I recently received an email from Friend of the Blog Steve up in Canada.
He said I can repost this so maybe it can help someone else.
Hey Hows it going. Eventful day here today. About a year ago wife and I been sleeping in separate bedrooms. Not cause of hating each other but just more comfortable for us in our old age. My dachshund Fritzi always always crashes with me and Charlie the old spaniel sleeps at the foot of her bed. Two nights ago Fritzi crawled into bed with Alissa and I felt a bit out of sorts but ok…
Yesterday morn after her shower she was complaining her left arm was sore. My spidey senses then went up and I asked if we should go to the emergency. She says no its not too bad and she had pains before. First I heard of this but she insisted we do our grocery shop we had planned the night before. Did that …came home…relaxed…I make supper and hit the sack early
This morn she says she had a hell of a time sleeping and her arm is still sore …mabe even worse than yesterday. I told her lets go…off to the hospital.
Sure enuff its a heart attack. Few hours in the small town emerg then a transfer by ambulance to the big city emerg.
When all said and done…no tears to the heart…no surgery needed. Me and my boy just got home but she of course is gonna be in the hospital for a week or so for stabilizing and observance.
Next time my little buddy Fritzi tells me something wrong like what he tried a couple nights ago …Im gonna listen and ….she going to the emerg right away
I keep you posted
Steve in Canehda
I replied that it was some serious paying attention on his part and was glad it turned out OK. he replied to that with this,
Good Morning. Yeah …While working 38 years in heavy construction for various contractors…we were orientated and safety trained up the wazoo at the start of every job. One very high risk job we were told it would be a very good idea to take the St. Johns safety training as well…company would pay for the course and for the hours that we attended. We were taught what to look for… for signs of someone stroking or having a heart attack.
Heart attacks arent always a short or violent instance. My wifes heart attack lasted well over 24 hours and finally stabilized with three sprays of nitro under her tongue. She bitched about the taste and it giving her a headache but she is alive.
Like I said I saw the signs the previous day and I should have acted on them right away but she tuffed it out for another day before I put my foot down and said we going to the emerg NOW. Thankfully she alive.
Laters
Steve in Canehda
PS If you want to post what I sent you yesterday and today on your blog …kind of a public service or special interest thing…go ahead. I know a lot of older guys and gals are readers and commentators so it might serve as a good reminder
Yes, very good advice and since it only takes me a few minutes to copy/paste this, I hope it may help someone else out in the future.
it’s no joke, couple yrs ago i ignored a light, painless ‘flutter’ in my lower neck for about 5 days, day 6 i might not have been there for Christmas
went to clinic, guy kinda freaked sent me straight to er, they kinda freaked while observing me all night…every time the flutter would come they would rush in (their monitors would see it and send out a warning of some sort)…i told them to settle the fuck down because i felt fine, anyhow, next morning cardio doc came in (he felt as though he had to thankfully, otherwise he’s not suppose to come on saturday) cathed & stented, life saved, good to go!
one piece of advice he gave me ” never tell the er folks that you are NOT in pain” it can cause a life or death delay
Pain can be anywhere on the body. myocardial Infarction pain typically presents itself in the left arm, but can exhibit in the sides of the neck, your right arm or just parts of your arm. It can present in the lower torso or legs. Any unexplained pain that radiates should not be taken lightly, especially as you get older. A crushing or elephant sitting on your chest should not be ignored. Steve, you are correct in interpreting Fritzi’s behavior, animals can sense and smell biochemical imbalances in other animals, including (especially) us. They will exhibit behaviors that are contrary to their normal behaviors. Be critical and observant when you come across this again. I am glad the outcome was joyous and she survived!
Women frequently present with atypical symptoms of an MI. It is imperative that they and their family insist that medical staff take their symptoms seriously and do ALL the appropriate testing for an MI.
Yup, no pain at all. I thought my asthma was acting up. I was having trouble breathing. I asked the Pulmonologist what the difference was between the discomfort of a heart attack and an asthma attack. He said the heart and lungs use the same neural pathways, so not surprise I couldn’t tell anything out of the ordinary was going on. So 7 stents later and the Cardiologist says the heart is back to functioning in the normal range.
About a year ago I was cooking dinner on the grill and suddenly it was like severe indigestion, pain down both arms (not excruciating but there) and I broke out in a massive sweat. We live about a half mile from the local hospital, wife drove me over. They took me in, hooked up the electrodes and called the helicopter. My guardian angel was working over time. About 2 hours after the onset, they were installing stents. Ended up with 6 and a defib implant due to the severe heart damage. Seventy two years, never been in a hospital, never with a health issue or warning sign, aerobically active (ran a 5K the month before). Five days in ICU, now I’m feeling back to normal, tho stopped running. Dr said all the years of exercise probably saved my life. Only potential warning was a family history of cardiac issues. Lesson to be learned, don’t ignore sudden changes in how you feel.
Thank you for the warnings and experiences, everyone: the positive results are a real plus. Forewarned is forearmed as always and don’t ignore cats, either. My daughter has various medical annoyances and two cats. One was a rescue and is the closer to her: he always knows when she’s not well and fusses over her.
Our much-missed previous cat didn’t leave my side when I had the first attack of rheumatoid arthritis.
Thanks for that Phil, Cederq, and all you patriots who commented. That’s why I love this place and you people.
The MIL yesterday was having double vision. Her BP was fine, her left eye was not dilating as fast as the right. Her left grip was a little less than the right. Told her she was going to emergency as i thought stroke.
They did bp, eye dilation and ecg and all were good so they sent us to wait till they could admit her.
4 hours later her vision getting worse and she is getting cranky, which i know she needs to eat. I ran and got her lunch, made ger eat the whole thing. Shortly after her eyesight got better. When they took her back in the figure she forgot breakfast and was low on blood sugar.
Thankfully not a stroke.
i had my PCP (Primary Care Physician) save my life – I had been deteriorating s-l-o-w-l-y and didn’t realize it. He looked at me, had a cardiac flow test performed, and I got a new heart valve less than 10 days later. Two plus years ago I was in the Emergency Clinic (on a weekend) for a problem, and my wife had been complaining about some angina. I told her that while we were there to get looked at RIGHT THEN, and lo and behold, she had surgery four days later for a double bypass. The heart specialist informed us we caught it at hte very beginning, so no lasting damage done.
We have been truly lucky (God watches over fools and children, and I ain’t no child) and I certainly hold some of the medical establishment in high esteem !!
Thanks, Steve, and also you, Cederq, for the timely reminders !!