Re: Today's are you kidding me?? moment

[Guest guest]

Blimey not good! Oh and I understand that women have different symptoms to men when having a heart attack!The Dragon http://tempewytch.typepad.com/tempewytchs-crafts-and-s/http://tempewytch.typepad.com/tempewytchhealthyliving/--- On Fri, 13/4/12,

ABrite@... <ABrite@...> wrote:From: ABrite@... <ABrite@...>Subject: Today's "are you kidding me??" momentABrite@...Date: Friday, 13 April, 2012, 3:23

So. You all remember back before my mother's hip surgery in January and I told you they were *this* close to canceling her surgery like 5 minutes before it was to start because of some funky blip on the EKG? And then the anesthesiologist decided it was probably ok so they would go ahead with it and told her "you should see a specialist and have it looked into"

??!!

Yeah, that. OK....

So, my mother goes to her regular doctor and they redid the EKG...

You sitting down and ready for this??

She had a f-lipping heart attack in some capacity at some time!

OMG. Are.you.kidding.me??

So. Family history time: uncle (on mother's side) has had a heart attack. My grandfather (on mother's side) died of heart attack. My mother has had some semblance of a heart attack at some time in the past.

Can you say L-O-V-E-L-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y??

-sigh-

I will be calling MY doctor tomorrow and updating him with this little tidbit of knowledge and seeing if he wants me in for any preemptive measures and tests.

Mom said "well Lou knew he had/was having a heart attack" (he probably had OMG chest pains or something)

.... I told her you probably did too, but were in denial! You know "oh, I think I have heart burn, bring me a tums" type thing or other. She just looked at me. I told her my doctor needs to know this. Told her that her sister should be checked too (seriously) - she said we have different dads, I said you have the same mother, you and your brother are close enough of a connection at this point, doesn't have to be grandpa that is the connection.

(right?)

Glad I am in this to win it (getting healthy and taking weight off)

[Guest guest]

On 4/12/2012 10:23 PM, ABrite@... wrote:

>She had a f-lipping heart attack

in some capacity at some time!

OMG. Are.you.kidding.me??

When I had my cardiac cath back in 2009 the doc said he found old

scar tissue on my heart - really old - and said I had a heart attack

at some point in the past but over 10 years prior to the cath, maybe

as far as 30 years back. Huh? No, not at all, Doc, at least nothing

I knew about. He explained that these silent heart attacks can be

totally undetected by the patient and aren't usually caused by major

blockages but other things, like the heart's reactions to

medications, especially asthma or cold meds, anything with a

stimulant. Of course it could have also been a very minor blockage,

one on a microscopic level and not involving any of the major

cardiac blood vessels.

In my case, he said it was probably medication related and could

have either been the diet pill I was on in the 1970's (an

amphetamine) or one of the many asthma meds I had taken in the past.

This is the reason you see those warnings on most of those asthma

inhalers and why many cold meds are now behind the counter, to

prevent kids from taking them for a cheap high.

He said it was nothing to worry about, that aside from the stress

cardiomyopathy I was having at that time, my heart was in good

shape, that the area of scar tissue was so small it had no effect on

its function. He was surprised no ekg ever picked it up all these

years, and even the one ekg I had while in the hospital it was

undetected.

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

How scary!

Good idea to stay on top of this and notify your doctor. Let us know what he

says!

And you're doing so well, --so happy for you with all the progress you've

made!

Cheers,

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

This may sound silly, but I had no idea meds could cause heart damage like that!

Wow...glad it's nothing to worry about, Sue!

Cheers,

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

Thanks Bonnie ! Will do!

Re: Today's "are you kidding me??" moment

How scary!

Good idea to stay on top of this and notify your doctor. Let us know what he says!

And you're doing so well, --so happy for you with all the progress you've made!

Cheers,

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

I didn't know meds like that could cause it either. Still gonna talk with my doctor (he wasn't in Friday afternoon when I remembered to call LOL) but still! Just freaks me out to know this and the family history, ya know? It's like my triple whammy of breast cancer in the family, ya know? Now I have to be diligent about the heart stuff too ;-)

Re: Today's "are you kidding me??" moment

On 4/12/2012 10:23 PM, ABrite@... wrote:

>She had a f-lipping heart attack

in some capacity at some time!

OMG. Are.you.kidding.me??

When I had my cardiac cath back in 2009 the doc said he found old

scar tissue on my heart - really old - and said I had a heart attack

at some point in the past but over 10 years prior to the cath, maybe

as far as 30 years back. Huh? No, not at all, Doc, at least nothing

I knew about. He explained that these silent heart attacks can be

totally undetected by the patient and aren't usually caused by major

blockages but other things, like the heart's reactions to

medications, especially asthma or cold meds, anything with a

stimulant. Of course it could have also been a very minor blockage,

one on a microscopic level and not involving any of the major

cardiac blood vessels.

In my case, he said it was probably medication related and could

have either been the diet pill I was on in the 1970's (an

amphetamine) or one of the many asthma meds I had taken in the past.

This is the reason you see those warnings on most of those asthma

inhalers and why many cold meds are now behind the counter, to

prevent kids from taking them for a cheap high.

He said it was nothing to worry about, that aside from the stress

cardiomyopathy I was having at that time, my heart was in good

shape, that the area of scar tissue was so small it had no effect on

its function. He was surprised no ekg ever picked it up all these

years, and even the one ekg I had while in the hospital it was

undetected.

Sue in NJ