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I would just like to add don't wait for the pain in the jaw I have had 2 heart attacks and never experienced jaw pain. For me it is always arm and shoulder pain that radiates to back and accross shoulder blades and cold sweats. I almost always have these same symptons sometimes not the sweating and sometimes have dry heaves. I have had 2 heart attacks and lost track of stints but over 17. Now have pacemaker and feeling better
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Four years ago this month, my husband called to me from the bathroom - he was on the floor, I tried to help him and couldn't, so I immediately called 911 and an ambulance was there within minutes. They got him to ER and he got the necessary meds within 3 hr. of the stroke happening. The doctor told me later that his was a case that they would talk about in medical circles for a long time as the drug worked exactly as it should. It was amazing to watch him come back. He passed away about 6 months later from a combination of problems, kidney and heart failure and Alzheimers. But the drug really does work!!
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Thank you so much for this information.
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Thank you for sharing stories.
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Originally Posted by grocifer
I apologize for the length of this post but it is important. I send this as a response to jrharrys earlier thread on her close escape.
This is not my own personal experience but I was a ER nurse in my younger day and thought this was well worth sending on. I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read. Also Stroke symptoms can be viewed at the end. Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack, You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack. NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE 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). MI's 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.. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends this to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life. Now for the Stroke Symptoms -- S *Ask the individual to SMILE. T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today.) R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. S` Stick out Your Tongue If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,that is also an indication of a stroke. A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally . He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. |
Hi,
Excellent information in this post. Thank you! How do I send JUST your info to my email so that I can forward it to a number of my friends. Thanks for your help. westies |
Originally Posted by BeckyL
My neighbors 63 yer old apparently healthy SIL complained of jaw pain, went to bed and never woke. They are on the way to the funeral as I write this.
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My 37 year old sister just died from this very thing on May 19th. The doctors sent her home from the ER twice, said it was anxiety attacks and there was nothing wrong with her. The third time she didn't make it into the ER doors.[/quote]
I am so sorry for your loss... my friends all thought I was having an anxiety attack also until the social worker came to talk to them in the ER waiting room. . . |
The more times this is read, the more it is drilled into our heads. Thanks for the info.
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THANK YOU for sharing this vitally important information!
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I wanted to share some information that might help for stroke victims and especially their families. I read a book called My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor. She was fairly young and had a terrible stoke. She survived and it took a long time but she made it back and shares her experience of what she felt and all she went through. Then she explains a lot of what happens in the brain. It is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I encourage all of you to get a copy or check it out at the library.
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I would like to add something in regard to women having heart attacks. I had one in 1995 and my symptoms were as follows: waking from a sound sleep and my head and neck were soaking wet. I thought a cup of tea would help the extremely full feeling but it didn't work. As I took my cup to the kitchen sink a feeling of wooziness came over me. Luckily I made it to the bedroom and told my husband we have to go to the hospital, something is wrong. Our mistake was not calling an ambulance. Trying to drive me to the hospital was not good. As my DH drove out of the garage I fell to the ground unconcious. When we got to the hospital we found out they did not have the right to do angiograms . The nurse had to send me by ambulance to a large hospital in Boston. Feeling very very full after eating a small amount of food is a sure sign. BTW, I was more or less unconcious almost all the timeand when I woke up they told me Dr. had done an angioplasty. Have had two since then , both with a stent inserted. Ladies please take heed, you only have one life..
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Thanks for posting this and it looks like it has had a great response! I had a heart attack in January...it was pretty much as described. I walked up the stairs at work and let my supervisor know (a former paramedic) and he drove me to the hospital. In less than 40 minutes from the beginning I was at the hospital and had the stent put in and was moved to my room in the ICU. I am glad that I had paid attention to everything I have heard about heart attacks in women since my Grandmother died from hers in 2000.
Take care of yourselves, Ladies! You are worth every minute of care. :) |
Oh, by the way...I was only 45 at the time.
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Thank you for the info and also the clarification on the colesteral level issue- docs get out of sorts at the first raise in it and seem to take it out of context
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It would be more helpful if doctors would try to find the cause of the inflammation that causes cholesterol and plaque build up rather than to take drugs to lower it, which cause liver damage and a host of other problems.
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A few months ago I started having problems breathing and thought I was getting bronchitis. I already had a runny nose. I get it just about every yr. and I have asthma. We don't have ins. so I just took over the counter meds and waited for it to run its course. About a week and a half later I still was not feeling better, actually worse so my DH took me to the hospital. they listened to my heart and lungs and immediately took me back to be seen. My heartrate was 150. What I thought was bronchitis was a flutter in my heart which could have caused a multiple of other problems including stroke, because it causes clots. Luckily after 4 days in the hospital they sent me home on meds for my heart and I will be fine.
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My beautiful brother Mick died last year from a heart attack. He previously had no symptoms and that afternoon though he had food poisioning. Even though he only lived 5 minutes from the hospital, by the time the ambulance was called it was too late. He was 45, way too young to go with 2 young children. :-( It has left an enormous hole in our family and we miss him very much.
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Thank you so much for the detailed account. I went to the hospital for what I thought was a cardiac event. It wasn't thank goodness. The only one who thought that going to emerg was dumb was me. Everyone at the hospital assured me that it was, indeed, better to have a false alarm than have a visit from the coroner.
On another note, my 52 year old friend had a heart attack on Christmas last. But because she was having family over for the Christmas feast, she ignored her symptoms. Yup, she was having a heart attack. Had she gone in when she first experienced problems, which was a few days before, they would have found that she needed bypass asap and would never have had the heart attack. Now that she has had a heart attack, she is at greater risk for another. So, don't ignore strange symptoms as suggested in the inital thread. |
Originally Posted by carhop
My DH said his hands hurt I was rubbing them when he passed he said mmmmm that feels good and he was gone
God bless you and my you have your own peace at the end. |
thank you for sharing
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Originally Posted by Catherine Marie
Thank you so much for the detailed account. I went to the hospital for what I thought was a cardiac event. It wasn't thank goodness. The only one who thought that going to emerg was dumb was me. Everyone at the hospital assured me that it was, indeed, better to have a false alarm than have a visit from the coroner.
On another note, my 52 year old friend had a heart attack on Christmas last. But because she was having family over for the Christmas feast, she ignored her symptoms. Yup, she was having a heart attack. Had she gone in when she first experienced problems, which was a few days before, they would have found that she needed bypass asap and would never have had the heart attack. Now that she has had a heart attack, she is at greater risk for another. So, don't ignore strange symptoms as suggested in the inital thread. But I have to stress to everyone...."Please don't let the doctors ignore it either." My sister had been having the funny feelings and outright pain for about a week with 2 visits to the ER. Both times they never even checked her heart or even suggested it. She was at the hospital the night before her death and was on her way to the hospital again the next night, but didn't make it. We have a large painful hole in our family also. She has 3 kids that really miss and need her too. |
I wish you would have posted this in Feb. I had a stroke in March, so many things you said have hit home. I was very lucky that my stroke was minor and I am almost back to normal. I hope everyone who reads this will follow everything you said. Thank you so much
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thanks for the posting.
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westies -- I highlight the text, go to Edit(at top of page), click select all, Edit, click copy and then open my email program, place my cursor in the message box, Edit and click paste and you should have it. Hope this is clear enough to understand.
This has been enlightening to read of everyone's close calls and I feel so sorry to hear of all those who have lost loved ones -- believe me, all the Dr's and Nurses would rather you come in with a false alarm than not at all. Better safe than sorry. |
Thanks for the reminder !
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I just recently asked questions about heart attack survivors. I hadn't read this post. Thanks so much.
I just wasn't feeling well but I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. I had my husband drive me to Urgent Care. Well, they would not acept my insurance. I went to 3 care centers. The one that did, said I should have an EKG. After a few seconds of being hooked up, she said you are having a heart attack. An ambulance showed up almost before she finished her sentence. I was carried out into an ambulance and taken to the ER of the hospital, which was only 1 block away. I never thought to go to the ER right away. Within 45 minutes I was in the ER and they input 2 stents. I was preped, introduced to the Dr.who explained the procdure. For some reason I was very calm. I don't think my mind understood what was happening. About a wk after being released from the hospital I had respiratory failure. This time I was having problems getting a deep breathe, my husband wanted to drive me to the hospital but I told him to call an ambulance. hat was worse than the HA. I panicked and had to be restrained and they ended up have to put the tube down my throat. When I awoke I didn't know what had happened. My husband says I don't want to know. So, if you have problems, don't wait. go to the Dr or to the ER. |
Shakes head at
Well, they would not acept my insurance. I went to 3 care centers I am glad for you that everything worked out well |
Originally Posted by LittleMo
Shakes head at
Well, they would not acept my insurance. I went to 3 care centers I am glad for you that everything worked out well |
Thank you for this. This is something too few of us are aware of, and this knowledge could save someone's life.
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Thanks so much, as we all age it's some very important info to know
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Thanks you may have just saved a friends life :thumbup:
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Thanks for all the good information.
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