Heart Attack Support Group
Heart attack is a serious, sudden heart condition usually characterized by varying degrees of chest pain or discomfort, weakness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and arrhythmias, sometimes causing loss of consciousness. It occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted, causing death and scarring of the local heart tissue.
Hi everybody, I've been reading this board for several weeks and I wanted to go ahead and post my story. I hope to get some feedback, advice, etc. I was not sure whether to post this to the heart attack or heart failure forum, so I guess I will do both. I hope that is ok.
I am 44 years old, I've always been athletic, not overweight, never smoked or drank alcohol. In mid-October, I had a heart attack. At the local hospital, they put a stent in but the artery was "large" and they didn't feel good about it so they flew me to a major university hospital. That evening, the stent became blocked with a blood clot and they took me back in the cath lab. They decided not to remove the blood clot from the stent because they were afraid it would go somewhere else and kill me. So the stent remained blocked and I lost/damaged about 10-15% of my heart. The doctor said that unless another clot forms and causes another heart attack then I should be okay for a normal lifespan. The large artery was apparently what caused the heart attack, the large artery was something I was born with although I had no idea. In the hospital, my troponin level was 30, which the doctor said indicates a relatively "minor" heart attack; but I have no clue about troponin.
When I left the hospital (mid-october), my EF measured by echo was 48. 6 weeks later (last week, early December) I went back for my check-up with my cardiologist and he had an MRI performed to see how my heart was healing, etc. and the MRI measured my EF at 46. The cardiologist says I can live a normal lifespan if I do my cardiac rehab (I'm already about half way through that program), eat right, and take my meds. He said the MRI of course showed the roughly 10-15% permanent damage to my heart due to the stent blockage, and showed a little plaque but nothing abnormal or remarkable for my age, other than that the MRI was fine.
I have his opinions and thoughts, now I would like some information from folks like me who are actually going through conditions like this.
1. My EF measured by echo was 48 in mid-October, when measured by MRI in early December it was 46. My doctor says that he is pleased with the number and that it should go up. He says the reason for the two different EF numbers (6 weeks apart) is probably just due to different methods of testing (echo vs.MRI).
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know normal EF is 50+, but is 46/48 a number that I can live with?
2. I have no actual "symptoms" of heart failure. The cardiologist or anyone else has never told me I have heart failure, just likely coronary artery disease. But I am assuming I do since my EF is reduced and there is permament damage to the 10-15% of my heart.
3. They say that heart failure is a progressive disease. Does that mean that I am destined to eventually get worse no matter what? Is my EF destined to eventually start decreasing at some point in the future? Or can I either improve or at least not get any worse?
4. With the regards to the damaged part of my heart (Dr. says it's about 10-15% of the heart), the cardiologist said "don't worry about that part of the heart; it is gone...but thankfully you don't need it". He said that if you have to have a heart attack with heart damage that mine was in exactly the right area of the heart and I should be thankful for that. Can I actually believe him on that?
5. He said we just need to try to prevent any future blood clots from that large artery (which was stented and then the stent blocked). He is hopeful the plavix and aspirin will offer me some level of protection against a possible 2nd heart attack due to the large artery.
6. The medicine I am on is 12.5 metoprolol twice daily, 5 mg lisinopril once daily, plavix, aspirin, and atorvastatin. He says that my blood pressure, etc is all great so he wants to be cautious with the medicine. He says these meds should help my heart to do "positive remodeling" and limit the negative remodeling. Any thoughts on these meds?
I am also taking 400 mg Q10 and 100 mg magnesium supplements.
7. When asked about dietary restrictions, he said that there are no specific restrictions for me but I just need to keep eating right and be sensible about salt. Although he did not actually tell me to, I've been trying to stay under 2g salt a day. I read that online but he didnt give me any real restrictions.
8. Here is the big one for me. The dr said that the best-case scenario is that there are no more heart attacks, and if that's the case then I should recover and be fine to live a normal lifespan. I am 44, my wife and I have a wonderful son who is 6 year old and I desperately want to alive and active to see him grow up and go to college. My son is my whole world. My doctor has told me repeatedly that I can life to be 70 (or beyond, that was just a number he threw out there) with this disease. Is that really true? That is 26 years from now! Is he just telling me that? I've asked him to be honest and he says he is. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Honestly.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and respond.
Physically, I feel really good, in fact I feel almost as good as I did before the heart attack...other than getting tired easy...which I hope will improve. I'm back to work, working out, etc. The doctor says that it's only been 7 weeks since the heart attack and I should continue to heal up and feel even better.
Just wondering if this is something that will eventually start to get worse.
Thanks everyone very much.
I am 44 years old, I've always been athletic, not overweight, never smoked or drank alcohol. In mid-October, I had a heart attack. At the local hospital, they put a stent in but the artery was "large" and they didn't feel good about it so they flew me to a major university hospital. That evening, the stent became blocked with a blood clot and they took me back in the cath lab. They decided not to remove the blood clot from the stent because they were afraid it would go somewhere else and kill me. So the stent remained blocked and I lost/damaged about 10-15% of my heart. The doctor said that unless another clot forms and causes another heart attack then I should be okay for a normal lifespan. The large artery was apparently what caused the heart attack, the large artery was something I was born with although I had no idea. In the hospital, my troponin level was 30, which the doctor said indicates a relatively "minor" heart attack; but I have no clue about troponin.
When I left the hospital (mid-october), my EF measured by echo was 48. 6 weeks later (last week, early December) I went back for my check-up with my cardiologist and he had an MRI performed to see how my heart was healing, etc. and the MRI measured my EF at 46. The cardiologist says I can live a normal lifespan if I do my cardiac rehab (I'm already about half way through that program), eat right, and take my meds. He said the MRI of course showed the roughly 10-15% permanent damage to my heart due to the stent blockage, and showed a little plaque but nothing abnormal or remarkable for my age, other than that the MRI was fine.
I have his opinions and thoughts, now I would like some information from folks like me who are actually going through conditions like this.
1. My EF measured by echo was 48 in mid-October, when measured by MRI in early December it was 46. My doctor says that he is pleased with the number and that it should go up. He says the reason for the two different EF numbers (6 weeks apart) is probably just due to different methods of testing (echo vs.MRI).
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know normal EF is 50+, but is 46/48 a number that I can live with?
2. I have no actual "symptoms" of heart failure. The cardiologist or anyone else has never told me I have heart failure, just likely coronary artery disease. But I am assuming I do since my EF is reduced and there is permament damage to the 10-15% of my heart.
3. They say that heart failure is a progressive disease. Does that mean that I am destined to eventually get worse no matter what? Is my EF destined to eventually start decreasing at some point in the future? Or can I either improve or at least not get any worse?
4. With the regards to the damaged part of my heart (Dr. says it's about 10-15% of the heart), the cardiologist said "don't worry about that part of the heart; it is gone...but thankfully you don't need it". He said that if you have to have a heart attack with heart damage that mine was in exactly the right area of the heart and I should be thankful for that. Can I actually believe him on that?
5. He said we just need to try to prevent any future blood clots from that large artery (which was stented and then the stent blocked). He is hopeful the plavix and aspirin will offer me some level of protection against a possible 2nd heart attack due to the large artery.
6. The medicine I am on is 12.5 metoprolol twice daily, 5 mg lisinopril once daily, plavix, aspirin, and atorvastatin. He says that my blood pressure, etc is all great so he wants to be cautious with the medicine. He says these meds should help my heart to do "positive remodeling" and limit the negative remodeling. Any thoughts on these meds?
I am also taking 400 mg Q10 and 100 mg magnesium supplements.
7. When asked about dietary restrictions, he said that there are no specific restrictions for me but I just need to keep eating right and be sensible about salt. Although he did not actually tell me to, I've been trying to stay under 2g salt a day. I read that online but he didnt give me any real restrictions.
8. Here is the big one for me. The dr said that the best-case scenario is that there are no more heart attacks, and if that's the case then I should recover and be fine to live a normal lifespan. I am 44, my wife and I have a wonderful son who is 6 year old and I desperately want to alive and active to see him grow up and go to college. My son is my whole world. My doctor has told me repeatedly that I can life to be 70 (or beyond, that was just a number he threw out there) with this disease. Is that really true? That is 26 years from now! Is he just telling me that? I've asked him to be honest and he says he is. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Honestly.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and respond.
Physically, I feel really good, in fact I feel almost as good as I did before the heart attack...other than getting tired easy...which I hope will improve. I'm back to work, working out, etc. The doctor says that it's only been 7 weeks since the heart attack and I should continue to heal up and feel even better.
Just wondering if this is something that will eventually start to get worse.
Thanks everyone very much.
I had a cardiac episode almost eight years ago which left me with an EF of 42. Like you, I've been athletic all my life. The reduced heart function will slow you down, but it won't stop you. You will regain some energy, ever so slowly, over the next 6 -12 months. You are not doomed to progress into heart failure. My EF was tested a couple of years later and it hadn't changed.
Life is uncertain, and life expectancy is uncertain, but I'm certain yours is far from over. For now, don't try to do too much too soon, and be aware that the months following a heart attack can be very emotional for both you and your loved ones. I hope we hear more about your story as it unfolds.
mental..the fear and depression that followed. Mine destroyed the
outer 25% of my left ventricle the most important chamber. Now for the
good news...I have been very diligent about working out..after completing 3 months of cardiac rehab. I was very athletic before the MI , so that was nothing new. I recently wore a holter monitor for 24 hours because I was having skipped beats which was very scary..
turned out to be PVCs which are harmless. During the time I was
wearing the monitor , I did my normal 40+ minute treadmill workout averaging a heart rate of 125 with a max rate of 143.
My doc was very pleased with the results. He said about 2 or 3 %
of people my age [58], could have done that workout . I said "you mean 2 or 3 % of heart patients" ? he said "no , I mean 2 or 3 % of
ALL men your age ". I was shocked to find out that someone with heart damage could fall in this range. You have to fight the temptation to become a "cardiac cripple ",someone who's afraid to do much because of fear. If you ease into your workouts and build up gradually, you will be able to do more than many others with a healthy heart .A heart attack is not a death sentence..only a bump in
the road of life !
we did interval training , where you run hard for about 60 seconds,
followed by about 90 seconds of fast walking, then repeat 12 to 15 times. It was supposed to increase the "stroke volume " of the heart..
the amount of blood it can pump with each beat. Stroke volume seems very similar to ejection fraction. I do this on the treadmill about every other
workout. Of course "run hard " is a relative thing . My doc says this kind on training can also positively affect the size of particles in your
cholesterol, making them less likely to "stick " in you arteries.
My EF is the same as when measured soon after the HA , so at least the training has kept it from getting worse for the past 6 years
Not sure but I think Beta blockers [your Metoprolol] can increase your EF some..I
would ask the cardiologist. I cant take them because my resting heart rate is too low. As far as heart disease being progressive , it is
but my doc says its one of the easiest diseases to treat once you know you have it..He says he has patients with stents from 18 years ago , before they were medicated, who have had no further problems. Just know that you can have a normal life going forward !
50-75% Heart's pumping ability is Normal
36-49% Heart's pumping ability is slightly Below Normal
35% & Below Heart's pumping ability is Low
At 48% you are doing pretty good, and there's a high probability that your heart will rebound to normal (greater than 50%) if you follow the treatment regimen designed for you.
2. What is important is how you feel. It is quite likely that you don't have CHF. A slightly low EF doesn't automatically define CHF, there are other factors that contribute to that diagnosis.
3. Hard one to answer. I have an EF of 22%, ie toilet numbers. Statistically I should be dead, however I have lived for 7 years Feb 1st with this. I do quite well and have no real complaints. Make the most of whatever you have and don't focus on the negatives.
4. Yeah, believe it, although I know that some people are lucky and their heart recovers (called remodeling) and the damage dissipates.
5 & 6. The meds you are on including Lisinopril and Metoprolol have been proven to reduce the recurrance of heart attacks in people who've had one in the past. It doesn't eliminate that possibility but reduces the risk. That's why it's important to take your meds, and if you find you don't tolerate one well, let the Dr know.
7. Salt is primarily a restriction for CHF (Heart Failure) patients. I am limited to 1500mg. Sodium can contribute significantly to Edema (fluid retention) which places an extreme load on the heart.
8. Absolutely...do not believe anything you read about heart disease survivability. Most of the information available is obsolete and we've come a long way. As I mentioned, I should be long dead and yet, here I am 7 years later still annoying my wife. So stop worrying about dying and start living.