Mark
WKR
A little background before my story begins...
I'm 56, 5-9 and have an average weight of about 180lbs +/- depending on the time of year, not a lot of body fat, active and aside from a couple of successful spine surgeries, I'm in decent shape (mostly my personal opinion). I have slightly high blood pressure that is managed by meds. Low HDL cholesterol, slightly elevated LDL cholesterol but considered low risk so no meds. I don't smoke. I don't drink alcohol. I eat clean the majority of the time.
And then I got a really big wake up call on 03/18/2018. I had a somewhat mild heart attack. It took me about 5 hours to figure it out. In that last 30 minutes I was still only 75% sure it was in fact a heart attack. Most would call that denial.
I was at home and had spent most of the day in bed thinking it was flu or maybe heartburn (more denial). Then things changed - I started having pain in my right arm and both jaw bones started to hurt. I called 911 and fire was a short 3 minutes away, paramedics were close behind. By the time paramedics arrived I was hooked up to EKG and had fluid lines in. Within 10 minutes of that the heart attack was confirmed and I was inbound to ER.
Twenty minutes later I was in the ER with a large team getting me prepped for an angioplasty to open up the clogged arteries. I was told later that I was getting about 15-20% of normal blood flow. No wonder I was so fatigued and short of breath.
After a couple of hours it was determined that that procedure wasn't going to resolve my problems. Enter the surgery team with news of an emergency triple bypass on the menu for that night. As in right now.
Lots of rushing around, lots of people prepping and a couple of quick phone calls to calm my two boys down and off to the operating room I go. I'll skip the next several hours and just say the surgery went well and I had a very horrible Day 1 in ICU.
Day 2 is when the nurses seemingly lose all compassion and tell you it's time to get up and walk. Easier said than done, but with the help of two nurses I was able to take a 100 foot walk down the hallway followed by an excruciating minute of pain getting back in bed. If you've never had your sternum split, spread and wired back together that part probably doesn't translate well here. Take my word for it - that part of the surgery hurts bad.
Days 3 through 5 were progressively better. By Thursday night I was walking the halls of the cardio floor on my own making friends at every nurse station along the way. Friday I was discharged and phase II began at home.
Fast forward to today and I'm happy to report that I had my first visit with my cardiologist since my surgery. He released me to drive again, released me to go back to work on 04/16 and set me up with the cardio rehab team starting next week. I'm walking a little over a mile a day and my heart Ejection Fraction is at 50% today (55% is considered normal). I had minimal heart damage so long term I'll be back to a normal EF soon.
So just like that, without any serious warning signs, I have had heart failure. Now I'm considered "at risk" and some lifestyle change has begun. Diet and exercise are the Big Two for heart health. I'll do my part and take it seriously. I'm far too young to throw in the towel.
My 2018 hunting season isn't happening. My cardiologist strongly suggested today that I take the season off. I agreed, albeit reluctantly. By duck and upland season I'll be good to go.
I don't really have a moral here other than don't take your health for granted. We're all grownups here so I won't preach the meds vs no meds or try to convince you what to do. My life journey has shifted slightly, but I'm far from down and I'm strong enough not to be out. Surprisingly, I'm healing up quickly and I see tremendous progress daily. Today I'm a grateful heart attack survivor!
I doubt I'm the only one here that's been through something like this. For those that have survived it, I feel your pain. For those that haven't dealt with it, I hope you never have to. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Good luck this season and I look forward to reading about your hunts.
I'm 56, 5-9 and have an average weight of about 180lbs +/- depending on the time of year, not a lot of body fat, active and aside from a couple of successful spine surgeries, I'm in decent shape (mostly my personal opinion). I have slightly high blood pressure that is managed by meds. Low HDL cholesterol, slightly elevated LDL cholesterol but considered low risk so no meds. I don't smoke. I don't drink alcohol. I eat clean the majority of the time.
And then I got a really big wake up call on 03/18/2018. I had a somewhat mild heart attack. It took me about 5 hours to figure it out. In that last 30 minutes I was still only 75% sure it was in fact a heart attack. Most would call that denial.
I was at home and had spent most of the day in bed thinking it was flu or maybe heartburn (more denial). Then things changed - I started having pain in my right arm and both jaw bones started to hurt. I called 911 and fire was a short 3 minutes away, paramedics were close behind. By the time paramedics arrived I was hooked up to EKG and had fluid lines in. Within 10 minutes of that the heart attack was confirmed and I was inbound to ER.
Twenty minutes later I was in the ER with a large team getting me prepped for an angioplasty to open up the clogged arteries. I was told later that I was getting about 15-20% of normal blood flow. No wonder I was so fatigued and short of breath.
After a couple of hours it was determined that that procedure wasn't going to resolve my problems. Enter the surgery team with news of an emergency triple bypass on the menu for that night. As in right now.
Lots of rushing around, lots of people prepping and a couple of quick phone calls to calm my two boys down and off to the operating room I go. I'll skip the next several hours and just say the surgery went well and I had a very horrible Day 1 in ICU.
Day 2 is when the nurses seemingly lose all compassion and tell you it's time to get up and walk. Easier said than done, but with the help of two nurses I was able to take a 100 foot walk down the hallway followed by an excruciating minute of pain getting back in bed. If you've never had your sternum split, spread and wired back together that part probably doesn't translate well here. Take my word for it - that part of the surgery hurts bad.
Days 3 through 5 were progressively better. By Thursday night I was walking the halls of the cardio floor on my own making friends at every nurse station along the way. Friday I was discharged and phase II began at home.
Fast forward to today and I'm happy to report that I had my first visit with my cardiologist since my surgery. He released me to drive again, released me to go back to work on 04/16 and set me up with the cardio rehab team starting next week. I'm walking a little over a mile a day and my heart Ejection Fraction is at 50% today (55% is considered normal). I had minimal heart damage so long term I'll be back to a normal EF soon.
So just like that, without any serious warning signs, I have had heart failure. Now I'm considered "at risk" and some lifestyle change has begun. Diet and exercise are the Big Two for heart health. I'll do my part and take it seriously. I'm far too young to throw in the towel.
My 2018 hunting season isn't happening. My cardiologist strongly suggested today that I take the season off. I agreed, albeit reluctantly. By duck and upland season I'll be good to go.
I don't really have a moral here other than don't take your health for granted. We're all grownups here so I won't preach the meds vs no meds or try to convince you what to do. My life journey has shifted slightly, but I'm far from down and I'm strong enough not to be out. Surprisingly, I'm healing up quickly and I see tremendous progress daily. Today I'm a grateful heart attack survivor!
I doubt I'm the only one here that's been through something like this. For those that have survived it, I feel your pain. For those that haven't dealt with it, I hope you never have to. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Good luck this season and I look forward to reading about your hunts.
