SteveR Loc: Michigan

To all my friends and others as well!! :) . A h.s. friend just passed away due to a heart attack. Last year I was having some pains in my left side so my doctor referred me to a cardiologist. I was given a chemical stress test and an echo-cardiogram. Turns out I'm in good shape. But...if you have any indication that you should be seen by a cardiologist, be sure to do so. Get tested. Find out what shape your heart is in so you can take preventative measures. Despite my good result I have an annual checkup scheduled for this year. Let's all stay heart healthy in our senior years!!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jrcarpe Loc: Jacksonville,AR

Great advice. I had a heart attack in July of 1988. Drove myself to hospital. Threw my last cigarette away with left hand as I opened the ER door with right hand. Approximately 45 minutes later I had a ventricular fibrilation and had to be shocked twice. Had angio plasty which lasted until Jan.2018. I have 2 heart doctors and get regular check ups. Good Luck to all who have a bad heart.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Last year I started getting pain in my right arm and shoulder when I was out walking. I called my doctor and he told me to get to an emergency room and see a cardiologist. There is a hospital a couple blocks from my apartment, so I went there and ended up getting a quadruple bypass. They said my heart was in great shape but the arteries were blocked. I have always done a lot of exercise, and it served me well. My father and brother had the same thing. now I'm pretty well back to where I was before the surgery.

FrumCA

Drewline Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Agreed! I had a totally unexpected cardiac event last December 21. 4 stents were placed. Get checked out. A heart attack is no fun.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

Let me add, with regular check ups with your doctor, you'll be in good hands ... to start off with. He thought I was a-fib, sent me to the hospital to be checked, and he was right. I was shocked, I mean surprised, for I felt perfectly normal. However my two older brothers have passed away, from heart problems. I'll bet they had heart disease, just like me (now). Neither believed in doctors.

Okay, back to a-fib. The majority of humans older than 65 are a-fib. That doesn't mean "the end of life". It means we have to adjust and ... ready for this? to slow down. I bought a Garmin watch type monitor. My cardiologist told me that I should keep my pulse average less than 110 beats per second. Reference? When I'm resting in bed with a good book, my rest rate is 78. Doing mild house project, about 95. When I think maybe I'm "doing too much", I'm not surprised to find my pulse rate to be 105, or 115, or even 124. When above 110 bps, it means to sit down and relax. Hey, we've worked hard through our life, so why feel guilty if we have to take some "time out"?

That's it guys. Many of us on UHH are a-fib, or Atrial Fibrillation. It means we must make changes, stop climbing 30 foot ladders and painting the gutters. Just slow things down, enjoy life, check your Garmin or Fit-Bit, keep below 110 bps, and go shoot with your cameras. Steve and John were right. I just wanted to add "particulars", ones I was not aware of until my doctor caught it. I plan to live at least another 20 years, and my 'birth certificate' will soon turn 80. My brain doesn't know that, and I'll leave it that way. A-fib. We can live with it, and still enjoy life.

Canisdirus

Keep coming back...eventually I'll give you news that will shatter your life. (Norm MacDonald)

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I'm working from my desk today, in prep of classes this fall. So I'll be here, and looking forward to you shattering my life.
Bill

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Many of today's internists don't even listen to your heart. They go completely by lab results. Fortunately yours did not. I got away from an internist that did not yet was considered to be an excellent internist. However, as soon as I switched, my new doctor determined that my thyroid medication was too high. So, maybe he wasn't so great after all. He'd merely continued the prescription from a previous doctor. Anyway, it's good to hear that you were referred....and for a reason, as was I. DON'T BE AFRAID to talk to your doctors about heart issues!!! I think that's what I'm trying to convey. I'd put on weight and gotten older so I was a good candidate for heart issues, as was my friend who died. Perhaps some of you can relate. Take care of yourselves!!!

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

Pay attention to extreme fatigue. When my daughter, who happens to be a Nurse Professor, stopped by to deliver my Dr.'s prescription, she matter-of-factly took my pulse...30! Off to the ER and the next morning, a pacemaker! That was a bit over a year ago...So, take care...especially if you're older!

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

In 2019 I bought an Apple Watch. It gave an alert that my heartbeat was irregular and suggested I see a doctor for possible A-Fib. I shrugged it off thinking it was just getting used to by bodily rhythms. But I kept getting the alert, so I saw my doctor and told her about it, she sent me for tests and guess what….I have A-Fib.
You can’t always tell if you have problems by the way you feel.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

When I retired from the farm I started going to the gym to replace the workout. A couple years ago I started getting short of breath early in the workouts so I went to the doctor to have it checked out. EKG showed AFIB so I went to a cardiologist. I always had a slow heartbeat. Resting was 45-55 (really bothered my wife who's in healthcare). The cardiologist recommended a pacemaker so I got one that fixes the lower limit around 60. In the workup he observed heart rates in the upper 30s so the pacemaker was a good idea. Also blood thinners to avoid clots that tend to be more frequent with AFIB. Other than that the heart is in good shape and the cholesterol is not a problem even though I like red meat and butterfat.

About 20 years ago my doctor complained about my high blood pressure so he put me on a blood pressure medicine. He started with a 5mg Lisinopril. Being an experimentalist I got a blood pressure cuff and started checking my blood pressure every morning when I got to work. Then I quit taking the Lisinopril. After about 2 weeks my blood pressure started to go up. Another 2 weeks it had stabilized. So I started taking it again. Again, no change for 2 weeks, then a 2 week drop. Then I started taking the pill every other day. No change so I got my doctor to change to 2.5mg, which was the smallest pill they made. As the years went on my blood pressure went up so I'm now up to 10mg, still a fairly moderate dose. My wife at the time had to take 50mg, which gave her bad dreams.

My current wife is in health care and has an oximeter (the little thing that clips on your finger) so I can check my rate and oxygen level. I do better than she does (but it's not a contest and I don't get a prize for that).

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

A couple of weeks after 9/11 I had pancreatitis which resulted in having my gall bladder removed. Since I had the full incision I had a 7 day hospital stay after the surgery. One morning a nurse was taking my vitals (Why do they do that at 5 a.m.?) After listening to my heartbeat she asked if anyone ever told me I had an irregular heartbeat and I said, "No...why?" and she responded, "never mind".

I immediately thought you don't ask a question like that and then say, "never mind". Apparently she never said anything about it to anyone as it never came up again.

Fast forward about 14 years and I was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, had an ultrasound which showed my valves to be in good condition so I was just put on a schedule of yearly visits to a cardiologist.

On my last visit the cardiologist said my EKG was normal. I asked what she meant by normal and asked if it showed the irregular heartbeat. She said, "no...it's normal."

I then told her I wasn't aware that I could heal myself, but now that I did, I had better get working on my back.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

That's probably so they can get it done before the shift change. But you're in the hospital. It's not like you have to get your beauty sleep. You have all day for that. (I used to get to work at 5am so it doesn't seem to me like it's a problem -- getting to work at 5am has advantages: you avoid commuter traffic; you get things done before the meetings start; you have a good excuse to leave early).