I'm here in the hospital after suffering what the cardiologist said was a widow maker heart attack.
I'm 53, weight lift and then do 15 minutes of intense cycling 5 times a week.
OK I have a fondness for desserts and 5 pints of beer but that's purely for the weekend.
I could do with losing 5 lbs as had a break from exercise for back pain.
The doctor said my cholesterol isn't too bad, my blood pressure is great, my resting heart beat is very good but here I am.
How the hell did this happen? I'm in disbelief as I thought nope not me, such a game changer and I'm just so angry that I allowed this to happen to me.
The hospital staff and care is brilliant, I felt an odd dull pain in my chest , tired, a shortness of breath ( nothing like the movies were people clutch at their chest in agony) so I thought must be a sprain but it was the pain around my ears which was intense.
I drove to A and E ,waited a few hours got seen and then it was like a rollercoaster, ecg, trolley, some crash unit, then straight to get the angioplasty and stent put in. A whirlwind of activity in which all I could say to the doctors was I don't believe this is happening.
Well I'm recovering well, it's odd because I really don't feel like I've had a major serious medical episode, I feel normal.
Is this normal, is any of what I'm saying make sense or strike a similar chord with anyone else.
Yes the exact same thing happened to me last January (I’m 47). My BMI is 19, I don’t smoke, I run a lot, walk a lot and lift weights. I have always cooked from scratch and don’t eat much in the way of saturated fat. Maybe I drank a little too much wine but not an extreme amount.
I still struggle with the ‘why?’ aspect. However I feel I have made improvements, I try to do 20k steps a day now, I try and run 5 times a week as a minimum and I am very strict with my diet. I’m trying to treat it as a warning.
I hope you come to terms with what happened, mine still feels like a strange dream - we only called an ambulance because my GP just kept telling me it was a hiatus hernia causing my pain during exertion but one morning it was just different (I had the same as you, a widow maker). The only bonus was a long-forgotten critical illness policy that was nearing its end date which paid out!!
Glad you're on the road to recovery, and without sounding insensitive it assuring you still do solid physical activities, its the one thing that has been worrying me ie is that it, am I now doomed to light exercise.
My younger brother ( 51) eats burgers, drin
ks more then me, is seriously out of shape, I had a very serious talk with him yesterday to sort his physical health out.
I might ask about my critical health cover from the bank, been paying it for 23 years, let's see what they say.
Thank you for replying, it helps come to terms with this and I wish you the best.
The cardiologist told me the worst thing I could do would be to wrap myself in cotton wool - he said give it ten days then get back out running, so I did. I do struggle with tired legs from the cocktail of drugs that I take, but apart from that I’m fine. My cousin mentioned COQ10 may help with this so at my annual check up I might as the GP about taking it.
It’s good to find people who have a similar story (well, not good that it happened to other people), it’s reassuring. Good luck with your policy!!
oh you mean the covid vaccination, yes I had the first one , then the booster but none since 2021, so it's been a few years so doubt its that
Hi, Hidden and TubbsTattysyrup sorry to hear about your heart attacks - I had one a few weeks ago too, and had a stent (my LAD had 2 blockages, they covered both with one stent). Cardio rehab team told me not to resume running until I had done the cardio rehab programme, but glad it is going well for you Tubbs. If you don't mind me asking both of you - I've been getting angina (left arm ache, sometimes, in left upper chest too) since about a week after the stent (when they put me on a beta blocker, which may or may not be connected). Was getting all sorts of crazy palpitations after the stent too. Palpitations seem to have almost completely gone away now (touch wood) since I started on the beta blocker, but the angina persists (and may have started when I started taking the beta blocker). Almost always comes on when I go out in the cold, but can happen any time. Did you have any angina-like symptoms, and if so, did they go away? I really want to get back to running and walking. Off work trying to recover, but don't feel like I am making much progress. Best wishes to you both.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't read your post properly, I assumed this happened a few weeks ago. I am 52, mine happened about 6 weeks ago. Was doing Couch to 5k, walking regularly (long and challenging walks), had lost 1.5 stone (but wasn't hugely overweight anyway), was feeling the fittest I'd felt in 20 years. Cholesterol was normal. Ate well (mostly cook from scratch). Apart from high blood pressure (medicated & controlled) I didn't seem to have many reasons why this would happen. But genetics also play a part, and sometimes there's nothing much (or anything) you could have done to prevent it. My cardio rehab team gave me all sorts of exercise and diet advice after discharge, but to be honest I was doing all of that anyway, and more. So I think it's just one of those unfortunate things. Hopefully you've been mended now, and you'll make a great recovery. Best wishes with your recovery, hope it all goes well for you.
I wouldn't class myself as an athlete and have always done weights and then a good stint of aerobics after it, im also not ripped but I do agree that these life time habits probaly did save my life
Mine too, always done weights and cardio 6/7 days a week, would say I was super fit, had my heart event in the gym followed by open heart surgery
Had all the comments ‘told you the gym wasn’t good for you’ etc. It was my cardiologist who said tell them “If it wasn’t for the gym I probably wouldn’t be here”.
5 years later I’m training 6/7 days a week again, weights probably at 60% of what I used to do, cardio probably 150% more than I used to 😄
I think we all have that why me moment but it soon passes. I am quite surprised about the A&E wait as any time I mention chest pain i'm on the express train to triage and an ECG!
I had an MI at 45 but no stents, it took a month or so to get back to normal but after cardio rehab I was back at the gym doing weights, X-trainer etc. I also have a defective heart valve but it has taken another 15yrs before I had to cancel my membership and with luck that's only until my op next year.
When people ask me about it I say i'm in a better place than you, I know what's wrong with me, they are treating me and monitoring me. Millions of people have the same problem and no idea about it.
and you could look at it from the opposite end of the telescope - thank goodness that the issue was found and that you had the stent done. If you’d ignored the pain? If you were in an area when they don’t necessarily give an angiogram straight away, or even if this did they wouldn’t necessarily give you the stents …?
I’d imagine most people are surprised, and wondering why why why.
Hi Baly, I get how you feel. I am 35 been active most of my life. Played many sports, you name it. Just an active person as what my friends and family would say.. and certainly I don’t know if I am that fit anymore(totally changed my perspective)
recently I was diagnosed with CAD through heart screening out of Intuition. I felt something was not right despite gp says my ecg are quite normal .so I went to cardiologist. Few tests and finally angioplasty.blocked LAD 80% at 35.
I would put it on strong family history.( my dad had first heart attack at 30s died at early 50s),lifestyle, diets all the crap I ate growing up .(irregular sleep pattern due work) stress management, and higher than optimum cholesterol level, Nothing much can be change on genetic. I am trying to improve the rest.
I hope you will get better soon and live a long healthy life. Cheers
I feel similar to what you mentioned, active, not sedentary, stressful job, poor sleep, parents both with angina.
But I'm going to beat this for my wife and daughter.
Thanks for the reply and may you have a long healthy happy life, the same goes for all of us who find ourselves here.
jerry12953 Stuartc100 hi , could you both have your own separate discussion about jabs etc, I'm here to get a handle on those with similar experiences and how they felt and managed it.
You're not at all alone here. I had a HA at 38 earlier this year, very fit and active. Mine was due to a congential issue that had gone undetected until the end of 2022, but still, it was a massive shock. They still don't know exactly what caused it, a clot ??DVT from somewhere, but all a bit vague. Sometimes there is no hard and fast reason. This absolutely isn't your fault.
I'm very glad you're not feeling to bad. If that's the case, it's even less likely you're doomed to light exercise - I had exactly the same concern as working out and cycling everywhere was key to managing my mental health as well as keeping me fit. I was advised to ease off after the HA while I waited for OHS to correct the issue, but I did get in a bit of sneaky cycling without consequence. My heart was only mildly damaged by the HA and as soon as a month later it had healed to be pretty much as efficient as before the HA.
If cardiac rehab is offered, take it. You may not need to be shown how to exercise (!) but you will meet lots of other people who have also had a surprise cardiac event and are baffled by it also. It will help you feel a lot more normal.
I was under weight, could run 10 miles, resting heart rate of 45, blood pressure fine, cholesterol and started getting angina and needed stents. The consultant said his view was in 50% of cases, the cause of heart diesese is genetic, so don't be hard on yourself. My mum had heart attack at 50 and needed triple bypass. My dad same at 60. He said that was the cause. He did say however if I had not looked after myself a bit could have been much worse
Back home now. Gave my wife and daughter a Big Hug.
The heart echo test showed minimal/ nothing to cause alarm type of damage.
Got a cocktail of pills to take but just feel happy.
Had massive craving for a glass of red wine but actually scared so might give it a miss for a few weeks and give my whole system a reset.
Looking forward to my life, looking forward to the heart rehabilitation group.
That’s the attitude, look forward to the gift of a ‘second life’. I wish everyone could but I realise it is a very individual thing.
It’s what I’ve done since my HA 6 months ago, I'm 71, I’ve got 2 x PCI, AVR and a single CABG after superb care by my cardiac surgeon and his team. Never one for physical exercise, apart from a period when I was cycling 200+ miles a week to keep fit, I’m now doing my local park run as part of my post procedure rehab/keep fit routine and I’m at times for 5k that I last saw 12 years ago!
I had a surprise MI which I thought was a food allergy reaction when I went to A+E . Found to have 2 of a congenial heart defect. Rare and little info available about it. Just my luck . I’m convinced it was connected to the virus we can’t talk about on her that I had 6 weeks previously, microclots. But I’ll never know.
So many people have surprised heart events without the dramatic symptoms we imagine. It should be discussed and information shared more, especially for women.
The MI and Cardiac rehab was life changing for me . Now regularly exercise , eat better and great full to be given another chance to live.
Enjoy the glass of wine and good luck with your recovery
5 weeks ago yesterday I had the same thing! I am 52, I don't smoke or drink, cholesterol is fine,blood pressure is fine, diet healthy and no diabetes. They think maybe a genetic link alongside stress(have a stressful job) and menopause. Lots of emotions over the past few weeks which are settling a bit bit I can relate to lots of this and the comments by other people here. It does feel like a story at moments...and then overwhelmingly real in others. I think this site is amazing.. its like finding people who truly understand and also the knowledge and answers are great. One day at a time for us all... that's my plan at the moment.
One day at a time is how I approach it, sometimes it feels like an event which happened a long time ago and sometimes it feels all too real and hits me hard.
Be kind to yourself, rest, talk about it at your own pace and things start to get easier.
Cardi rehabilitation is something very important and will help getting the confidence back, please try to get this done as I've heard nothing but positive things about it.
take care and I wish you a positive road to recovery
I had a similar experience, with minor differences, ended up with stents, narrowly avoiding a triple bypass which would have increased my recovery time by several times!
Afterwoods I felt "normal" after a few weeks, back to work full-time . The works assessment found my limitation to lifting weights, maximum 5kg-shocking! I even went on holiday abroad for a week. I was trying to do things to the max, to test my bodies reaction. During my holiday I had one event, which to me was like my heart was vibrating-yes just like a mobile! Next day everything was fine, it must have been the stress? Later on I found out it was AF!
My real troubles started in winter months. November and onwards. The real body /heart changes were now kicking in. I'm on new meds and coping well but less adventurous, more tired, than before. I was on target for loosing some weight, took a while, now down by half kg. The cycle continues, monitoring BP, HR etc and changing meds via GP and cardiology as needed.
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