When I left the house at around 11:00 am on October 22, 1999, I had two chores to run. I needed to go by the bank and make a small deposit and I needed to go by the library and check on a book the library said was over due and my wife was sure she had returned. I stopped at the bank first to make the deposit. I was standing in front of the teller cage and the cashier had ask me if there was anything else. I couldn't answer. My arms were tingling and the tingling began to feel fluid, moving from my left wrist through my chest to my right arm down to my elbow. My first thought was 'what's happening to me?' Then I thought how funny, the pain going down to my left wrist and only to my right elbow. It would be more balanced if it went down to my right wrist. The cashier asked if I was alright. The pressure in my chest was so heavy I could hardly speak. I wanted to say, 'thank you', but nothing came out. Finally, I said, "I need to sit down a minute" and I backed up to a chair against the wall. I sit there about a minute until I began to feel normal. People were staring at me. I walked to the car and I sat there two or three minutes until I felt better and the pressure was gone. I drove to the library thinking, 'I think that was a heart attack or was it gas’? I drove the short distance to the library. Inside, I inquired where the book would be had it been checked in properly. The area was pointed out to me and I walked that direction. I was beginning to feel abnormal again. My left arm began tingling and I‘m having some difficulty breathing. I could feel some chest pressure and my left arm was hurting. I looked at the shelves and I could not read anything, I couldn't focus my eyes. I sit down at a nearby table. A Librarian I knew well, walked by and spoke to me. She then asked, 'are you alright? You look terrible.' I wanted to laugh. I told her I'd be okay in a minute. Shortly she came back by and said, 'I think I need to call Ann.' I told her, 'Ann couldn't do anything, I have the car.' She said, "I think I should call an ambulance." She left and I realized I was probably having a heart attack and needed to go home and get an aspirin. I didn't want to become a public spectacle in the library. I walk to my car and with some difficulty, drove home. The lanes seem to narrow and I had trouble judging distance between me and cars in front of me. The Librarian did call Ann and Ann called our daughter who was home by the time I arrived. I was feeling a little dragged out, but breathing better with little to no chest pressure. I was feeling much better now. My daughter took my blood pressure and told me, "Dad, you're all unstable, you're having a heart attack." Ann got me an aspirin. My daughter called her hospital where she was on the staff at the School of Nursing. She said she was bringing her dad there with heart attack systems to get him stabilized, then they could send him over to Methodist Hospital' (where heart patients were handled). I had a ninety-nine percent blockage in one artery and 60 percent in another. They don't deal with sixty per centers. I had a second heart attack in the hospital after a stint was put in place. They said I had some left ventricle damage but I was lucky I made it to the hospital; who knows. So far I'm doing well. I'm on a full dose aspirin regimen and everything is now normal with my ticker. The book I was looking for when this happened we later found in the house. I returned it and paid a fine. All this happened some fifteen years ago.
Bill, it sounds like you almost cashed in at the bank, and checked out at the library! You should never have driven your car, but I am glad you made out OK! Here is some info from the Mayo Clinic: MAYO CLINIC - DRINKING WATER This is indeed good information. A cardiologist determined that heart attacks can be triggered by dehydration. Now I carry a bottle of water wherever I go. aspirin is also a good idea! Good Thing To Know! From The Mayo Clinic. How many folks do you know who say they don't want to drink anything before going to bed because they'll have to get up during the night!! Heart Attack and Water - Drink 1 glass of water before going to bed avoids stroke or heart attack! I never knew all of this! Interesting....... Something else I didn't know ... I asked my Doctor why people need to urinate so much at night time. Answer from my Cardiac Doctor: Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc) seeks level with the kidneys, it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier. I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me. Correct time to drink water... Very Important. From A Cardiac Specialist! Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body: 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure 1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack I can also add to this... My Physician told me that water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse. Mayo Clinic on Aspirin - Dr. Virend Somers is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic who is the lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, When the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame. 1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system. 2. Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest; for years. (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar). Please read on. Something that we can do to help ourselves - nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work muc h faster than the tablets. Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It's about Heart Attacks - There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating;however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently. Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did notwake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water. Afterwards: - Call 911. - Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by. Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. - Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for the ir arrival and ........ DO NOT LIE DOWN!
Some good information here some of which I practice. However I don't drink much water but I'm going to start having a a glass before bedtime to see if it helps with the cramps. Thanks for passing all this along.