Does anyone know much about silent heart attacks?

[Irishonly]

I found out I had one. I had been having problems with a low pulse but high heart rate so I had an EKG late in July and was told it appeared I had a heart attack. I was shocked because I had no idea.

During the past year I decided to get serious about my health problems. I am a cancer survivor but chemo also gave me a whole gambit of health problems. My diabetes had been under control but my neuropathy is still getting worse. I have lost 67 pounds and finally got into a fitness routine and had been feeling better than I had felt in a long time. Last May I became very ill with something that no one could figure out what it was. I did some major life changes.

I had to have a stress test which I passed but the pictures taken afterwords showed one of my aortas showed 15% damage (dead) and was sent to a cardiologist. She wanted pictures taken again and I could have sworn she said if the pictures showed damage in other parts of my heart I would have to have a cardiac catheterization. I was wrong-its been scheduled for October 13th.

Talk about your balloon being burst. I am proud of my weight loss and my new fitness goals. I was expecting an atta girl but I only scored a three out of a scale of five and was told I needed to take 10-15 more pounds off.

Has anyone else suffered a heart attack whether you knew it or not? Any advice to a person who is scared to death?

[murielm99]

1. I am truly sorry that you are scared.

I have been to a couple of cardiologists because I have an arrhythmia. I have have had two TEE's. I hated the first cardiologist, and found a better one. Find a doctor you trust fully and you won't be so scared.

Congrats on your weight loss. I need to do the same thing. After losing my thyroid function and quitting smoking, I gained weight, too. I need to lose around 50 pounds.

I think you are doing everything you need to do to stay as healthy as possible. Don't be discouraged.

[Irishonly]

5. Thanks

Good luck on your weight loss. I will take your advice.

[elleng]

2. ATTA GIRL, and best of luck!

:thumbsup:

[Irishonly]

6. Thanks n/t

[HereSince1628]

3. I got all the way to 3x bypass without angina.

I had 2 100% blocked coronary arteries and 1 over 95% blocked (estimated at 99% blocked)and luckily had no sign of dead heart tissue...so I had avoided the ischemia.

BTW You have one aorta...it's the coronary arteries on your heart that are the issue. Catheterization involves putting a tube into a major blood vessel in your crotch and fishing it into your heart, they inject a dye that lets them show any blockages in the coronary arteries using a fluroscope (sp?). If they find other blockages it may be possible to stretch the closed area open with a balloon and insert a mesh tube called a stent that holds the vessel open. It's an out-patient procedure and it's considered routine, not the trouble of by-pass surgery.

I was scared of the catheterization until I saw the blockages on the TV screen and knew I'd need surgery before I ever shoveled snow again.

If you have other questions about a patient prospective you can PM me.

[Irishonly]

4. Thanks

I think something happens to my comprehension when I get bad news. Your words have brought comfort to me. Hearing heart attack really threw me since I had been feeling so much better. I will PM you if I have other questions.

[mopinko]

7. my mom had one. she thought she had the flu.

no chest pains or any of the classic signs. but she was throwing up, and feeling week. she was in the hospital, getting fluids, but no one picked it up. she never felt right after that, and even retired from her job. she had another one a year or two later, and the damage was found. she was lucky to be alive, and had a heart resection. she was fine after it all, tho.

[Warpy]

8. First, you're doing everything right, so no worries on that account

Second, the only way to know for certain whether or not you've got another coronary artery that is prone to a clog (what gives you the heart attack) is to do the cardiac catheterization. During the procedure, they can generally fix the problem right then and there for most people.

Third, diabetics are famous for the silent, painless heart attacks. Even if the diabetes is temporary and induced by steroids and other chemo protocol drugs, that is the case. I know it's creepy to think about, but would you rather have been on the floor, clutching your chest and unable to get to a phone?

Your docs are doing the right things to keep you safe and so are you. Don't worry about the carping about not losing enough weight. 15 extra pounds is nothing. You've already done the hard part. If it eventually goes, that's great.