My head is all over the place at the moment and I am sure many on here will have been in a similar predicament. Therefore, I thought I would post my experience and see if any of you would be kind enough to share any tips.
I am a 44 year old male teacher who lives with my long term girlfriend and we have 2 dogs.
8 days ago I had severe chest pains and called an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived they done an ECG and found my main artery to the heart was 100% blocked. Minutes later I had a heart attack. The paramedics shocked my heart to get me out of the heart attack at which point the heart stopped. They then shocked my heart back into action (all within around 5 minutes), stabilised me and drove me for an hour to the nearest hospital that were able to fit a stent.
I was released from hospital after 5 days with an ejection fraction rate of 38%. I have another artery at 50% and the other is clear. I am still feeling twinges of pain. Mostly like 'a stitch' type pain near where the stent is and feel this and other twinges in the chest area sometimes when moving about. I am able to walk to the bathroom and make a cuppa.
I would normally be going into a 12 week rehab program but this is cancelled due to Covid. The only follow up currently arranged is a 'patient initiated review' which means I can request my GP leaves a message for the Cardiologist saying I would like a check up/review.
I am very much a 'silver lining' type person but am struggling a bit at the moment psychologically as well as physically. I smoked around 30 cigs a day and my diet was terrible although I was fairly active. I have moved to 3 cigs a day and cut all the junk food out. I intent to cut the cigs by 1 a week so in 3 weeks be a non smoker.
I just don't know how likely it is that I can resume my work as a teacher, live a semi normal life and still have the chance to live to like 70+
I just don't know if the above is realistic anymore so am struggling to find that silver lining.
Any advice sincerely appreciated!
Written by
MarkInScotland
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Be extra kind to.yourself something you guys find it hard to do .😊
You have been through a life changing experience.take this time to look at life and what you would like out of it.
I hear you mention teacher.well done yous .what a stressful but rewarding job.
If its any help after heart attack everything takes time small.but possitive steps daily really does help .
You will.notice a huge difference 10 weeks down the line if your making the life changes needed.n absolutely minimise stress which can be difficult in these challenging times .
My.doctor said to.me a few weeks ago .that i am greiving my.pre heart attack life .i totally.get what hes saying now.
Keep your chin up stay possitive think of the life you have dreamed about and go n.get it.
I would also suggest you ring the BHF nurses to discuss. They are available 9:00 - 5:00 weekdays and 10:00 - 4:00 weekends.
Now some good news. A friend's mother had a heart attack over 40 years ago and a former colleague's father a bypass over 40 years ago. Both are doing well considering they are in their mid-nineties. They also do as their doctors tell them. My colleague's father was a teacher/headmaster.
Hello and welcome. I had a silent heart attack last August (I was 47)and one stent put in a Main artery 90% blocked. It knocked me for 6 and I never thought life would be the same again. I understand how you feel right now. Life can and does return to normal, you have to allow yourself time to recover both physically and mentally. Twinges after stent are normal. Mine settled down quite quickly. There is alot of support on this group. I found cardiac rehab fantastic. I understand the current situation means the classes can't be run, but I don't see why you cant speak to your nurse and discuss your worries. Find out where you can get hold of her. My nurse was fab, I was in a bad place when I first talked to her. Lots of denial going on. She never made me feel silly for asking questions or for having a cry when I felt sorry for myself. There was support for partners too, they obviously have questions and concerns. I met some lovely people in the group who supported each other and had a good laugh. It's good you are already making lifestyle adjustments. Focus on the positives as you move forward. You have a second chance at life good luck x
Welcome to the Heartie club, haven’t had Heart attack or stent but had open heart surgery for aortic valve replaced and bypass. Someone who's have been through the same as you will be along to help.
What I will say is head all over the place is normal, you just can’t believe your body as let you down! You will find many people on the forum who have been where you are now and things are getting back on track.
Stopping smoking is something you really have to do, a Mediterranean diet is one the BHF recommends and lots of us follow.
I to live in Scotland (Central Belt) so when weather allows! gentle walking to start with, the rehab I attended was so helpful and I can’t recommend it enough, the rehab is great for your stamina but also your mental health, you will be with other people who have been through the same experiences as you. You are so young, but if your rehab is anything like mine you will have lots of laughter!
Your brain as to process what your body as been through, so remember be kind to yourself rest when you need to and things will get better.
Hiya from NE Scotland and welcome to the forum, Mark! You'll 'meet' a great lot of members here who've been through similar to what you've just come through and you'll have lots of very helpful tips and virtual support for the wobbles. Everyone gets the wobbles no matter what the heart condition(s) and being here on the forum is one of the best ways to get past the worries.
I have multiple well-managed (low-dose beta blocker+aspirin and 'lifestyle' changes like a proper diet and quitting smoking) heart conditions but so far no blocked arteries and/or HA - blimey you got lucky to have the paramedics there when your heart decided to stop!
It's early doors for you and 'lucky' for you school doesn't go back here in Scotland for another month+ so you have time to take a short or long term decision on continuing with teaching. Talk with your head, your cardiac team, and ask for counselling (I found cognitive behavioural therapy very helpful) if you feel a bit wobbly; read everything you can on the BHF publications pages and the Chest, Heart, Stroke Scotland site (free downloads on both sites), and most of all - don't overdo - eight days on getting around the house and making a cuppa earns you a 'well done' in my eyes.
I had a heart attack in 1982 and nothing until 2015 when I had bypass surgery.
In 2018 I had 2 stents in my LAD which had been bypassed previously. I do now have Heart Failure which can swing from Moderate to Severe and back again !! BUT I have had, and do live a Good Life. I will be 73 in a couple of months and expect at least another 5 years if things stay the way they are right now ! So onward and upwards is the only way forward.
Totally understand how you feel but I’ll share my experience with you if it helps
At the age of 44 I had a heart attack bear in mind there were no stents them days I was in icu for 5 days then in general ward for further 3 days went home like yourself I was a smoker packed it in went back to work after 3 months as a maintenance engineering supervisor never had a problem I am now 70 unfortunately had my 2nd H A two years ago at 68 had 2 stents fitted one for the previous H A and 1 for this one fell good in myself have no problems I’m very active I was going the gym 3 times a week until lock down, so yes all being well you’ll be able to return to work and pick up your old life with some alterations. Everything is new at present it will settle down, initially every slight pain in my chest I thought was another attack, and scared to do things in case I overdone it, I will all come right
Hi Mark, I am also a teacher, I was 51 when I had my heart attack. That was two years ago now and I’m still teaching although I did take almost a year off school. I am much healthier now compared to before my heart attack. I completely changed my diet and do regular exercise. You will make your own decisions but my advice is to stay off school until you are fully recovered and to spend your time looking after yourself. I found the rehab classes very useful so if you can join one I would recommend it, or at least get hold of the exercise and diet programme. As you know teaching is a challenging profession. It takes time to get physically and mentally healthy after a heart attack. Don’t rush back to school and take care of yourself.
Hi Mark, take as much time off as you need to recover and plan your future. Take a phased return when you do go back and learn to say ‘no’ ! I was a teacher (now retired) in Aberdeenshire with a hubby who had a heart attack in 2007.
I had aHA in April this year and a stent in for a totally blocked coronary rt artery .
I honestly felt like you at the beginning and felt sorry for my self and so anxious that I would have another HA.
I’m happy to report with support from
My family and joining this forum I’m feeling a lot better.
I caught the virus whilst in hospital having the stent so it’s been an awful traumatic experience. I am accessing CBT which is helping with the flash backs . My therapist said she thought I was suffering from
PTSD but honestly I’m getting there now and you will too .
It’s early days for you and you need to take little steps .
I think it totally changes your life having a HA but somehow it makes you a stronger person . I wake up
Everyday and I feel grateful that I survived and I’m looking forwards now to enjoying life once again .
You will get there but it might take a bit of time .your feeling are completely normal .
Take care and we are always here to listen if you need us ,
The comments, advice and support offered by you all have been amazing and have really helped. Thank you so much!
I get that there are likely to be a lot of ups and downs but the last day and a half have been much better which has given me a much needed boost.
I managed to get up today, feed the dogs, get some breakfast, make a cuppa, take my tablets and was pain free. I hadn't been able to do that by myself yet and it was good to let my partner have a bit longer in bed as she has worried herself sick over the last 9 days.
Thank you so much for sharing your stories. I have taken all of the advice given on board and will reflect on this when making decisions about work etc.
I will also try and post updates in the thread. Hopefully if things go relatively well it may help others.
With regards to work I worked from 1982 until I had the opportunity to retire in 2004. I worked all over the World in Desert Locations a good hour in a chopper from the nearest medical facilities, that was if Choppers could fly on account of weather or local difficulties with either side in a civil war !!
My work wasn't manual but it was very very stressful involving millions of pounds in penalties if I got it wrong.
So don't fret about work it all sorts it's self out in the end !!
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Working out my Maximum Heart Rate after a heart attack
Trying to make sense
