Let this be a lesson.............

[chippa13 1844]

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a stent to open a 99% closed artery.

It all started with a strange and different chest and shoulder pain while shoveling snow. Being youngish at only 37 it was a "What the fuck was that?!?!?" moment. Because it was so different from anything I had experienced before the Mrs. trucked me to the local emergency room and abnormal test results got me at least a nice weekend stay.

Monday was to start with a cardiac catheter to diagnose a possible blockage and then perhaps an angioplasty to follow right away to fix it. Well, apparently the anxiety of the cath procedure and the blockage had other plans. As the diagnosis portion of the program was wrapping up the ticker decided to take a little break. One shock from the paddles and new underwear for everyone in the room was followed by the insertion of a stent into the severely blocked artery.

The day was kept interesting by passing out while eating supper, which is a not so uncommon side effect of the day's events. A trip down to the imaging room for a CAT scan continued my magical mystery tour of the hospital. The CAT scan came back negative. It seems my brain has always functioned at this level.

Since then things have been boring and there is nowhere to go but up. The common theme in the hospital was, "You're not supposed to be here." I had zero risk factors. I don't smoke, my cholesterol levels are great, and I exercise regularly. The other theme was that what happened to me usually kills guys my age. Why? Because guys my age pass it off as nothing since they are young and in decent health and have never experienced any symptoms of this nature. The euphemism for my blockage is 'Widow Maker'.

This isn't a cry for sympathy or a hooray for me story but rather a warning to my fellow MSHer's. Don't ignore warning signs because you're too young, you don't have risk factors, or the pain and tightness was brief and went away. My initial issues only lasted a minute and then subsided. Had I decided it was nothing then I probably wouldn't be typing this today.

Well, that is my story in a nutshell. Happy Holidays, boys and girls.

[Fletch 219]

WOW. Crazy, man.....glad you're doing ok now. That is scary stuff.

[stock07 1]

Thanks for writting that...It really does open your eyes....Glad it worked out for you.....

[kosydar 0]

Sorry to hear about that Chippa. My stepfather went through something similar two weeks ago. He is almost 60 and has a terrible diet, and had new found chest pains. Unlike you he thought nothing of the pains, and didn't do anything until my mom made him. I'm glad to see you're doing well, and keep getting better.

[fatwabbit 93]

Glad you are ok... never ignore the warning signs, no matter how young you are.

We unfortunately lost a friend a few weeks ago... guy was 43, a little overweight, and had cholestrol problems. But overall a pretty decent guy. Abalone fishing season had started and we had gone with this family every weekend... except the last weekend when we were all too tired. He and his family went along, but he didnt make it to the water. He felt chest pains, and was short of breath, really tired etc. He just rested for a while, wife massaging him... next thing you know it he had a heart attack. Paramedics said that no matter how much CPR you would perform on him, you wouldnt revive him, it was just a massive heart attack.

No matter what people say, its always good to get checked out once in a while. I'm going to schedule myself for a full body check in about a year's time... if not for myself, for my wife and son.

[hattrick74 0]

i dont know if its possible to explain it in words, but what did these new chest pains feel like? i am glad that your okay and thanks for the heads up, i am in my late 20's so its never to soon to start being cautious and getting checked out regularly

[greech 4]

My buddy is 18, kinda skinny for his age and being recruited to play NCAA basketball. But, come a month or two ago, he had abnormal clotting that clogged an artery and now due to his meds he cannot play basketball. All in all, it should be a wake up call for all of us.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Glad to hear you're doing well Chippa. I'm beginning to be a lot more proactive with my health. I'm very dissatisfied with my PCP, and am currently looking for another one. Any Dr that gives me a routine checkup and doesn't get upset that at 30 yrs old I'm about 80 lbs. overweight obviously doesn't have my best interests at heart. With a wedding coming up, I'm finally starting to put myself first and looking for a drastic change in lifestyle. My wedding, my friends and family, and now stories like this are more than enough motivation.

[hattrick74 0]

anthonyJTa i am with ya, i am a coach for another sport and one of my girls hurt her knee, "heard a pop" as she said. She went to her doctor, all he did was visually look at it, didnt move it around or anything and his diagnosis was a"bruise" 2 weeks later she goes to a specialist, torn ligaments.

[hockeyherb 1]

i dont know if its possible to explain it in words, but what did these new chest pains feel like? i am glad that your okay and thanks for the heads up, i am in my late 20's so its never to soon to start being cautious and getting checked out regularly

I'd also like to hear more about what it felt like. I'm 41 and when I was running a couple weeks ago I felt something weird - it wasn't painful but it's like I felt something passing through my chest and of course I had fears of what if this is what a heart attack feels like. The feeling was gone in less than 5 or 10 seconds but it did make me wonder. The best I could describe it is how it feels when you swallow something big down your throat but instead I felt that passing through my chest.

Thanks for posting this - it's easy to dismiss things when you still feel young but I guess I'm now of the age when shit like this happens and I need to be a little more proactive.

[Chadd 916]

Glad to hear you made it through. This story hits a little too close to home for me as I turn 35 next month and I'm not in the shape I would like. With my job it's easy to make excuses, but I need to start making time, not excuses.

[barrett 0]

Sorry to hear especially during the holidays good luck with your recovery

[DevilsFan38 0]

Glad to hear you came out of that okay. It's a good thing you were proactive and went to the hospital to have things checked out. Too many people dismiss warning signs or brush them off as trivial.

i dont know if its possible to explain it in words, but what did these new chest pains feel like? i am glad that your okay and thanks for the heads up, i am in my late 20's so its never to soon to start being cautious and getting checked out regularly

Lots of people describe a heart attack as a "pressure" or "heaviness" in their chest, and the pain can stay in the chest or often radiates to the left arm or jaw. Sometimes it can even present as stomach pain, sort of like heartburn.

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

Great advice, Chippa, thanks for posting that. Get well soon.

[D3nZ 0]

My 29 year old cousin suffered from a heart attack about 2 weeks ago, never had health problems whatsoever. That got me thinking alot about my health.

[chippa13 1844]

i dont know if its possible to explain it in words, but what did these new chest pains feel like? i am glad that your okay and thanks for the heads up, i am in my late 20's so its never to soon to start being cautious and getting checked out regularly

I guess the best I can do is, take the worst muscle cramp you've ever had, then triple that, and put it into your chest, left shoulder and base of your neck.

[Powerfibers 8]

A speedy recovery to you Chippa. Glad you got it and got fixed, and thanks for the advice. At 39, I hope to be as alert as you about pains like that. You did the right thing.

[lampliter87 8]

Get better ASAP. Coming from a family with a history of heart attacks on both sides, this is really something I have to be wary of despite my good health. A warning I will certainly heed.

[Caustic Mick 0]

So glad you're doing well, Chippa! Stay healthy!

[ktang 34]

Good reaction going to the ER so quickly, and best of luck in your recovery. Is there a recovery plan? When can you play hockey again? It's shocking that somebody so young and active got a heart attack.

Some guys I used to play hockey with had 1 guy die on the bench after a shift from a massive heart attack.

[k13 0]

time to get a snowblower ;)

Good to hear you're okay!

[foppa21 0]

I hope that the medical team hammered home the importance of taking your aspirin and Plavix religiously. I see so many people come through our CCU with their second angioplasty and stenting because they didn't take their Plavix as directed and the first stent occluded off or shot a thrombus.

[DarkStar50 679]

As one of the old-timers on MSH, the moral of the story is never, ever stop skating. That cardio workout for however long you play can help in ways we will never know. It probably helped to save chippa's life.

Get well chippa. I had a buddy go through the same deal, about your age. He is back playing for years now. Another guy in my friday night group was a smoker, had the blockage, surgery, and is back buzzing past me on the ice all the time. Of course, he quit smoking and wears extra padding over his left chest. Think about that too for the future return to the ice.

[chippa13 1844]

Yeah, when I get the go-ahead, fingers crossed, I plan to pick up some heart protector shouldies. I haven't worn them in years so that will be fun to get used to again. Granted, as long as I'm allowed to play again I'll wear a suit of armor if I have to. I think the biggest hurdle will be getting off of the blood thinner that I am on right now. My new diet will have me flying out there when the time comes.

[mrusse01 0]

wow, glad you are doing alright....pardon my ignorance on the subject, but were they able to pin down exactly what was the cause? Was it just a sub-optimal diet? I always thought something like that would at least show up with some slightly high cholesterol.