Well, it’s been 10 weeks since my heart attack and cardiac arrest. I’m okay now. I’m one lucky guy. The first 36 hours were dicey. I was very close to seeing them pearly gates. For those who may be interested, I’ll just give a quick low-down of what led up to it. I apologize in advance if it’s TMI (too much information). 🙄
Two days prior to my heart attack, I felt heartburn in the center of my chest. I took some antacid which seemed to help a bit. The next evening, I felt the burn again, so I took more antacid. Around 1:00 AM, the heartburn got so bad, it woke me up. My wife called 911. We sat outside on a bench by our front door for the ambulance. A few minutes later, 2 police officers responded. When the ambulance arrived, apparently I walked into it, but I don’t remember. The paramedic told my wife that since my blood pressure was over 200, they were going to bring me to the hospital “as a precaution”. As soon as we arrived, my heart stopped! The ER docs worked on me for 20 minutes – chest compressions and shocked my heart with a defibrillator (AED). I was sedated and intubated for almost 36 hours. I don’t recall any of that although I do recall having some vivid dreams (that’s another story).
They had to “wake” me before they pulled the tube out from my throat. I felt the tube, so I tried to pull it out myself. That would have been dangerous, so they restrained my hands. At that point, I realized I had to accept my fate. A week later, one pre-existing stent was cleared and 2 new ones put in including one in my left artery, aka “the widow maker”. I was released from the hospital 2 days later. What a rollercoaster that was!