Warning Signs

    I remember many years ago when the father of one of my classmates died of a heart attack. His wife said that he had been having some chest pain for a few days and then it got worse, but it was too late when he finally got to a hospital.
    I also remember when I was 38 years old and suffered my first heart attack. I had been working around the house cleaning up and hauling trash off in my old pick-up truck. I had just taken a full load of junk to the local waste company and had driven back home. I was going to start cleaning out the garage type area where I park my tractor and haul off one more load before getting ready to go to work. When I parked the truck and got out, it felt like someone hit me in the middle of the chest with a sledge hammer. People have asked what the heart attack felt like, so let me describe the pain. Imagine that there is a steel rod, about 2 inches in diameter and that the rod has been heated up until it is white hot. Now imagine that someone has driven that rod through your chest and out your back, you are impaled by this thing and every time you take a breath or try to move, someone hits that rod with a hammer. That's what it felt like. I managed to crawl into the house and call my wife Kim at work. I couldn't imagine a heart attack, I was only 38 years old! She listened to my description and told me to call 911. I didn't call 911, instead I called Kim's daughter and asked her to take me to the hospital.
    My point is, my pain was extreme and I could never have gone for days before going to see a doctor about it. But other people have heart attacks that are not as severe. My second heart attack was not as severe as the first and the pain was not nearly as bad, but again I cold not have ignored the pain for several days. Everyone needs to know the signs of a heart attack and then they need to not be afraid to call for help when they have the symptoms.

    If you have anything on this list, you could be having a heart attack.

Severe pain at or near your sternum.
Something that feels like heartburn but doesn't go away.
Shortness of breath.
Pain in your neck, on either side, around your carotid artery or jugular vein.
Pain in either arm, mainly centered on the area where your arteries are.
Dizziness.
Pain in your back, around the area of your heart.

Remember that men and women sometimes have different symptoms, women typically have less pain associated with an attack.

    You could have some arterial blockage if you have any of the previous symptoms that come and go. Prior to my by-pass I was suffering from the heartburn like symptoms if I walked at a normal pace for more than about 60 or 70 feet. If I stopped and rested the pain would subside. If it got too bad I took some nitroglycerin and would feel better in a few minutes. In the 5 years since my second heart attack I had taken nitro tablets on two occasions, more because I was worried than because I was actually having pain. In the three weeks prior to my recent hospitalization I went through two bottles of 30 tablets. The pain was bad enough that I knew what it was, but I also knew it wasn't an actual heart attack.
    Just remember that if you have any symptoms it is always better to go ahead and talk to a doctor about it. If you go to the emergency room, call 911, or go to see your family doctor it doesn't matter, just do something. I know, you would really feel stupid if you went to the emergency room for heartburn, right? Who cares? Just get checked out and be safe.

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