Hello Victor
I'd like to add a couple points to Ira's excellent response to your
question about how many people survive heart attacks without "damage."??
The diagnosis of "heart attack" is based on the levels of troponin found
in the bloodstream and EKG findings as well as the person's physical
symptoms like angina.?? I imagine you had many troponin levels draws
during your hospitalization. Troponin is a protein in heart muscle cells
that is released when the cell has insufficient oxygen as in when a
vessel is blocked or nearly blocked.?? Troponin levels are tracked to see
how high they go in the days following the event and whether they are
going up or down.
For someone like you, with 98% blockage, a great many heart muscle cells
may be "stunned" and releasing troponin after the heart attack.?? But
because you got prompt care, a cath and stenting, your cells were soon
getting sufficient oxygen again. Some portion of the stunned cells
recover and that is only known with the passage of time.?? Some portion
of cells are likely dead. But the human body, amazingly regenerative,
once assaulted begins the remarkable process of healing.?? Eg, it begins
to form its own small collateral "bypasses" around the dead cells.
It's not possible to know precisely how many people recover from
documented heart attacks without "damage."?? One would need to design a
study using nuclear stress tests and that's not cost-effective or even
desirable because of expense incurred and exposure to radiation.?? We
don't need to do that.?? We see people, especially those who were in good
physical condition before their heart attacks, functionally recovering
and doing well. That's what counts at the end of the day.
Ira's point about genetics is so relevant.?? I was in good physical
health, getting cardiology care but, none-the-less, have major CAD that
nearly killed me.?? My parents both died of sudden massive heart attacks
at about my age, 76.?? So I am alive because of access to care including
CABG, stents and medications.?? I am left with areas of poor perfusion
that can't be stented that are being managed with medications; I call
them my "angina cocktail." I'll likely always have angina and I suspect
more returns to the cath lab because this disease is progressive.?? I am
grateful for all the good people who have helped me.
I hope this explanation is useful to you, Victor.?? Your heart is mending
and your commitment to exercise, good diet and positive thinking are
contributing.?? Cultivating the trait of "resilience" is one of the most
helpful things we can do for ourselves.?? Assess the damage, count our
blessings, plan for healing, adapt and move on.?? Each day is a good day
for living to the fullest.
Wishing you well
DE
Original Message:
Sent: 4/27/2021 6:44:00 AM
From: Ira Reid
Subject: RE: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Victor,
I doubt the accuracy of the "no permanent damage" assessment. I was told the same thing immediately after my "mild" heart attack three tears ago, probably because of my "excellent physical condition", only to have my cardiologist recently mention, "and here's the portion of your heart muscle that died as a result of the heart attack" when he showed me the photos of my recent nuclear stress test (which showed that my grafts all remain clean). I'm not a doctor, but I think a necessary result of having a heart attack is that the portion of the heart muscle affected by the blockage dies, sort of like a necessary result of being killed is that you're now dead.
And, by the way, whenever I think or hear from people of my "great physical condition" before the heart attack (as in "how of all people did you have a heart attack-you work out all the time and you eat so healthy"), I think about the legendary running author, the great Jim Fixx, author of "The Complete Book of Running" which helped launch the running movement in the 1970's, who died of a massive heart attack while in the middle of one of his daily 10 mike runs. Physical conditioning is great, and important for heart health, but it is no substitute for a great set of genes. I still marvel at older obese friends and colleagues, eating, smoking and/or drinking their way seemingly into oblivion while never having had a heart attack, open heart attack, open heart surgery or stroke. Well, they all have to die of something. As Jack Nicholson's character said while vomiting from his chemotherapy in "The Bucket List" (great movie), "right now, some lucky bastard is having a heart attack."
Ira
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Ira Reid
Hoboken NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-26-2021 16:52
From: Victor Fabry
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
I meet a friend on the golf course who told me he had collapsed outdoors this past winter and suffered a heart attack. He was taken to a local hospital and received two stents to open a 98% blockage. His doctor told him that his heart showed no permanent damage due to his excellent physical condition.
How often does this occur?
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Victor Fabry, CEO
Greylock Advisors, LLC
Short Hills, New Jersey
fvfabry@gmail.com
Original Message:
Sent: 04-26-2021 13:10
From: Robin Gage
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Ira,
You are correct. If one has a genetic propensity of Familial High Lipids [Cholesterol] markings in their Bloodwork and they only eat Cucumbers they will still have High Lipid #'s in their Bloodwork.
Not everyone is Blessed w/t "Good Cholesterol" the HDL which helps your body counter act the "Bad Cholesterol" the LDL.
Below is the Best explained article I have ever read that perfectly tells the Human Body Lipid Story ...
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/hdl-cholesterol/art-20046388
NO Judging here just helpful Scientific information to assist others along their Heart Failure Recovery journey . . . 0 : )
Robin Gage
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Original Message:
Sent: 4/26/2021 6:52:00 AM
From: Ira Reid
Subject: RE: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Anthony,
That is not scientifically correct. The human body manufactures cholesterol and many people have high cholesterol levels no matter what they eat or don't eat. Medical science isn't even clear to the extent that dietary cholesterol even matters. They keep going back and forth about the issue. For example, when I was in inpatient cardiac rehab, they thought it was perfectly fine for me to eat two hardboiled eggs for breakfast each day, even though, years earlier, it would not have been okay. Nowadays, it is again not okay.
Ira
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Ira Reid
Hoboken NJ
Original Message:
Sent: 04-25-2021 01:25
From: Anthony Smith
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Not sure my previous reply went through....
Quit eating cholesterol. That's the solution to your problem.
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Anthony Smith
Lake Elsinore CA
Original Message:
Sent: 04-17-2021 05:28
From: linda scroggins
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Thank you so much for your response. I have had some great suggestions from this site. I am going to look into lymphologist ASAP, because it is not just the statins that I have problems with ,it's many medications that I have had many issues with. My family doctor says that I am over sensitive to medications. So this sounds like a great idea! Again, thank you.
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linda scroggins
retired
Florence KY
Original Message:
Sent: 04-15-2021 09:28
From: Victor Fabry
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Linda,
Statins are commonly prescribed for patients with cardiovascular disease. They can help prevent heart attacks and strokes in people who've never had one.
Have you ever had a consult with a lymphologist? They may be able to recommend a statin that your body can tolerate.
Best Regards,
Vic Fabry
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Victor Fabry, CEO
Greylock Advisors, LLC
Short Hills, New Jersey
fvfabry@gmail.com
Original Message:
Sent: 04-11-2021 06:40
From: linda scroggins
Subject: HELP, Statins....can NOT take them!
Good morning....I am new to this site and I am desperate to try to find an answer to the issues ,when a person just can not take a statin, as to what do we do? I had a stint put in my main artery January 12th 2000.Went through a year of severe palpations and episodes of trouble breathing.....as a very active person and never smoked in my life and ate healthy I was very confused. I was told about my high cholesterol for a few years ,but due to my sensitivity to so many medications ,I was afraid to go on a statin .I tried to get it down in every way possible, but due to stress it just didn't happen. So with that said you would have thought after many trips to the ER they would have suggested an angiogram. Two days in the hospital and every heart test possible and they said "you have a healthy heart"! After many months of not knowing what to do as the episodes got worse, finally the heart doctor said lets do an angiogram. On the table during the test, the doctor comes around and says to me, "good thing we did this...89 % blockage in the main artery" !!!!
Because of my trouble with most medications they made sure I did not have an allergic reaction to the dye they use for the testing. So outcome is of course statins!!! he put me on Crestor .....after about 4 weeks on this stuff I could hardly walk ...my legs hurt so bad I could barley climb my steps .I stayed on it for another month or so because the doctor kind of said to me that a lot of people THINK they have muscle pain but its not really there ,basically! So he did blood work......my CK level was off the charts.....so STOP the statins for a while he says!!! As of today I have tried many statins ,even a new one called Livalo..........same effects so far. I am done with statins, but I want to see my grandchildren grow up ! Does anyone have any answers to what I can do other that a statin.I can not be the only one who just can not take these things!!! Sorry so long......just trying to see if anyone can relate to this issue. Thank you !
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linda scroggins
retired
Florence KY
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