so i've been having these random episodes of sudden chest pain for the last 1 1/2 years or so. never thought much of it ...

then, last night, i woke up around 2am with a really sharp pain in my chest, lasted for about an hour.

i felt fine when i woke up this morning. shannon and i went to get lunch and while i was driving, the pain came back and the left half of my face went numb.
we get to the lunch place and i get dizzy and have hotflashes.

shannon freaks out and drives me to the hospital. i tell them my symptoms and they rush me right past the line of other patients and into the ER and hooked me up to a gazillion of cables.

then i had to eat a bunch of pretty happy pills and they gave me a few shots of nitroglycerine. got all fresh oxygen to breath too. yum!

fast forward, 5 hours later, i'm back home and i feel fine right now.
initial test results are looking fairly good except my blood pressure was waaay high. they took x-rays too.

i'll get more details tomorrow, but it looks like my heart was trying to tell me something for the last 18 month, but i didn't listen ...

so, if you have similar things happen to you, take my advice and "listen to your heart" ...
don't put it off like it did.

scared the shit out of me ...
Andy

PS: shannon took a pic with her cellphone, i might post it later ...
she said all the wires looked like an engine harness

I'm glad you didn't come to work on your car. Better to be in a familiar place when stuff like that happens. Happy to hear it wasn't anything major.

No heart cath?

Good to hear you are OK

i'm still waiting for the final results, but yeah, i'm glad i wasn't on the road somewhere alone or at the shop, that would have sucked even more ...

fingers crossed ...
Andy

speaking of, while i was there, two people came in and died.

one woman right next to me. it looks just like in the movies, with the electrodes to jumpstart the heart and stuff. only thing they don't show on TV, this was a bloody mess! they were cutting her for air (i think), blood all over the place.
no fun to watch, they were trying to get her heart started for at least 45 minutes. came back a few times, then went away again. they finally gave up on her ...

not the kind of stuff you want to see while you're there, strapped on a hospital bed ...

then they rolled in another guy that had a heart-attack. he died 10 minutes later ...

i think i got my share of dead people for the day ...
Andy

Prayers said. You would think that someone as mechanical as you would know the mechanics of his own body. Bad Andy..

Wow, Glad to hear you're ok...probably not a good idea to blow chest pains off.
Take care of yourself.

Andy: Same thing happened to me 2 yrs. ago. Please have a compleat heart work up ,not a bad preventive maintainence idea, like checking for rust. And then follow there instructions. Were only on this ride for a short time,make it as long as possible. Dave

In the immortal words of George Burns:
"If I knew I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself when I was younger".

You're still "younger". Do not ignore this episode. Sure it scrared you, but guys have a tendency to believe that "I'm OK now, fuckit". Right now, you're paranoid...but are you paranoid enuff?

If you want to get be an old fart (not the greatest situation in the world, but the alternative is worser) get on this problem and find out exactly what happened and react accordingly...please.

Andy, you better be careful when Germany wins the World Cup.

Glad you are ok, but I agree with everyone else. Get a complete heart check. I had issues 4 yrs ago, felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest, wife & mother made me go to the ER. Long story short, after EKG, then tread mill test..... everything was fine BUT I now take blood pressure meds Not what I wanted to be doing at age 36 (back then) Every year since I do the heart check thing every year. Heart problems run in my fathers side (like most men don't make it past 60 yrs old) Just had a cousin at age 42 have a double bypass, NOT what I want to be doing.

Get check and be healthy.

Difficult to change from a Type A person which you may be, however pacing yourself enables you to have a shot at first place in many things! We have a saying in my peer group, "never operated anything yet that didn't tell me in advance it was gonna break down" You have too much smarts to be negligent about this. I wish you only good things!

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

with all of the above.

Glad yer doing okay...

hey andy,

i know we have some docs and docs in training on the board, but my dad is a cardiologist if you need any interpretation of test results.

cheers,

scott

Somebody had to say it.

Glad to hear that you're OK youoleGerryGeezer!

...

...with everyone else. Get a full work up ASAP. I've seen the results of folks ignoring those signs. It's not pretty.

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Hope it turns out to be nothing or at least something you can manage. Take care.

Bill

Yikes...hey, wanna second opinion?




Yer uglee too....badda bump....thank yew I'm here all week....try the prime rib.



The heart is nothing to screw around with....find a good cardio guy and get a good work up.

When Mrs. K chimes in...I 'm sure she can give you the rundown on good uns up there in the bay area....

Hi Andy,

Get well & listen to your doctor. It's your 2nd chance to live a long & wonderful life. It's a wake up call. Take care of yourself, we need you around.

Tom
BTW: This is the first I've had time to look at 914-club activities in the last two weeks. To Mark having lost his brother & everyone else suffering life's dis-appoints you are all in my prayer's. This 914-club family we all love is special to us all. I share your joys in life and sorrow in things that happen in your life. We are family.

Glad to know you're doin' OK. And as the song goes... "Listen to your heart"



Hang in there!!!

I went through the same thing 3 weeks ago. Ended up in ER at 1am, test results were normal at that time. Unfortunately, cardiac problems can sometimes be tricky. You should have had your bloodwork retested later that day because the enzymes affected don't change until 10 hours later. That's what happened in my case - they came back high later in the day.

I just had a stress test this last Wednesday, and fortunately everything was fine. The point is to follow up with your doctors.

But are you going to have the whole stess test, echocardiogram and angiogram (aka heart cath)????

I do the heart caths and I am an independent contractor,
so just say the word and I'll come up to your hospital and gladly assist on your procedure....
but you realize that for an angiogram we go through the femoral artery in your groin,
so I have to shave and prep the area

Seriously, if I can help in any way PM me,
but do check everything out.
It could just be your high blood pressure, which I hope is under control now

Lisa

Lisa,

If you shave and prep him, his blood pressure is going UP!!!!!

Have an ugly friend that does the same work?

Seriously, ANDY, getcher ass checked out..... Er... I mean getcher pump checked out.

Cardio is not something to fool around with. Anyway, glad to hear you are still a tough guy and still kicking. The life lesson from your roomates is to get checked out. Hope it all comes back clean and all you need to do is to relieve stress...

You know, something like "Honey, I have a perscription for sex 3 times a day....."

One of the 3 Attorneys at my old job just came in and said he was out on medical leave for awhile... Then one of the Attorneys at my new job went in 3 days a week to to cover for him. Seems he has Atrial Fib and his heartbeat goes irregular. Now he needs some lesions (burns) placed on his heart to kill the "bad" nerves that cause the erratic heartbeat.

Take care,

Ken

Happy your still hrer and kicking. I have the same thing now and again and will probably go in for the whole shubang.


Must be old age setting in I guess?

Take care of your ticker there Andy, you only get one and can't rebuild it with a Jake kit. Glad your ok.

BTDT

had something similar happen last summer. felt like a drum solo going on in my chest. been on beta blockers and BP meds ever since. I'm lucky no side effects that i can tell. although the BP meds make you pee alot in the beginning. Just think of them as a beer capsule.

Glad you are okay (relatively at least). I had a scare some years ago, and went to Emergency. Yes, they rush you past everyone. Turns out it was more heartburn than anything, combined with a numb arm from sleeping on it the wrong way. The doctor did say that the same nerves that signal heart problems are the ones that signal heartburn, so even doctors can't properly diagnose themselves on this issue.

Andy, my cardio doc was wonderful to me when I had my procedure a few years ago. I can give you his name if you're looking for a good heart doc. Lemme know, and good luck. I agree with everyone else. Definately get it checked out.

I had heart probs back in 2001, had surgery, and the problem was resolved. But recently I've been having sporatic pain and pressure in my chest again. Of course, I've been brushing it off, and I've got Brian kicking my ass to go see a cardiologist.

Jen

thanks guys & girls ...

made it through the night just fine, pain hasn't come back. still waiting for the results, but what they saw last night was obviously good enough to let me go home.

i'm already looking for doctors in my area to get a full checkup.

i don't like the idea of waking up one morning being dead ...
Andy

This is a problem with a lot of men. We are supposed to "suck it up" and deal with the pain. This mentality can get you killed. Glad you got it checked out.

Glad it is looking ok andy!!!!!!!!!!!!
emerge is no place to be.....
thank goodness you are on the keyboard and doing ok!!!
best wishes from the peters family.....
steve

jesus, andy -- i'm glad you're okay. please update the board -- you've got a few thousand supporters rooting for you here!

Glad your home safely Andy.... Take it easy....

holy crap man, i thought i was bad....

i started to get some pressure in my chest, less than 2 years ago, and saw my doc.

he started asking questions about my habits. i lied and said i eat right, drink just a little caffeine and alcohol and get regular exercise. The truth is I used to drink beer, wine, booze, and caffeine like a fish. =-O

i left thinking i would make a few changes... and did for a few weeks.

a month later, a scared dip-shit (me) payed another visit to the doc and told the truth.
the doc told the dip-shit to cut out the booze and eat more healthfully. i do actually exercise but ate excessive saturated fat and drink too much alcohol and caffeine.

now that i made those adjustments i've had no issues... well i just cut out alcohol but kept caffeine. i grill a lot more and rarely burgers...

my father told me the exact same thing as the george burns saying.... and he is right. if i'd have known i was going to live this long i'd have taken better care of myself.

I'm not young anymore and neither are you my friend. =-)

oh BTW,
excessive alcohol consumption can not only have a long term, cumulative adverse affect your liver and kidneys, but also your heart and brain.

Us smart guys need a wake up call sometimes... i hope you just got yours. who's going to kick some ass and take names at the next alameda AX if your not around?! (swith from rum and cokes to Chai's LOL)

Jesus Andy...some guys will do anything to get attention...hope all is well, all this shit seems to pile up as we age...who knew we bullet proof guys could be "gotten to" by so many seemingly small things...take care of yourself...nothing is more important and pay attention to the signals your body sends....it literally is a life and death choice. Be well. Jim

Get THOROUGHLY checked out by a cardio specialist. I just met a gentleman on vacation with family history of heart disease. He himself is a physician.

He gets checked regularly every 6 months (stress test, thalium, ekg, etc.). His las test on December 3rd came back 100% fine. 4 days later he collapsed walking the street in Manhattan. Had some additional tests and discovered 4 blocked vessels near his heart... one 99% ocluded. He was operated on the next day.

Get checked regularly!

I dont know what to say. The subject title had me freaked out.

Glad you are ok. Kinda surprised you didnt say anything about this to me prior to the hospital visit.

Glad you are ok. We have several more cars to build. Get well!


B

damn thats scary. Glad to hear you are okay andy....

I spent all day Thursday in the ER because the wife had chest pains also. Hers turned out to be GI related rather than cardio; but these are all reminders that we need to take better care of ourselves.

Thanks for sharing what you're going through. None of us want to raid your parts stash that badly.

Andy I hope they gave you a trip permit, I don't want you coming to Oregon and having the big one, you going to be okay? Take care of yourself.
CCL

Speaking of...

Perhaps we can make some suggestions on healthier eating habits that are realistically easy to do with our busy lifestyles.

I'll start...

1. Watch your intake of saturated and trans fats... (this includes trans-fatty acids, and hydrogenated oils). Use olive oil, canola and soy oil. Avoid margerines, shortenings, and processed oils. In fact small abouts of regular butter are better than most margerines

2. Watch your intake of sugar. Use natural cane sugar and honey. Avoid corn syrups, fructose, processed sugar, etc.). Drop the sodas. If you gotta have the taste, then try diet soda vs. sweetened soda.

3. Watch your intake of carbs. Choose whole grains over processed white flour products.

4. Eat healthier meats (fish, salmon, chicken, buffalo, turkey). Avoid burgers, fatty steaks, processed meats, etc.

5. Watch your salt intake. If you must use salt, try kosher or sea salt, vs. iodized table salt.

6. Drink plenty of water.

7. Minimize your intake of caffeine.

Now you don't have to do this at EVERY meal. Think about how better you would feel if you reduced your Coke intake in half each day.... you had two less burgers a week, and ate some whole grain toast with honey and peanut butter in the morning instead of a Pop Tart.

Anybody else?

that's some scarry shit Andy!
take care of yourself

Andy,

Scares the crap out of me! Glad to hear your doing OK, but take care of yourself!

Yeah, easy to say for a group of "gentlemen" who have done just about everything in the last 40 years. Still waiting for my wakeup call & expect it to be soon. Have done a lot of "lively livin" for a bunch of years, like the rest of us. But, you got the "call" - heed it.

We need your server!

Seriously! Good health!

Take care of yourself! Just as important as your diet and excercize is the amount of stress you have in your life. Definitely get yourself checked out by a specialist.

My wife's doctor recently died from a heart attack at age 40 and hadnt had any history of heart problems. Scary stuff. It was a wake up call for me.

Now that I'm in my mid 40's I have started to do some things to take care of my heart. Eating better, drinking less, going on long hikes, losing weight, etc.

Glad you are feeling better Andy... lots of good advice.... I'm with Grant on the long term affects of stress........ I think it kills more guys than anything else. Take care of yourself and relax.

Karl! Well put! Dropping a single bad eating habit is a HUGE step in the right direction of getting out of an unhealthy rut. The first step is always the hardest.

I'm trying very hard to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup. Once you start paying attention you realize that SHIT is in almost everything. Do a little reading on fructose VS sucrose. Fructose is some bad shit. Why do they serve it to us then? Same reason as everything else. $$$$$$

As I near my 6os I have learned...Moderation in Everything....of course, moderation seems to be the first thing to go...just eat sensibly and stay the fuck out of the fast food places...and no Budweiser( don't think that is healthier just tastes like shit)...

Well there ya go its all that coke you are doing, and you might want to quit the

smack and ice too.

Dude,
Glad you are not room temperature today. You have Lisa, Scotts Dad, and me if you have questions. god, the thought of having a cath done on my feromal art. gives me the willies. I hate even being touched in that area, but if my ticker were giving me symptoms I would not hesitate.

For all: Chest pain with ANY left side issues (arm pain, face pain) is a MAJOR red flag. The way the heart is plumbed is the reseon for this. Please seek help if you have these symptoms in particular.

Also Andy, I am truly sorry that you had to witness all the death and carnage while you were in there. That is not cool at all and I am sad that they did not do more or have the facilities to keep such things private from you. If it is any consolation, the next generation of docs are being traind to avoid such things. I consider it customer service on the psychological level.

Check your diet and habbits and live long, please.

Shit Andy, which hospital was that? They lost two right in front of you! I think I would be looking for a good cardiologist and a better hopsital! Sounds like you're getting plenty of good advice..now just follow it. Good health is a lifetime job. Get to work!