The morning of 16 June (Thursday) started out as routine. Not so much for the rest of the day (and days that followed).

I was at work taking some pictures of a fixture when my chest felt funny. It wasn't really painful - just kind of a pressure (similar to needing to burp). I got some water, burped, and my pulse rate dropped from 90 to a more normal 70 (I have a watch that I can check my pulse with).

I went back to the office, took a call, and got back up. I went up a flight of 19 steps with no issues, and walked down a hallway. About the time I decided that my earlier episode was nothing, it came back.

Ten years ago, I had a mild heart attack, and received stents for a complete blockage of the right main coronary artery. This didn't feel like that, but I didn't want to take a chance! So I hustled back down to my boss, and asked him to call 911.

Once at the local ER, my EKG and cardiac enzymes were completely normal. In fact, as the day wore on, I continued to feel fine. My cardiologist wanted me to have an angiogram on Friday, but he and my primary care physician seemed confident that it would be OK.

Well, they were wrong. In this case, both my left main and right main were at 90% blockage, and I suddenly became a candidate for double bypass surgery (otherwise known as CABG or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting).

Saturday morning I was transferred to UW-Madison Hospital, and I had a scheduled surgical appointment for Monday or Tuesday. Apparently, I was stable enough that I could wait, since I didn't get into surgery until late Tuesday afternoon (21 June).

The surgery went well, and I know have a chest wall artery connected to my left main coronary, and a vein graft connected to my right main coronary (below the stents). I was released from the hospital Saturday morning, and so far, at least, I feel fine.

My advice to you all is to not feel like you have to be a hero- if you have chest discomfort, call for help. I was walking dead man. Blockages that occur in the left main are called Widowmakers. When you read the stories about some guy just keeling over while drinking a beer at home, it's usually because the Left Anterior Descending artery has blocked up completely - and you die.

I'm happy to be back, and glad to continue to be part of the living.

Steven

 

So glad your outcome was positive and got the help you needed. That's certainly nothing to mess with and not everyone recognizes the warning signs. Take care of yourself and glad to hear that you are on the road to recovery!

 

Glad to hear you are still alive.
So... Are you going to change your diet and lifestyle now?

In today's world most folks who go through that go right back to their original habits then wonder why they are back in the hospital again.
Back in the seventies when we didn't have the technology which we have now, you went in and they really butchered the body. It took six
months just for recovery. During that six months patients changed all of their habits. Stopped smoking, eat better diets to lose weight and
heal faster. When the they were able they started rehab with exercise to get the body muscle back.
After about a year the patient was transformed into a completely new body and a changed mindset.

We see today's cardiac patients not changing anything. They have a blow out today and a stent gets dropped in to seal the hole. Then they
are back on the golf course by Friday with a double stacked cheese burger in their hand.

For some of you, don't just read OldCorvetteFan's post and move on... Read it as a warning. We
are not as young as we think we are. We are definitely not in good shape. All of us could use a better diet and a lot of exercise.
Think how well the Corvette would fit if you got rid of the feed bag hanging under your t-shirt.

 

Thanks for sharing and glad you are well!

 

Great advice! Getting a man to go see the doc. is next to impossible. We just transported a guy that was having the same pain as you, and ignored it for two weeks. The heart is a muscle, and that pain is an indicator that the muscle is being damaged; irrevocable damage. Call 911, please.

 

I changed my diet and lifestyle ten years ago when I had my heart attack and got stents.

My blood numbers always look good, although my genetic predisposition is to create too much LDL, so they've doubled my statin dosage from 40 mg/day to 80 mg/day. The target has been 70 for LDL, and no matter what I did, it would bounce between 80 and 110. I'm hoping the new dosage will help without having a negative impact on my liver. It shouldn't, since I don't drink.

Prior to this episode, my wife and I were walking 3 miles/day four or five days/week. I also lift weights during my workout routine four or five mornings/week.

My wife and I spent several days before and after surgery talking about what I eat, and what we can do to refocus our efforts. I drift in and out of diet containment, especially as a result of stress.

Based on that, we're trying to accelerate retirement. I intended to wait until I was 60 (32 months), but the job has changed, and I really really don't like it. I'm attempting to find something different to do within the company (like a work at home assignment), or maybe we'll just sell the house and retire.

Your advice is absolutely spot on. If you have a cardiac event, and you don't make some changes, then you'll probably have another one. We recently celebrated that we had made ten years from the stenting with no symptoms and no indication that a problem was there. My last stress test results showed no abnormalities. The look on my cardiologist's face when he told us what he'd observed was quite sobering, since he'd been so positive that I didn't have any issues.

We don't know what the future holds - but once again, I have been given a chance to continue on this Earth, and I hope to make the best of it.

Thank you all for your support!

Steven

 

That is good news for sure.
I just spent last week at SCCT in Orlando. There are not many stories like yours.
But there are a lot of dedicated people trying to make a difference for the future.

 

Glad you recognized the signs and did something about it.

My uncle is on the operating table right now for open heart surgery. Nasty stuff. Glad you're okay.

 

Glad that it went well for you and hope it continues good in the future!

 

Glad that you heeded the signs and are OK now.

 

Buddy of mine went to ER with chest pain.
It was gastritis.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Best wishes.

 

Good for you man
I had mine about 1.5 years ago, doing pretty good for 74
My sons 1 year anniversary from open heart was yesterday, he's doing great, AMAZZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor guy also had Hodgkin's almost 15 years ago, still clean He's been thru lot !
Keep smiling
NSF

 

Wow glad to hear you are doing well. A friend of mine just had quad bypass on Wednesday.

I haven't been to the Dr in about 3 years and I've got the same genetic issues with the LDL according the doctors. Even though I exercise, my diet has been less then stellar the last year. Between your post and my friends recent issues, I'm going to head in for a long overdue physical.

 

Glad to hear you are still here in the land of the living! Makes life just that much sweeter when you realize how close of a call it was, doesn't it?

 

You're 100% absolutely correct!

Steven

 

I'm glad this went well for you and you have many miles left to go.

 

So glad you're ok and all went well and you continue to live with us on this beautiful place we call Earth!

When you can and are able go out and take a long ride in that beautiful machine we call a corvette with your better half!

Live Long and Prosper!

 

Wow, glad to hear you're OK.

 

Maybe you should start drinking?

 

Great advice and thank you for sharing. Heart disease runs in my family so I will inevitably have some issues. My dad was and is never afraid to make a phone call to his Dr. if something doesn't feel right. Thanks again and glad your still with us.