- Happened on Saturday, July 11th
- Cold sweats and shortness of breath at home after playing basketball for two hours
- Called 911
- In ambulance just before getting to hospital, went into full arrest
- EMTs used CPR and defibrillator to get heart started again
- ER got me stabilized, then put me on LifeFlight to IMC in Salt Lake
- Angiogram showed nearly full blockage in one coronary artery
- Angioplasty to open artery, then put in a stent
- Recovery has gone remarkably well, starting immediately after getting the stent; all vital signs good
- Quickly returning to full activity, from walking around the second day after the attack, to some good running sessions on the treadmill and getting back to the gym within three weeks of the attack
- Back to work full-time one week after attack, with no problems
- Caused mainly by hereditary factors, high cholesterol
- Will have to make a few changes to diet to help get cholesterol levels down
- Happened after three months of pretty healthy diet and exercise, adding to the surprise of having a heart attack at age 39
Friday, August 7, 2009
Funny as a Heart Attack - Summary
For those of you without the patience and endurance to read the full blog posts, here are the highlights:
Funny as a Heart Attack - Part 2
'Cuz if you can't laugh at a little cardiac arrest, what can you laugh at?
Recovery
Once they got the artery propped open again with the stent, I started doing really well. The only pain I had was swelling, tenderness and bruising in my leg where they went into the artery, and around the myriad of IV lines in my arms. The irregular heart rhythm I'd had all morning evened out, so they didn't have to put in a little defibrillator like they had been considering doing. (When the doc told me my rhythm had improved, I asked him if that meant I'd be a better dancer now.) My blood pressure and heart rate were both good.
My oxygen levels were a bit low, so they had me on oxygen for a couple of days. "And here I've been using my own lungs like a sucker." (That's Homer; just like with Steven Wright, there's a Simpsons quote for any situation. In fact, that Tuesday in the hospital I turned on the TV and it was on. It happened to be the episode where Dr. Nick performs heart surgery on Homer, so right there was half an hour of relevant lines I could use.)
My recovery has been quite remarkable. After two days in ICU, they were ready to move me downstairs to the regular cardiac ward, but there was no room, so they kept me there another day. Then they were going to let me come home on Thursday, but the docs added one more medication, so they kept me another day to see how I reacted to it. There were no problems, so they discharged me on Friday, five and a half days after my attack.
I've recovered so quickly, in fact, that I think some people suspect I faked the whole thing just to meet some nurses. If that was my plan, it was genius. It was certainly nice to be paid attention to by so many smart, beautiful women. I did feel a little cheated that about a fourth of the nurses were male; but they were pretty cool guys, and all of the nurses, both male and female, were excellent at their jobs.
As far as exercise goes, they let me get up and walk around the second day after the attack; the only reason they wouldn't let me get up before that was to protect the artery entry points in my leg. After they moved me out of ICU, I did a few pretty long sessions walking on the treadmill. I did more treadmill work the week I got home, then the week after that I got back to the gym. This week I've done some running on the treadmill.
The only restriction they gave me when I left the hospital was to not do any heavy lifting for a couple of days, again to allow the holes in my leg to heal. They told me I could return to full activity as I felt up to it, and I've felt up to everything I've done so far.
Causes
The main cause appears to be hereditary. There's more family history of heart disease than I was aware of, and the genetics have a much greater influence than I realized they could have. But then, I can't blame it all on heredity. I've been too heavy for quite a while now. (In fact, Jer's two-year-old son Gage has this thing where he comes up to me and pushes my belly in because he thinks it sticks out too far.) I've also known for a while that I have high cholesterol, and have been on medication for it. But although I've put a lot of effort into losing the weight, I have been expecting the medication to do most of the work in getting my cholesterol levels down. Apparently there's some flaws in that strategy.
The timing of the attack surprises me. I'm not talking about having a heart attack at 39, although yes, that was rather unexpected. I'm referring to the fact that I would have been less surprised if this had happened at the start of the year. In the three months preceding the attack, I'd lost 20 pounds; hadn't eaten fast food or drank carbonated drinks (soda); had been exercising pretty regularly; and had reduced what limited stress I had at work. And yet after all that, I had a heart attack! Well, lesson learned - I'm going back to the stuff I was doing before!
Changes
For many years I've claimed to be a meat-atarian (long before the Wendy's commercial). It just seemed to come naturally as a result of my being a vegetable rights activist. (Have you seen the conditions on those farms? Those poor things are raised in the dirt!) I told one of my doctors I'd try to limit myself to one bacon double cheeseburger a day, but I couldn't guarantee anything. He didn't find that nearly as funny as I did. Come on, Doc, lighten up a little.
All joking aside, I do need to get my cholesterol under control. The doctors have changed the meds I'm on to help do that, because the stuff I was on wasn't really working. But now instead of watching caloric intake like I was doing to lose weight, I need to pay attention to the fat and cholesterol numbers. I suspect as I focus on a more low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, the weight thing will take care of itself.
Luckily, the transition to a healthier diet is going to be a lot easier than it would have been without the regimen I've been on this spring. Still, it makes me sad to think I have to give up having a whole shelf in my fridge dedicated to cheese. Sigh.
What I've Learned
The main thing I've learned from all of this is that daytime TV is awful. Another equally important thing I've learned is that it's really important to know your family health history.
Other than that, I really don't know that I've learned anything. I know that sounds like I'm either being flip or arrogant. But I already knew the things you'd think someone would learn from such an experience; the experience was just a jolting reminder to stop and think about those things.
I already knew that a healthy body is a miraculous blessing. I don't think I've ever taken my good health for granted; I thank God for it every day. I'd already made good progress at not letting things get me annoyed or frustrated. I'd already started making time in my life for more things that are truly meaningful, and cutting out some of the frivolous things on which I've wasted so much of my life.
I already knew that I have so much to be grateful for. A few people have expressed to me that they're sorry I'm in such a terrible situation. While I appreciate the sentiment of what they're trying to express, I honestly don't think I've been dealt a bad hand, not in the slightest. I have a good job that I enjoy. I don't live in poverty. I get to pursue my interests and hobbies. Sure, I missed out on playing lacrosse this summer, but I'll get back to it soon enough. Sure, I have to cut out some foods I enjoy, but I'm in no danger of going hungry. Sure, I had a heart attack, but I haven't even briefly experienced the kind of pain that so many people deal with on a daily basis. I have great relationships with my family and friends. The list goes on and on, I could easily fill another lengthy blog entry with it.
Sometimes I think people expect me to be more zen-like since my brush with death. In actuality I'd already been pondering what's really important in life; maybe that's due to my rapidly-approaching 40th birthday. The insights I've gained are highly personal - not meaning they're necessarily private, but that many of them are realizations each person has to come to on their own.
As a closing note, just let me thank all of you who have offered positive thoughts and prayers on my behalf, as well as any assistance I might need. That's certainly something that belongs on the list of things I'm grateful for. And let me assure you that I'm doing well, feeling good, and hoping you are also.
One last thing...
You didn't remind me to tell you the second thing that kinda freaked me out. In the ER, I was concerned because for the longest time it seemed like the only one who would talk to me was Haley Joel Osment. No, I'm just kidding, here's the real second thing...
A couple of days after I got back to my house, I looked on my DVR for something to watch. I discovered that I had recorded the series finale of Eli Stone on Saturday the 11th, from 9 to 10 pm. The episode was about a couple of heart patients, but that's not what freaked me out about it. In the last commercial break, there was a commercial for LifeFlight and IMC, right at the very time I was having my heart attack. Weird, right?
Recovery
Once they got the artery propped open again with the stent, I started doing really well. The only pain I had was swelling, tenderness and bruising in my leg where they went into the artery, and around the myriad of IV lines in my arms. The irregular heart rhythm I'd had all morning evened out, so they didn't have to put in a little defibrillator like they had been considering doing. (When the doc told me my rhythm had improved, I asked him if that meant I'd be a better dancer now.) My blood pressure and heart rate were both good.
My oxygen levels were a bit low, so they had me on oxygen for a couple of days. "And here I've been using my own lungs like a sucker." (That's Homer; just like with Steven Wright, there's a Simpsons quote for any situation. In fact, that Tuesday in the hospital I turned on the TV and it was on. It happened to be the episode where Dr. Nick performs heart surgery on Homer, so right there was half an hour of relevant lines I could use.)
My recovery has been quite remarkable. After two days in ICU, they were ready to move me downstairs to the regular cardiac ward, but there was no room, so they kept me there another day. Then they were going to let me come home on Thursday, but the docs added one more medication, so they kept me another day to see how I reacted to it. There were no problems, so they discharged me on Friday, five and a half days after my attack.
I've recovered so quickly, in fact, that I think some people suspect I faked the whole thing just to meet some nurses. If that was my plan, it was genius. It was certainly nice to be paid attention to by so many smart, beautiful women. I did feel a little cheated that about a fourth of the nurses were male; but they were pretty cool guys, and all of the nurses, both male and female, were excellent at their jobs.
As far as exercise goes, they let me get up and walk around the second day after the attack; the only reason they wouldn't let me get up before that was to protect the artery entry points in my leg. After they moved me out of ICU, I did a few pretty long sessions walking on the treadmill. I did more treadmill work the week I got home, then the week after that I got back to the gym. This week I've done some running on the treadmill.
The only restriction they gave me when I left the hospital was to not do any heavy lifting for a couple of days, again to allow the holes in my leg to heal. They told me I could return to full activity as I felt up to it, and I've felt up to everything I've done so far.
Causes
The main cause appears to be hereditary. There's more family history of heart disease than I was aware of, and the genetics have a much greater influence than I realized they could have. But then, I can't blame it all on heredity. I've been too heavy for quite a while now. (In fact, Jer's two-year-old son Gage has this thing where he comes up to me and pushes my belly in because he thinks it sticks out too far.) I've also known for a while that I have high cholesterol, and have been on medication for it. But although I've put a lot of effort into losing the weight, I have been expecting the medication to do most of the work in getting my cholesterol levels down. Apparently there's some flaws in that strategy.
The timing of the attack surprises me. I'm not talking about having a heart attack at 39, although yes, that was rather unexpected. I'm referring to the fact that I would have been less surprised if this had happened at the start of the year. In the three months preceding the attack, I'd lost 20 pounds; hadn't eaten fast food or drank carbonated drinks (soda); had been exercising pretty regularly; and had reduced what limited stress I had at work. And yet after all that, I had a heart attack! Well, lesson learned - I'm going back to the stuff I was doing before!
Changes
For many years I've claimed to be a meat-atarian (long before the Wendy's commercial). It just seemed to come naturally as a result of my being a vegetable rights activist. (Have you seen the conditions on those farms? Those poor things are raised in the dirt!) I told one of my doctors I'd try to limit myself to one bacon double cheeseburger a day, but I couldn't guarantee anything. He didn't find that nearly as funny as I did. Come on, Doc, lighten up a little.
All joking aside, I do need to get my cholesterol under control. The doctors have changed the meds I'm on to help do that, because the stuff I was on wasn't really working. But now instead of watching caloric intake like I was doing to lose weight, I need to pay attention to the fat and cholesterol numbers. I suspect as I focus on a more low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, the weight thing will take care of itself.
Luckily, the transition to a healthier diet is going to be a lot easier than it would have been without the regimen I've been on this spring. Still, it makes me sad to think I have to give up having a whole shelf in my fridge dedicated to cheese. Sigh.
What I've Learned
The main thing I've learned from all of this is that daytime TV is awful. Another equally important thing I've learned is that it's really important to know your family health history.
Other than that, I really don't know that I've learned anything. I know that sounds like I'm either being flip or arrogant. But I already knew the things you'd think someone would learn from such an experience; the experience was just a jolting reminder to stop and think about those things.
I already knew that a healthy body is a miraculous blessing. I don't think I've ever taken my good health for granted; I thank God for it every day. I'd already made good progress at not letting things get me annoyed or frustrated. I'd already started making time in my life for more things that are truly meaningful, and cutting out some of the frivolous things on which I've wasted so much of my life.
I already knew that I have so much to be grateful for. A few people have expressed to me that they're sorry I'm in such a terrible situation. While I appreciate the sentiment of what they're trying to express, I honestly don't think I've been dealt a bad hand, not in the slightest. I have a good job that I enjoy. I don't live in poverty. I get to pursue my interests and hobbies. Sure, I missed out on playing lacrosse this summer, but I'll get back to it soon enough. Sure, I have to cut out some foods I enjoy, but I'm in no danger of going hungry. Sure, I had a heart attack, but I haven't even briefly experienced the kind of pain that so many people deal with on a daily basis. I have great relationships with my family and friends. The list goes on and on, I could easily fill another lengthy blog entry with it.
Sometimes I think people expect me to be more zen-like since my brush with death. In actuality I'd already been pondering what's really important in life; maybe that's due to my rapidly-approaching 40th birthday. The insights I've gained are highly personal - not meaning they're necessarily private, but that many of them are realizations each person has to come to on their own.
As a closing note, just let me thank all of you who have offered positive thoughts and prayers on my behalf, as well as any assistance I might need. That's certainly something that belongs on the list of things I'm grateful for. And let me assure you that I'm doing well, feeling good, and hoping you are also.
One last thing...
You didn't remind me to tell you the second thing that kinda freaked me out. In the ER, I was concerned because for the longest time it seemed like the only one who would talk to me was Haley Joel Osment. No, I'm just kidding, here's the real second thing...
A couple of days after I got back to my house, I looked on my DVR for something to watch. I discovered that I had recorded the series finale of Eli Stone on Saturday the 11th, from 9 to 10 pm. The episode was about a couple of heart patients, but that's not what freaked me out about it. In the last commercial break, there was a commercial for LifeFlight and IMC, right at the very time I was having my heart attack. Weird, right?
Funny as a Heart Attack - Part 1
'Cuz if you can't laugh at a little cardiac arrest, what can you laugh at?
The Attack
Saturday, July 11th, 9:20 pm: I'd just finished playing basketball for a couple of hours at the stake center. No problems, other than the fact I couldn't hit a three-pointer to save my life (good thing that turned out not to be a requirement.) I stuck around for a few minutes, shooting and talking to a couple of the guys while I cooled off.
About halfway home, I started feeling a bit of pressure in my chest that was making it hard to breathe, and I started sweating again. I pulled over, and after half a minute the feeling passed. Whoa, that was weird, what the heck was that? As I pulled into my garage five minutes later the pressure and shortness of breath returned, and by the time I got in the house the cold sweats had started again. There's definitely something going on here that's not normal. At this point everything was starting to feel a bit surreal. There was no panic, just a growing sense of, I don't know, weirdness. (Right now somebody's saying, "I thought you said you didn't feel like you normally do." Very funny. Quit interrupting.) I thought, in a very detached, conversational way, I wonder if this is a heart attack; then, as I closed my front door, Leave it unlocked in case the EMTs need to get in.
I really considered waiting to see if it would pass, as the episode in the car had. But if this turns out to be a heart problem, that's not a risk that's worth taking. So I picked up my cordless phone and dialed 911. As I chatted with the emergency dispatcher, I laid down on the floor, put the handset on speaker, and set it next to my head. I tried to relax my chest so I could take deeper breaths. The dispatcher got the ambulance on its way, then asked if there was somebody she could call to come lend some assistance. I had her call Jeremy, who is my cousin-in-law, closest friend and co-worker. She called him, then came back on the line with me and kept me talking.
The talking thing was getting more and more difficult. I never did feel the proverbial elephant standing on my chest, but the pressure I did feel was making it harder and harder to breathe. I felt like the dispatcher was asking me a lot of essay questions when I only had enough air to give yes/no answers.
Jer actually beat the ambulance there. He came in the door, and I had him go out to flag down the ambulance. This is the point where my memory starts to fade. (That's good news for you, because this story's already getting pretty long, and the less I remember, the less you have to read.)
The paramedics... wait, I can't call them that, there were more than two of them... the EMTs asked me more questions while they got me prepped and loaded onto a gurney. I don't remember the questions or my answers, but I think I got most of them right (I test well.) Then, into the ambulance for a quick ride to Heber City. Ironically, that's where I got my last speeding ticket; the ambulance lights and siren sure would have come in handy that day.
Apparently I went into full arrest just as we were turning down the lane to the hospital, so they had to start CPR, and then cranked up their power tools. While they were doing that, I was having a really bizarre out-of-body experience. Rather than seeing them working on my body, I saw the electro-shock therapy scene from Strange Brew:
I wanted to watch more of the movie, but they got my heart going again, and I got sucked back into my body (that's okay, I have the movie on DVD.) The doctors later told me that the EMTs did a perfect job with both the CPR and the defibrillator, for which I'm very appreciative.
The ER and Cardiac ICU
I don't remember much about the ER, but from what Jer has told me, I repeatedly wished him a happy birthday (it was on Sunday), and repeatedly told a few Steven Wright jokes which applied to the situation (there's at least one which applies to any situation.)
There are two things about this whole experience that have kinda freaked me out. The first one happened in the ER and prompted one of the Steven Wright quotes (remind me to tell you the second one a little later.) Jer said he hoped I wasn't too attached to the shirt I'd been wearing, because they had to cut it off of me. Why does that freak me out? Because earlier this year I had a dream, and in that dream something serious was going on; but the only part of the dream I could specifically remember when I woke up was that Jer had said that exact thing to me. I'm dead serious about this (okay, briefly-dead serious).
So I was having really strong deja vu, and apparently kept forgetting that I'd already mentioned it. That led to the first Steven Wright joke: "Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time." (Told you there was one for any situation!)
They decided to LifeFlight me over the mountain to IMC in Salt Lake. Jer said he'd meet me down there, to which I reportedly replied, "Wouldn't it be cheaper for all of us to ride down together?" I only remember a few seconds of the helicopter ride, looking out the window and not being able to see anything.
All I remember of the rest of that night and Sunday morning is being poked and prodded, and being asked the same questions I'd already been asked several times (and yet I was the one who supposedly had the short-term memory loss.) That's just fine, though, because one of the questions they asked gave me the perfect setup to apply another Steven Wright quote:
Sunday morning the cardiac team ran a catheter in through my leg up to my heart. I was expecting them to use some complex medical imaging to guide the catheter, so I was surprised when I looked over at the surgeon's monitor and saw that he was using Google Maps!
They did an angiogram to get a look at the coronary arteries. That involved injecting a dye through the catheter that made me glow in the dark, and hopefully gave me some kind of cool superhero abilities. Then they did an angioplasty, where they inflate a little balloon at the point of the blockage to open it up. Finally, they placed a stent in the artery at that same point. The stent is a bare-metal framework to support and hold open the artery wall.
More to come in Part 2. If you want to make this long story short, you can just read the Summary; I won't hold it against you. Well, maybe a little. But I'd probably never know. Unless the next time I talk with you, I ask you a question that only somebody who'd read Part 2 would be able to answer.
The Attack
Saturday, July 11th, 9:20 pm: I'd just finished playing basketball for a couple of hours at the stake center. No problems, other than the fact I couldn't hit a three-pointer to save my life (good thing that turned out not to be a requirement.) I stuck around for a few minutes, shooting and talking to a couple of the guys while I cooled off.
About halfway home, I started feeling a bit of pressure in my chest that was making it hard to breathe, and I started sweating again. I pulled over, and after half a minute the feeling passed. Whoa, that was weird, what the heck was that? As I pulled into my garage five minutes later the pressure and shortness of breath returned, and by the time I got in the house the cold sweats had started again. There's definitely something going on here that's not normal. At this point everything was starting to feel a bit surreal. There was no panic, just a growing sense of, I don't know, weirdness. (Right now somebody's saying, "I thought you said you didn't feel like you normally do." Very funny. Quit interrupting.) I thought, in a very detached, conversational way, I wonder if this is a heart attack; then, as I closed my front door, Leave it unlocked in case the EMTs need to get in.
I really considered waiting to see if it would pass, as the episode in the car had. But if this turns out to be a heart problem, that's not a risk that's worth taking. So I picked up my cordless phone and dialed 911. As I chatted with the emergency dispatcher, I laid down on the floor, put the handset on speaker, and set it next to my head. I tried to relax my chest so I could take deeper breaths. The dispatcher got the ambulance on its way, then asked if there was somebody she could call to come lend some assistance. I had her call Jeremy, who is my cousin-in-law, closest friend and co-worker. She called him, then came back on the line with me and kept me talking.
The talking thing was getting more and more difficult. I never did feel the proverbial elephant standing on my chest, but the pressure I did feel was making it harder and harder to breathe. I felt like the dispatcher was asking me a lot of essay questions when I only had enough air to give yes/no answers.
Jer actually beat the ambulance there. He came in the door, and I had him go out to flag down the ambulance. This is the point where my memory starts to fade. (That's good news for you, because this story's already getting pretty long, and the less I remember, the less you have to read.)
The paramedics... wait, I can't call them that, there were more than two of them... the EMTs asked me more questions while they got me prepped and loaded onto a gurney. I don't remember the questions or my answers, but I think I got most of them right (I test well.) Then, into the ambulance for a quick ride to Heber City. Ironically, that's where I got my last speeding ticket; the ambulance lights and siren sure would have come in handy that day.
Apparently I went into full arrest just as we were turning down the lane to the hospital, so they had to start CPR, and then cranked up their power tools. While they were doing that, I was having a really bizarre out-of-body experience. Rather than seeing them working on my body, I saw the electro-shock therapy scene from Strange Brew:
"Take it up to thirty this time!"
"No way, eh, it's my turn!"
"Okay. Hey, let's try the head this time. (In a mock reprimanding tone) See, if you'd stick to your 12-point maintenance program, eh, we wouldn't have to jumpstart you like this."
I wanted to watch more of the movie, but they got my heart going again, and I got sucked back into my body (that's okay, I have the movie on DVD.) The doctors later told me that the EMTs did a perfect job with both the CPR and the defibrillator, for which I'm very appreciative.
The ER and Cardiac ICU
I don't remember much about the ER, but from what Jer has told me, I repeatedly wished him a happy birthday (it was on Sunday), and repeatedly told a few Steven Wright jokes which applied to the situation (there's at least one which applies to any situation.)
There are two things about this whole experience that have kinda freaked me out. The first one happened in the ER and prompted one of the Steven Wright quotes (remind me to tell you the second one a little later.) Jer said he hoped I wasn't too attached to the shirt I'd been wearing, because they had to cut it off of me. Why does that freak me out? Because earlier this year I had a dream, and in that dream something serious was going on; but the only part of the dream I could specifically remember when I woke up was that Jer had said that exact thing to me. I'm dead serious about this (okay, briefly-dead serious).
So I was having really strong deja vu, and apparently kept forgetting that I'd already mentioned it. That led to the first Steven Wright joke: "Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time." (Told you there was one for any situation!)
They decided to LifeFlight me over the mountain to IMC in Salt Lake. Jer said he'd meet me down there, to which I reportedly replied, "Wouldn't it be cheaper for all of us to ride down together?" I only remember a few seconds of the helicopter ride, looking out the window and not being able to see anything.
All I remember of the rest of that night and Sunday morning is being poked and prodded, and being asked the same questions I'd already been asked several times (and yet I was the one who supposedly had the short-term memory loss.) That's just fine, though, because one of the questions they asked gave me the perfect setup to apply another Steven Wright quote:
I filled out an application that said, "In Case Of Emergency Notify..." I wrote "Doctor"; what's my mother going to do?
Sunday morning the cardiac team ran a catheter in through my leg up to my heart. I was expecting them to use some complex medical imaging to guide the catheter, so I was surprised when I looked over at the surgeon's monitor and saw that he was using Google Maps!
They did an angiogram to get a look at the coronary arteries. That involved injecting a dye through the catheter that made me glow in the dark, and hopefully gave me some kind of cool superhero abilities. Then they did an angioplasty, where they inflate a little balloon at the point of the blockage to open it up. Finally, they placed a stent in the artery at that same point. The stent is a bare-metal framework to support and hold open the artery wall.
More to come in Part 2. If you want to make this long story short, you can just read the Summary; I won't hold it against you. Well, maybe a little. But I'd probably never know. Unless the next time I talk with you, I ask you a question that only somebody who'd read Part 2 would be able to answer.
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