistry dramatically improved and I began exercising regularly. Knock on wood, it seems to be working. Almost 6 years after my heart attack, I am largely asymptomatic with my heart failure and have few if any physical limitations, though I do have to stay on top of my fluid retention. I am on all the latest CHF meds and I take all my meds religiously and follow all my doctors' instructions. I have a great cardiology team that consists of my interventional cardiologist, my EP, and my heart failure team at my hospital's heart failure clinic. Since having my heart attack, I have also tried to educate myself about my condition and I try to follow the latest developments in the treatment of CHF.so I can ask detailed questions of my cardiology team. This helps me feel a bit more in control of my condition keeps me focussed on not slipping into bad habits.