Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/03/13

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction
From: rgacpa at gmail.com (Robert Adler)
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:09:15 -0700
References: <C4CA9162-8B51-475F-89D1-F93688AD75F1@mac.com> <DF256AA8-45CF-4639-8D03-471187DAEE69@embarqmail.com> <FC464FC6-97FF-4762-A940-E7A5B7AFF527@mac.com> <CAED110F-0402-4093-A718-C7A40E4D96C1@gmail.com> <CA+yJO1AF2A55qF10bM2+Yix0CL0TWbakN7ohp1mda=tcL4bHYQ@mail.gmail.com>

Thanks for this Tina. I've forwarded it to many.
Bob

On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 5:10 PM, Tina Manley <images at comporium.net> wrote:

> By coincidence, I got this e-mail today from a close friend.  It seems that
> women have different symptoms:
>
>  FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
>
> I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
> description I've ever read.
>
> Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have ... you know,
> the
> sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest &
> dropping
> to the floor that we see in movies. Here is the story of one woman's
> experience
> with a heart attack.
>
> I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior
> emotional
> trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all
> snugly &
> warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an
> interesting
> story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the
> life, all
> cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.
>
> A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've
> been
> in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of
> water,
> and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going
> down
> the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you
> shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly
> and this
> time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach.
> This was my
> initial sensation--the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of
> anything
> since about 5:00 p.m.
>
> After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing
> motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably
> my
> aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my
> sternum
> (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).
>
> This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into
> both jaws.
> 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read
> and/or
> heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening,
> haven't
> we? I said aloud to myself and the cat,  Dear God, I think I'm having a
> heart
> attack!
>
> I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step
> and
> fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack,
> I
> shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere
> else...
> but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and
> if I wait
> any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.
>
> I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
> room
> and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart
> attack due to
> the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I
> didn't feel
> hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the
> Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if
> so, to
> un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me
> when they
> came in.
>
>
> I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost
> consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination,
> lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the
> call
> they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we
> arrived and saw
> that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap,
> helping the
> medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me
> asking
> questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I
> couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and
> nodded
> off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already
> threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta
> and into my
> heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right
> coronary
> artery.
>
> I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken
> at least
> 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps
> 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only
> minutes
> away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his
> scrubs and
> get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my
> arrival
> and the procedure) and installing the stints.
> Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want
> all of you
> who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.
>
> 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not
> the usual
> men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws
> got
> into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first
> (and
> last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake
> it
> as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go
> to bed,
> hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up... which
> doesn't happen.
> My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I
> advise you to
> call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not
> felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk
> your life
> guessing what it might be!
>
> 2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.'  And if you can take an aspirin.
> Ladies,
> TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
>
> Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the
> road.
>
> Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking
> anxiously at
> what's happening with you instead of the road.
>
> Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at
> night you
> won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering
> service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the
> equipment
> in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN
> that you
> need ASAP. Your Dr will be notified later.
>
> 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
> cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated
> reading is
> rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied
> by
> high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and
> inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into
> your system
> to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound
> sleep. Let's
> be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could
> survive.
>
> A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
> you can
> be sure that we'll save at least one life.
>
> *Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male &
> female) who you care about!*
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Josey Hare
>
> Implementation Specialist
>
> On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 6:38 PM, Steve Barbour <steve.barbour at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> >
> > On Mar 13, 2012, at 12:37 PM, George Lottermoser wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > On Mar 12, 2012, at 5:23 PM, Ric Carter wrote:
> > >
> > >> CRAP! We're going to make you swear off politics!
> > >>
> > >> now, you owe us details.
> > >>
> > >> get better quickly
> > >
> > > Interesting Ric - nothing seems very important since the event
> > > EXCEPT: family, friends, and breathing ;~)
> > >
> > > Details:
> > > Saturday:
> > > 9 am - Morning shower
> >
> > thought I'd mention George, the fact that hot showers can bring out the
> > symptoms of a heart attack.  So when we corresponded, you had mentioned
> > that.
> > It made me feel the likelihood of an MI was higher.
> > Heat, vasodilation, need for increase'd cardiac output to maintain normal
> > blood pressure, so quite a bit more demand/stress on the heart...if the
> > heart is healthy, then no problem, but......
> > I suspect there was a connection, so best to  avoid hot showers and baths
> > for a while, especially now.
> >
> > Sounds like your judgement to seek attention was correct and timely, damn
> > you are a lucky man,   you should do well.
> >
> > I sure expect so, we need you back here, I would like to use your self
> > portrait on the leica site, is that OK?
> >
> >
> > Steve
> >
> > > 9:15 am - choking, feeling like can't breath, tightness in chest
> > > radiating up into jaw and out to shoulders = Heart Attack
> > > toss robe over wet body - take 3 80 mg aspirin and google - mild heart
> > attack symptoms
> > > 10:00 am - Decide I'm having a heart attack, wake up Erin and drive to
> > emergency.
> > > EKG, blood pressure, nitro glycerin under the tongue,
> > > IV mounted in right arm, blood drawn from left arm
> > > morphine into the IV, lots of questions, chest exray
> > > 11:55 am - SELF PORTRAIT (even though exif says 12:55 - apparently
> never
> > set for Daylight Saving)
> > > The rest of saturday afternoon, and night, blood tests, nitro patches,
> > drugs and tylenol for the headache produced by the nitro.
> > > 5:30 - 6:00 - starting to feel sort of normal.
> > > Enzyme and protein numbers - coming back as rising - confirming heart
> > attack
> > > Sunday:
> > > 7:30 am - meet cardiologist
> > > 9:00 am - Catheterization - stent in left coronary artery (95 %
> blocked)
> > > 11:00 am - in ICU - drugged - dozing - visitors - more blood drawn -
> > more drugs
> > > Monday:
> > > Just working on "getting the hell out of Dodge"
> > > 4 pm - released with a large packet of information - 4 prescriptions to
> > fill
> > > and setting up an appointment for the next Stent procedure in a couple
> > weeks.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > George Lottermoser
> > > george at imagist.com
> > > http://www.imagist.com
> > > http://www.imagist.com/blog
> > > http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Leica Users Group.
> > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Tina Manley, ASMP
> www.tinamanley.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>



-- 
Bob Adler
Redwood City, CA
http://www.rgaphoto.com


Replies: Reply from imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)
In reply to: Message from imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)
Message from ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)
Message from imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)
Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)
Message from images at comporium.net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] IMG: Self portrait 4 hours post myocardial infarction)