I don’t know many of you but have met many. I had a heart cath done on Wednesday and they found 2 blockages. Right coronary was 95percent and he circumflex was 99percent. For about a year I would have this little pain show up in my chin. If I tried walking a little faster on my daily walk or when working in the yard. Pretty much any time I did something to cause my heart rate or blood pressure to rise. Told my doctor about it last week and she scheduled the cath. Please pay attention to anything odd or unusual no matter how small. I’m 60 but this can happen to anyone no matter the age. I’m ok now but if I had kept putting it off as something that would just go away it could have gone bad.
Good Tip Coot. Mine was some pretty hard core signs that I ignored for several months. Jaw pain, chest pain, a brisk walk through the woods and drenched in sweat and out of breath, then as crazy as it sounds the night before my heart attack a crazy feeling of dread. Don’t know how to explain it, but I woke up scared as heck with no reason. The next night I woke up with the worst chest pain I’ve ever had Dang Elephant sitting on my chest. 98%,96% and a 88% blockage stented and now doing so much better. Went through my wrist!
Crazy thing, As much as I talk about fried pork chops, I actually eat healthy do to my father having his first heart attack at 42. Family History and genetics play a major role. My older brother has had stents put in twice, guess just luck of the draw.
Glad you caught it before any Heart Damage was done Carolinacoot!!
The statins give me leg cramps. Been dealing with High cholesterol for the last 20 years. My best numbers lately have been drinking some psyllium 2 tsps (Metamucil) every day and one whiskey drink at night.
Coot ; Fred , I would say welcome to the club but instead i’ll say glad yall found them in time. I got my first 2 about 12 yrs ago but needed a 3rd a few yrs later . Got a bad family history for heart issues and try to stay on top of it . It’s a full time job though…Take care !!!
Welcome to the club Coot. The fix that works best is lifestyle change. Do what your ticker man says about diet & drugs. I am on Lipitor and like Fred I had bad leg cramps. I told my DR and he said - take the cramps and pain. Lipitor works better than any of the others. My cramps went away and my ldl is not even 1/4 of what it was when I was 35. That was when I had a 3 artery heart attack. A pack of smokes a day and ate every thing that was bad for me. 11 stents later At 46 I had 5 artery bypass. Post surgery I went into a coma but woke up 5 days later. Doc said " keep on smoking - you’re paying lots of my bills" I quit. He put me in cardiac rehab. Thought they were getting me ready for the Olympics ! I’m 68 today with less angina than I had in my 30’s. Get into rehab if you can. I’m still in it ! Stay healthy and enjoy your life and thank God every day
Fred mine was just in the chin. If it didn’t go away quickly I’d take an aspirin. The doctor told me about the cath on Wednesday and Sunday night while sitting around it started hurting and after 10 minutes and an aspirin it progressed around the jaw. They went through my wrist as well. Gail wns I had an attack in 97 that damaged my heart but no clogs. Doctor back then said it was due to stress and exhaustion. I had an ekg about 2 years ago and at the top of the page it had in writing something about a left bundle branch block. Funny no one said anything about it or even checked into it.
Natureboy 2 years ago they did a series of echo’s and said I had a fraction number of 20. Then they ordered a mri of my heart. All the echo’s were concentrated on the left side. My doctor then told me I was looking at a pacemaker. He also said I needed to lose 20 lbs in 6 months. I started a diet, reduced the sizes of my meals and started walking a mile a day. After 6 months I had lost 30 pounds and my fraction went to 30 and he put the pacemaker on the back burner. I’m on atorvastatin instead of Lipitor. Also my potassium was low but I haven’t had leg cramps yet.
Fred, whos you dr.? Mine had me quit all drinking after my 2nd heart valve job! Don’t really miss it, but a good cold Imperial would be nice every now and then. Coot, good luck on your upcomming prosidures! Had 6 stents when I was 60. Thank the Lord for my stubern wife that forced me to the hospital.
Natureboy 2 years ago they did a series of echo’s and said I had a fraction number of 20. Then they ordered a mri of my heart. All the echo’s were concentrated on the left side. My doctor then told me I was looking at a pacemaker. He also said I needed to lose 20 lbs in 6 months. I started a diet, reduced the sizes of my meals and started walking a mile a day. After 6 months I had lost 30 pounds and my fraction went to 30 and he put the pacemaker on the back burner. I’m on atorvastatin instead of Lipitor. Also my potassium was low but I haven’t had leg cramps yet.
16’ Bonito 65 Johnson
Every time you have angina , there is some damage to some cells in your heart muscle and in the nerve cells. A left bundle branch block is caused by the death of a portion of the nerve that transmits the beat signal to the left side of your heart. The current will still get to the left side - just a micro second slower. The left side does all of the work, the right side only pumps blood to the lungs not a long distance. The ejection fraction is the amount of blood that your left ventricle pushes out to your body . Hi BP is very bad . It causes your heart to pump very hard against the pressure. Since the muscle is working harder , it grows bigger and stronger - but the ventricle wall thickness increases and your blood output gets smaller. Controlling BP is very important. Every pound of weight you shed will lower your BP. You need to do everything you can to get below 140. You are taking Lipitor - the generic version .
Glad you got the stents during the cath. Take care and avoid all the salty foods and watch your weight, try walking every day, a little bit is better than not walking at all! God bless you and your family!
Haven’t had a greasy burger in ages, gave up fries a long time ago, don’t add salt to anything except grits, dropped 30 pounds in the last year and half, still try to walk at least 1 mile a day and working towards 30 more lbs.
Fred, whos you dr.? Mine had me quit all drinking after my 2nd heart valve job! Don’t really miss it, but a good cold Imperial would be nice every now and then. Coot, good luck on your upcomming prosidures! Had 6 stents when I was 60. Thank the Lord for my stubern wife that forced me to the hospital.
Dr. Funky. Really:smiley: Paging Dr. Funky ! He is out of Summerville, but comes to Walterboro every Month. Great guy, not a two shot whisky but he said a small amount and some red wine is actually ok for you.
