Please listen to your heart..literally!

wow, glad you guys both caught it in time. Hope you stay healthy, gents.

Moderators: Please move to whatever section you deem fit. I just felt the need to get this out there.

SNIP
My cardiologist said that if I hadn't "listened" to my heart, that I could have been in deep trouble.

Now that I have a second new lease on life, I wonder if I can talk the wife into another guitar (LOL).

Best regards,
Jim-Bone

Good for you mate! :D

Been there... done that too. I've got a large stent in a major artery, after getting chest pains associated with even mild exercise. They rated the blockage at 99% - which must have been something of an exaggeration. But it sure looked like a shrivelled trickle on the screen when they did the angiogram... :shock:

I was on various meds for a few years afterwards. But after realising that I was a bit overweight and underfit (not hugely, but enough...) I lost 40 lbs last year. Now comfortably inside the target range for my height, and eating very healthy food. Was able to chuck out all the meds as I now have good all round readings. Got some energy and enthusiasm back too.

Enjoy the rest of your 'new life' and of course it's a sign that you need another guitar. Got my 7th last week ( a bass at last. Wouldn't want to keel over without ever having had the fun of playing bass.... :wink: )

Cheers,

Chris

I can completely relate. I'm 51. I have unstable angina (which means that I don't necessarily have to strenuously exert myself to have an attack, I can have one while I'm sleeping or sitting and playing my guitar). I haven't had to have any surgeries yet (my blockages aren't as bad as yours were, so they're treating me with drugs), but I do have to carry around my little bottle of nitro just in case of an attack and I make sure that I take my little 81 mg aspirin every day, too, in addition to the meds prescribed (calcium channel blockers).

I've completely changed my eating habits and have virtually eliminated salt from my diet. I get out and I walk almost every day, which is difficult because I get so breathless so quickly (I also have emphysema from smoking for over 35 years). But, I know it's necessary if I want to live a bit longer!

Heart disease is in epidemic proportions now, and we do it to ourselves, and we're doing it to our children. Isn't that a shame?

I can completely relate. I'm 51. I have unstable angina (which means that I don't necessarily have to strenuously exert myself to have an attack, I can have one while I'm sleeping or sitting and playing my guitar). I haven't had to have any surgeries yet (my blockages aren't as bad as yours were, so they're treating me with drugs), but I do have to carry around my little bottle of nitro just in case of an attack and I make sure that I take my little 81 mg aspirin every day, too, in addition to the meds prescribed (calcium channel blockers).

I've completely changed my eating habits and have virtually eliminated salt from my diet. I get out and I walk almost every day, which is difficult because I get so breathless so quickly (I also have emphysema from smoking for over 35 years). But, I know it's necessary if I want to live a bit longer!

Heart disease is in epidemic proportions now, and we do it to ourselves, and we're doing it to our children. Isn't that a shame?

Wow. That has to be scary. You can have an attack at any time. A nuissance too.

I know all about the the meds. I'm on 5 of them for my heart.

Heart disease is in epidemic proportions now, and we do it to ourselves, and we're doing it to our children. Isn't that a shame?
It is! And though schools are making some cursory efforts to educate kids, it isn't enough. For kids, and even for most adults, it isn't enough to hear that bad things can be happening inside our arteries. We can't see it, we don't think about it, we feel ok enough for today, anyway, and our days are packed with more urgent "To Do's," so it's hard to get motivated.

It's time the education went graphic, similar to the way they started showing people of my generation the blackened lungs of smokers. We need to be using some more powerful tools to get this information across, 'cause the food guide pyramid alone ain't cutting it.

We need incentives, such as giving employees time off to get fit, in-house workout equipment, bonuses for savings in healthcare costs, etc. One of my pet peeves is city governments that approve annexation of neighborhoods without sidewalks. Society has to shift to make fitness and health a priority, not just an "extra" available to the privileged who have the time and money to make it happen.

Margaret

Heart disease is in epidemic proportions now, and we do it to ourselves, and we're doing it to our children. Isn't that a shame?
It is! And though schools are making some cursory efforts to educate kids, it isn't enough. For kids, and even for most adults, it isn't enough to hear that bad things can be happening inside our arteries. We can't see it, we don't think about it, we feel ok enough for today, anyway, and our days are packed with more urgent "To Do's," so it's hard to get motivated.

It's time the education went graphic, similar to the way they started showing people of my generation the blackened lungs of smokers. We need to be using some more powerful tools to get this information across, 'cause the food guide pyramid alone ain't cutting it.

We need incentives, such as giving employees time off to get fit, in-house workout equipment, bonuses for savings in healthcare costs, etc. One of my pet peeves is city governments that approve annexation of neighborhoods without sidewalks. Society has to shift to make fitness and health a priority, not just an "extra" available to the privileged who have the time and money to make it happen.

Margaret

+1 :D

My father, my mother and grandfather all died of heart-related problems. Dad was roughly the same age as I am now. For the past couple of years I've felt kind of sluggish, but never (fingers crossed!) any indications of any heart trouble. Since quitting smoking I've never felt better - I get more exercise, I take the dogs for 3-5 mile walks every day, I'm eating more healthily - a balanced diet, instead of whatever was handy to snack on. I've actually put weight on, but feel better for that - I've always been on the skinny side. Funny thing is though, my waist measurement has decreased...34" back down to 32."

It's never too late to start looking after yourself - after 30+ years of smoking 20-30 a day, the way I've felt is unbelievable compared with the last few years. (Apart from the Glandular Fever I've had for the last few weeks....)

There's a series of public information broadcasts being shown on TV at the moment - one of them says something like, "Chest Pains are your body's way of telling you to get your heart checked out - but don't leave it too late."

Over here in the UK, there does seem to be some government concern about people's lifestyles - binge drinking, smoking, and junk food have all been targeted in the last couple of years. The problem with education is, if people don't want to be educated, they'll take a "Oh it can't happen to me" attitude - until it does happen to them. Maybe it's getting to the stage where health education should be taught in school from a very early age - until it's drummed into your subconscious, like the times tables or the alphabet.

Jim-Bone, glad you caught it in time - lucky escape there!

:D :D :D

Vic

My neice was here one day when I had an attack and I think it scared the bejeebers out of her when I hit the floor! After it was all over, my sister and I explained to Caitlin that heart disease runs in our family and that she could very well be effected by it at some point in her life. About two weeks later she announced to her mother that she is now a vegetarian! And, here it is, probably a year later and she has stuck by her guns! She doesn't eat greasy hamburgers and french fries, she eats salads and rice and pasta, she stays away from ice cream and anything with a high fat content! Her brothers, on the other hand, still eat all the garbage food.

Sometimes shock value is a good thing.

My mother and father also died of heart disease at an early age. I knew it was my destiny to have the problem as well, yet I chose to ignore it, thinking that I took better care of myself than they did, and of course, I didn't. Smoking for 30+ years is probably the worst thing. My brother-in-law who is a cardiologist told me quitting smoking is 100 times more important than diet. Those of you who face the heart dilemma and can't make yourself quit smoking should talk to your doctor about a smoking cessation mediaction called Chantix. It works. believe me.

The problem with education is, if people don't want to be educated, they'll take a "Oh it can't happen to me" attitude - until it does happen to them. Maybe it's getting to the stage where health education should be taught in school from a very early age - until it's drummed into your subconscious, like the times tables or the alphabet.

:D :D :D

Vic

I totally agree with that Vic. It always easy to exclude yourself, or shift it to 'next week'. History, Geography and so on are useful, but Health Education is absolutely crucial to your whole quality of life and even goes as far as effecting the practical and economic efficency of the wider community. There are a lot of general Community issues that seem to be either skimped or ignored by education systems, and Health is certainly one of them.

I gave up smoking 25 years ago, but gave no real thought to general fitness as I never seemed to be especially unfit or overweight. Mostly, the work I was doing at the time seemd to provide enough exercise. But looks can be deceiving, and there's a tendency to just compare yourself to the increasingly numerous examples around of people who are obviously even more overweight and unfit than you are.

It's hard work at first, because much deliberate exercise is pretty boring so it's easily dropped after a few weeks. But as you get your health back you also get some energy and enthusiasm back. So it builds up. I bound up stairs two at a time now like a kid - not because I think it's good exercise, but simply because it feels good to do. :)

I've also got less interested in "labour saving devices" and more interested in doing the labour. Stuff like gardening, carpentry etc. plus walking around town more instead of shifting the car a few hundred yards each time. When Vicki and I lost weight last year, every time one of us neded to get up and do something - help a child, take the bins out, wash the car or whatever, I'd say "Exercise Opportunity!" in a deliberately nerdy kind of way so that it became a kind of regular joke. But it did stick, and now I find that my attitude has changed. I don't resent or delay doing things, I just get on with it, and it all seems a lot easier and more enjoyable for the change.

Maybe people could throw out a few 'labour saving' devices (like the TV remote) and try winding their lives back a few decades in terms of how they did things?

Cheers,

Chris

My daughter is vegetarian and has been since the third grade (she's almost 17 now). She's not vegan--she'll eat eggs and milk, but will only eat cheese if it is confirmed by the manufacturer that the enzymes used are from plant sources, and yogurt, cream cheese, etc only if it is gelatin-free. She was so sad when she learned that marshmallows are made with gelatin. She uses a certain brand of gelatin-free marshmallow fluff to make S'Mores now. :twisted:

The problem is, she doesn't do vegetarianism properly--she eats too many processed carbs and not enough veggies or protein. We tell her she is a junkfood-atarian. :? Even being vegetarian isn't going to help her much if she continues to eat this way for life. :roll:

Margaret

The problem is, she doesn't do vegetarianism properly--she eats too many processed carbs and not enough veggies or protein. We tell her she is a junkfood-atarian. :? Even being vegetarian isn't going to help her much if she continues to eat this way for life. :roll:

Margaret

I like "junkfood-atarian" :D

That's the hard part isn't it though - working out what "properly" actually is. :?

It's not only about what you eat, it's about matching it to your pattern of life. People who do hard physical labour all day can eat a very different diet to those who sit at a computer all day at work. Indeed they need to. Part of the problem seems to be finding ways of eating that fit with the way many people now live, which is quite different from the way we lived in the past when evolution was shaping the design of the body. :shock:

So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the woods to find a brontosaurus to slay. It could be good for my well-being.... :wink: :wink:

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks again for all the well wishes! Heart disease is very prominent on both sides of my family as well. My dad had a heart attack when he was in his 20's that should have killed him, but he didn't find that out until he went in for bypass surgery after a heart attack when he was 57. They figured it out from the scar tissue in his heart. He eventually passed away at 70 from a massive heart attack, so I feel very blessed to have escaped a similar fate not once, but twice.

On top of all this, I have become reaquainted with my brother after a long silence (11+ years). We have lived in the same town, but had a falling out years ago and I hadn't talked to him since Dad's funeral. He had gone in for a heart cath procedure a month ago and also had blockage. They stented one of his arteries and we are on all the same meds. Weird feeling for sure.

Chris C, glad you're okay now and congrats on getting off all the meds. I hope to be able to do that eventually as well, but not going to rush it.

Elektrablue, that is pretty scary. And good for you changing yourself to healthier ways. Best of luck and wishes for your health.

Margaret and Jimh- best of health to you as well.

Vic, glad you're on the right track to getting healthy again. and please don't heistate to get checked out if you suspect any trouble.

Take care everyone!

Jim-Bone

He had gone in for a heart cath procedure a month ago and also had blockage. They stented one of his arteries and we are on all the same meds. Weird feeling for sure.

Jim-Bone

Same here. My brother and I have always got on well, but we do live on opposite sides of the country and have led very different lives. We both had stents fitted within a few months of each other. In his case it stalled his whole career, as he was a civil airline pilot flying Jumbo jets internationally. He also changed his diet and exercise patterns - especially the exercise side of things. The medicals for airline pilots here are frequent and strict but he regained his licence after several months of close monitoring and sticking to his new regime.

All this was over a decade ago. He eventually retired at 55, as a Captain, about 3 years ago and now keeps busy teaching students to fly, performing in a small aerobatic team, and building a full sized replica of a World War I biplane in his garage. So you can get your quality of life back. Indeed, you can improve on it. :)

Cheers,

Chris

So you can get your quality of life back. Indeed, you can improve on it. :)

Cheers,

Chris
That's great news, I'm glad for him Chris!

Regards,
Jim-Bone