Cardiac arrest

[tracypalmer]

Hi I was 39 when I had my cardiac arrest heart attack n was in a coma for 23 days I had a stent fitted it happened on 21/06/16 so it's been just over a year ago I suffer mental illness aswell I'm so paranoid it could happen again

[pinnelli]

Wow, how do you feel these days? Still worried?

23 days in a coma, I thought 4 was a lot for me!

Where did you have the CA, in town etc?

Were you generally fit and well before?

At least a year must be encouraging milestone. I will be a year come 31 July

[tracypalmer in reply to pinnelli]

I had my CA at the urgent care centre I was well n fit b4

[brewster36]

I understand how you are feeling Tracy. You have been through a lot. A lot of people who experience these events has similar concerns about a repeat. However as it is over a year ago you have got past the most risky period.

Having mental health problems makes things much harder. I also have had depression and it feels like you are sometimes fighting on 2 fronts. I would like to know how common it is to have depression post HA and what works best in these circumstances.

Are you getting any support for your 2 conditions? I would like to see greater recognition for the scale of difficulty that having mental health issues can sometimes cause with heart conditions. I sense it is not talked about a great deal.

[tracypalmer in reply to brewster36]

I'm waitin on cbt from mental health which is in July n I've bin for my year check up n they said I'm ok n they av told me I ain't gotta go bk anymore as I'm ok

[sca2013]

I know somewhat you're going through, having experienced both a heart attack in 2001 and then surviving cardiac arrest in 2013. Wondering what or when is the next thing going to happen. In addition, feeling quite out of control about it all. Your state of mind should improve over time. One of the big things I've learned is the thing that drives the anxiety/paranoia/ depression is an extreme flight or fight response caused by high levels of norepinephrine in my system caused by lengthy periods of pushing myself way too long and way too hard. Anyway I found help to counteract functioning from norepinephrine and getting the body/brain to switch to functioning from serotonin and then to dopamine without drugs, pills or potions. This is accomplished by taking certain actions. Seems too simple to be real, but it actually works.

The first step is to get us out of running on norepinephrine by switching our brain chemistry to running on serotonin and then dopamine at the very least. The actions I now describe will get you operating from serotonin to dopamine, where you are in your control power center. To move from norepinephrine to serotonin do one or more of the following - Lie on the floor for a few moments, do some light fiction reading, listen to soothing music, do some simple puzzles. Then to move from serotonin to dopamine do one or more of the following: Read educational or philosophical books, listen to upbeat music, laugh, watch comedies, work more challenging puzzles, do strength exercises or tai chi, get a massage, do creative projects, do things with your non-dominant hand like coloring, learn something new, go someplace new. Then to move to operating from your brain core and actually create stem cells you can do one or more of the following random dancing, intuitive writing or art, random exercise, intuitive walking, make random patterns, or ask a question of yourself and listen to your inner self for an answer. If you have questions, please feel free to let me know. There is actually one more step. If you’re interested, please let me know. I just don’t want to overload you with all of this. Wishing you well in feeling like you’re in control again and at peace.

[tracypalmer in reply to sca2013]

Thank u I appreciate ur help I am tryin to control my stress levels n my anxiety but I just get so scared I'm gonna av another cardiac arrest/heart attack plz all the help u can give me I would be fully appreciated

[sca2013]

I used to have episodes where my heart would race and my blood pressure would be all over the place. What got things calmed down was slow breathing - inhale to count of four, exhale to count of 8 as relaxed as you can get at that moment in time. As you continue things will calm down. Also after exhaling if you can wait for a few seconds after the exhale to then take your next breath, without feeling the need to take a big deep breath.

Also do the actions from my previous post anytime you're feeling stressed or anxious, but no less than once per day. Be sure and do them everyday. The more you do them the better for you.

Here is another thing you can do too - A simple handwriting exercise just before going to bed /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\. You want sharp points top and bottom. Do a full page of them or if you tire before then go ahead and go to sleep. Only use enough pressure to make the lines on the page. The lighter pressure also helps reduce stress. Basically, the message to your subconscious as you make the line going upwards is "let", the line downwards is "go".

If you take these actions you will get benefit. Please let me know if you have other questions.

[tracypalmer in reply to sca2013]

Thank u so much for ur time it means a lot

[sca2013 in reply to tracypalmer]

Your welcome! I've been where you're at and know I would have appreciated the support too.

[tracypalmer in reply to sca2013]

Ur a star thank u