Re: Women's hearts

[Guest guest]

Well this subject brings up some memories for me. I actually had a heart attack almost 2 years ago at the age of 41 almost 42. I felt like I was just a little short of breath but thought that I had pulled a muscle in my chest. As a matter of fact I was out walking with my husband when this happened I told him well next time I'll have to use my inhaler before we walk then as we kept walking we got to the bottum of a hill by our house and I told him I needed to sit down he said if I did that he would carry me home I told him no. I would just go home so we did I went home and took a motrin and put ice on my chest thinking I pulled a muscle. The pain wouldn't go away so I decided to go the hospital I told my husband to drive me there. As we were leaving the driveway something told me no don't drive all that way so I told him to take me to the fire station where they started treating me for heart problems. They took me to the hospital found

out I had a 90% blockage in my LAD which is the main valve to the heart they took me to another hospital and put in a stent. I had never been diagnosed with any problems before that. So the moral to the story is make sure you don't ignore your symptoms anyone. I was declined for my WLS a few years before so that might have helped me out who will ever no. Hope this helps someone.. I had my surg 5-16-05. Feeling great now love the new me still have 40 lbs left to go but I am very happy with the results.

Rose

Cathy wrote:

Hi, !What you said hit home for me. My dad had his first heart attack at 43, his mother had her first at 45, and I've always been very aware of the possibility that I could follow in their footsteps. I try to keep on top of my cardiac health as a result.However, you're wrong when you say that women's heart attacks are more mild so they go unnoticed. The problem is the standard "warning signs" for heart disease were all developed with men as the standard patient. Heart disease in women has a different presentation, or set of symptoms. Common symptoms for women include shortness of breath, often without chest pain of any kind; flu-like symptoms — specifically nausea, clamminess or cold sweats; unexplained fatigue, weakness or dizziness; feelings of anxiety, loss of appetite, or discomfort; and then of course

the old standard symptoms - pain in the chest, upper back, shoulders, neck, or jaw.Also, 63% of women who die from heart disease had NO PREVIOUS SYMPTOMS! Since a lot of the symptoms listed above are easily confused with other illnesses that women commonly shrug off, that means that a lot of women ignore the symptoms of a heart attack until well after they could get in and get the early treatment like clot-busting drugs that would save their lives. I mean, how many times have you (any of you) had a mild flu or a tired spell and just "worked through" it because you needed to take care of the kids/husband/job/whatever????OK, so I'm ranting. I had a scare last February when I had a horrible, crushing upper back pain that was so bad I couldn't take a breath. I went in to Santa Clara's ER on the busiest night they'd had all winter; I had EKGs that looked abnormal, so I had a nuclear stress test (scariest

thing I've EVER had done since they didn't know that it would cause my blood sugar to crash, and I hadn't eaten in 15 hours by then!). That was slightly "off", so I ended up having a cardiac cath done down at Santa the next day. . . the good news, finally, was that my heart was actually absolutely, 100% clear -no blockages of ANY type. My cardiologist finally agreed that maybe it was a muscle spasm from a fall I took a week or so before. However, he said, it *could* have been a heart attack. And he's lost a lot of patients who waited too long because they mistook their symptoms for indigestion, or fatigue, or flu. Actually, one of the reasons I'm considering WLS right now is that I feel almost as if I've been given a sign - my heart seems to be in much better shape right now than I was afraid it might be. Now, at least. If I wait ten years, that may not be true. OK, //rant off. . . I'm just

like , though, and I'd hate to lose anyone from this group because they didn't pay attention to the signals in time!Cathy C.> We have new motivation to lose weight (as if we really needed anymore)> My wife found out her mother (already a raging diabetic) had a mild> heart attack. Didn't realize it...she just felt bad for a few weeks.> Went to see her Doctor and had the test...she had an attack two weeks> ago. She goes in for a heart catheter procedure on Monday to find out> the extent of the damage. This is the odd thing with a lot of women> from what I understand. Unlike men, their heart attacks are mild...so> they go unnoticed. Which is still dangerous because left> untreated...well you know. > > SO PAY

ATTENTION TO YOUR HEART LADIES! I don't want to lose anyone in> here...> > __________________________________________________