NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE off topic

[Guest guest]

FW: NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE

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> My co-worker checked this one on snopes and they say it's good

> information... they do stress, however, that men can have this kind of

> attack and women can have the " Movie heart attack " as well.

>

> Be safe and healthy,

>

> Anita

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> I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this

> event that I have ever heard.

>

> Please read, pay attention, and send it on.

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>

>

> FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

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>

>

> I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but

> this is the best description I've ever read.

>

>

>

> Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you

> know that women rarely have the

> same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing

> heart attack .. you know, the

> sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing

> the chest & dropping to the

> floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one

> woman's experience with a heart attack.

>

> I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior

> exertion, NO prior emotional trauma

> that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was

> sitting all snugly & warm on a cold

> evening, with my pur ring cat in my lap, reading an

> interesting story my friend had sent

> me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life,

> all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy

> Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

>

>

>

> A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion,

> when you've been in a hurry

> and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a

> dash of water, and that hurried

> bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball

> going down the esophagus in slow

> motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you

> shouldn't have gulped it down so fast

> and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a

> glass of water to hasten its

> progress down to the stomach. This was my initial

> sensation---the only trouble was that I

> hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

> After it seemed to subside, t he

> next sensation was like little squeezing motions that

> seemed to be racing up my SPINE

> (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining

> speed as they continued racing up

> and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses

> rhythmically when administering CPR).

>

> This fascinating process continued on into my throat and

> branched out into both jaws.

> 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening

> -- we all have read and/or heard

> about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI

> happening, haven't we? I said

> aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm

> having a heart attack!

>

> I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap,

> started to take a step and fell on

> the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart

> attack, I shouldn't be walking

> into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ...

> but, on the other hand, if I

> don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait

> any longer I may n ot be able to

> get up in a moment.

>

> I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked

> slowly into the next room and dialed

> the Paramedics ... I told her I thought I was having a

> heart attack due to the pressure

> building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I

> didn't feel hysterical or afraid,

> just stating the facts. She said she

> was sending the Paramedics over i mmediately, asked if the

> front door was near to me, and

> if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor

> where they could see me when

> they came in.

>

>

> I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as

> instructed and lost consciousness,

> as I don't remember the medics coming in, their

> examination, lifting me onto a gurney or

> getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they

> made to St. Jude ER on the way,

> but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the

> radiologist was already there in

> his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my

> stretcher out of the ambulance. He

> was bending over me asking questions (probably something

> like 'Have you taken any

> medications?') but I couldn't make my mind

> interpret what he was saying, or form an

> answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the

> Cardiologist and partner had

> already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral

> artery into the aorta and into

> my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold

> open my right coronary artery.

>

>

>

> I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at ho me

> must have taken at least 20-30

> minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took

> perhaps 4-5 minutes before the

> call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only

> minutes away from my home, and my

> Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and

> get going on restarting my

> heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and

> the procedure) and installing

> the stints.

>

>

>

> Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail?

> Because I want all of you who

> are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.

>

>

>

> 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in

> your body not the usual men's

> symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my

> sternum and jaws got into the act).

> It is said that many more women than men di e of their first

> (and last) MI because they

> didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake

> it as indigestion, take some Mallox

> or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping

> they'll feel better in the

> morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.

>

>

>

> My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like

> mine, so I advise you to call

> the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that

> you've not felt before. It is

> better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to

> risk your life guessing what it might

> be!

>

>

> 2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if

> you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS

> OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER -

> you are a hazard to others on

> the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be

> speedi ng and looking anxiously at

> what's happening with you instead of the road.

>

>

> Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you

> live and if it's at night you won't

> reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants

> (or answering service) will tell you

> to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment

> in his car that you need to be

> saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need

> ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

>

>

>

> 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack

> because you have a normal cholesterol count.

> Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading

> is rarely the cause of an MI

> (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by

> high blood pressure). MIs are usually

> caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body,

> which dumps all sorts of deadly

> hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.

> Pain in the jaw can wake you from

> a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The

> more we know the better chance we

> could survive.

>

>

>

> A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it

> to 10 people, you can be sure

> that we'll save at least one life.

>

> Please be a true friend and send this article to all your

> friends (male & female) you care

> about!

>

>

>

>

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