Attack!
=======
On Thursday, August 28 I returned to NYC via a three hour train ride from
a 2 week summer trip to my family in New London, CT. Upon arrival at Penn
Station, I dragged my (approx.) 50 lb. luggage to the subway, took the
subway, dragged the luggage to my apartment building, climbed three
flights of stairs, and then entered my apartment. (NB: physical stress).
I then turned on my computer and went on the Net. I saw that I had 500
messages waiting for me, including quite a number related to list
management that required prompt action on my part. (NB: mental stress).
As I was answering these messages, I took time out only to drink some
coke (a stimulant with caffeine). Then, while I was on-line, ... pain.
A dull pain around my heart and chest. I didn't know what the problem was.
I never had that kind of a pain (a dull pain feeling like compression
around my heart and chest area) before. [In retrospect, it felt as if
someone had clenched my heart tightly with a hand. However, one thing that
I was able to discover later is that, although there are a list of
symptoms, different people experience the sensations of a heart attack
differently].
[I didn't have any reason to believe that I had heart problems. E.g. there
isn't much of a family history, I don't have diabetes, I'm not obese, I've
never smoked cigarettes, I'm not an alcoholic or a durg addict, I don't
have high blood pressure, etc.]
So I logged off of the computer and tried to relax. I laid down on my bed,
but the pain only diminished marginally. So, I got up again and walked and
sat down, etc. I unpacked my bag. Perhaps some walking and food would help
(I hadn't eaten since that morning). I went out for a walk to the Strand
Bookstore, then stopped for a sandwich to go, and went back home (and
walked up those 3 flights of stairs again)! As I was walking I realized
how weak I was -- I felt like I was a 30 foot boat powered by a 5 hp
engine working against an adverse current and head seas (no get up and
go).
Back in my apt, I ate half the sandwich, watched the news on TV for a few
minutes, and then took a bath. I then consulted some medical reference
books (intended for emergencies at sea). Something caught my attention --
one of the books said that with angina, one has a short pain but with a
heart attack the pain continues. That didn't sound good *at all*!
Time to do something, finally. I called the emergency number for my
health provider (HIP) and spoke to a doctor. He said "dial 999 and go to
Beth Israel" (the closest hospital, which I found out later has an
excellent reputation for its cardiology unit). After hanging-up, I decided
to *walk* to the hospital (thinking that the time it would take to call
911 and have an ambulance come would be longer). I then walked the six
blocks to Beth Israel and entered the Emergency Room. [The next day, when
the doctors were making their rounds, the chief cardiologist told, with
great emphasis, the story of how I *walked* to the hospital. The other
doctors and interns and residents were oohing and ahhing with amazement:
that was a first in their experience].
"What's the problem?", the receptionist asked. "I think I had a heart
attack". (note past tense). Seconds later, I was on a stretcher. A couple
of minutes later, they hooked me up for an EKG (electrocardiogram).
Suddenly, about a dozen doctors and nurses were all over me. Amongst other
things, they gave me oral medication (nitroglycerine) and other medication
through 4 different lines that they put in my arms. It was at this time,
that one of the doctors broke the news to me: "you are having an ongoing,
continuing heart attack experience". "WHAT ??? I'm HAVING a heart attack
NOW ???". For the first time that day, I was scared. I also felt like
such a moron, i.e.
-- the heart attack began at about 4:30 P.M., but it was after 7:15 when I
entered the hospital! How could I be so stupid?
I could, at this point, tell that things were bad -- very bad. The
doctors, especially, looked very worried (and this, in turn, began to make
me worried). My body also, at about this time, began to experience bouts
of involuntary shivering.
Surprisingly, while they were working on me in the ER, they called my
parents and I talked to them over the phone. I think they wanted me to
talk to them "just in case" (and that didn't relieve my apprehension at
all).
Then, *the* crucial moment. They injected "TPA", a "clotbuster" that is
kind of like "Draino" for the arteries, into my veins. Shortly
afterwards, the EKG readouts confirmed that it was working! All of a
sudden I could see the tension dissipate from the faces of the doctors
and nurses. I could see then they weren't sure, until that moment, that
I would survive.
[I found out recently that If the TPA didn't work, they would have
probably had to immediately roll me to the cath lab up for emergency
angioplasty. But, by that time, it might have been too late].
Later that night, they moved me to the intensive care section for
cardiology patients. There I remained for the next 6 days. I was
bed-bound, monitored by videocamera, connected continuously to a machine
that measured vital signs and various lines in my arms for intra-veneous
medication. Not fun. There were very frequent readings of my blood
pressure (every 30 minutes at first), large amounts of pills to swallow,
and lots of blood samples taken. Well ... let me cut out some of the rest
of the details.
The doctors did, in the following days, tell me a couple of interesting
statistics:
(1) A major way in which the severity of a heart attack is measured is by
the level of enzymes released. The "average" heart attack, I was told,
had an enzyme reading of 100. My enzyme reading was over 500!
(2) The particular type of heart attack (in terms of what was the major
artery blocked and section of the heart affected) that I experienced was,
for young people who experience heart attacks, the leading type of *fatal*
heart attack!
After they released me from the hospital, they prescribed --
-- a whole lot of medications (which has been significantly reduced in the
period since);
-- rest at first (my cardiologist at the time instructed me not to lift
more than about 3 pounds for the first few weeks); a programme of exercise
later.
-- a low cholesterol, low-fat, low-sodium diet.
I.e. they gave me the generic advice for those who experienced heart
attacks. But, I never did find out what caused the heart attack. All of
the factors that I describe above, according to the cardiologists,
shouldn't have resulted in a heart attack for someone so young (I was only
43 at the time) and in good condition. I even found out later (they didn't
tell me this while I was in the hospital), that my cholesterol levels were
good at the time I had my attack. Moreover, when I had an angiogram (no
fun!), I was told that the build-up of plaque on the walls of the arteries
were all in the "normal" range. Also, the only time in my life I had high
blood pressure was *when* I was having the attack and minutes later it
was normal again. Go figure! [I have since learned that it is frequently
the case for the small minority of those who have heart attacks at an
early age that there is no obvious reason for the attacks and the
cause(s) remain a mystery].
Anyway, I've gotten a lot better since and now view the experience as
beneficial in some ways: there's nothing like the specter of death to make
you re-consider what you want to do with your life. So little time ....
LESSONS TO REMEMBER
====================
Now I get to the real point of this post. IF YOU REMEMBER NOTHING ELSE
FROM THIS POST, PLEASE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING; *SOMEDAY YOUR LIFE MAY
DEPEND ON IT*:
1) Although you should ask yourself if you are especially vulnerable to
heart disease (e.g. is there a family history? do you smoke? are you
overweight and out-of-shape? is your cholesterol or blood pressure high?),
MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A HEART PROBLEM UNTIL THEY HAVE A
HEART ATTACK OR STROKE.
DO NOT, AS I DID, JUST ASSUME THAT YOU COULDN'T BE EXPERIENCING A HEART
ATTACK (OR STROKE) BECAUSE YOU HAVE NEVER HAD HEART PROBLEMS.
2) DON'T WASTE TIME! EVERY SECOND, QUITE LITERALLY, COUNTS. DON'T, AS I
DID, JUST TRY TO TOUGH IT OUT AND HOPE THAT IT WILL GO AWAY. TAKE ACTION
IMMEDIATELY!
GO TO THE HOSPITAL!
The very worst that can happen is that you find out that your problem is
of lesser importance and even unrelated to your heart.
Maybe no one, hopefully, on the list will experience a heart attack. Maybe
someone will in 20-40 years time. But, PLEASE, PLEASE try to remember --
at least what I have capitalized above.
Better to die at the barricades fighting for something we believe in, then
to be taken out by our own hearts. We all, after all, are at a time in our
lives when we have to take better care of ourselves. And there aren't all
that many Marxists out there; we owe it to each other not to squalor our
most precious resource -- our lives.
In solidarity, Jerry