I am Lucky!

Last week, I wrote about how the events of June were awesome initially but then took a portentous turn. It appears July is going to run in an antithetical direction.

The day after posting last week, I needed to go to the emergency room. While I am home and resting comfortably, three times during my five-day staycation in the hospital, I felt like I was not coming home at all.

A little history is needed first. In 2003 at 41 years of age, I suffered a kick to the chest at a Tae Kwon Do tournament that resulted in a three-night visit to a cardiac unit, a stress test, and an echocardiogram. The diagnosis was that the kick coincided with the expansion of my left ventricle throwing off the rhythm of my heart. After a few days’ rest, everything returned to normal.

In 2017, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I experienced chest pain and shortness of breath. It resolved after about ten minutes. The next day, I endured the same symptoms for nearly a half-hour before they dissipated. The following day, I awoke with the same symptoms, but this time they did not subside. We went to the ER, where it was determined I had elevated troponin (.04) and an irregular EKG. From the ER in Payson, they airlifted me to a cardiac hospital in Phoenix. The diagnosis was “a cardiac incident of unknown origin.”

In July 2019, while driving from Lubbock, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I again experienced chest pains and shortness of breath. After a quick trip to the ER, they transferred me to another hospital with elevated troponin (.08) and an irregular EKG. Normal troponin levels are less than .05. Again, the diagnosis was “a cardiac incident of unknown origin.”

Then in April, a week after receiving my second COVID vaccine, I started suffering premature ventricular contractions or PVCs. After a trip to the ER, visits with two cardiologists, a stress test, an echocardiogram, and innumerable EKGs, I was left with almost no diagnosis again.

Finally, on June 26th, after more than a week of no symptoms of any heart-related problems, the PVCs developed into chest discomfort. That Monday, I called my cardiologist who prescribed a medication to alleviate the PVCs.

IT. HAD. NO. EFFECT.

This past Saturday evening, I finally agreed to go to the ER again as I was experiencing chest pain radiating to my back on the left side. I wasn’t exactly kicking and screaming, but I was dragged. That night, the PVCs were present on the EKG, troponin was elevated (.079), but the x-ray and CT were clear. The staff in the ER felt it unnecessary to call in my cardiologist but did agree that I needed to spend the night for observation. Lisa thought it essential to contact the cardiologist.

I am so glad she did!

The hospital was unable to schedule the desired stress test for Sunday. As Sunday wore on, the pain got worse, the troponin level rose to .089, and the cardiologist scheduled a heart cath instead for Monday.

Monday morning, I awoke with no pain. Nothing! Little did we know this was a very bad sign. As it turned out, my left anterior descending artery (aka – the widow maker) was nearly blocked. The pain disappeared overnight because part of the blockage had dislodged, allowing just enough blood to flow through. The artery, however, was still 85 to 90% blocked. This blockage had not been detected by a stress test and echo in June, nor the CT in the ER. My cardiologist cleared the blockage and inserted a stent.

Unbeknownst to us at the time, my life expectancy Monday morning was being measured in minutes or hours, not in days or months or years.

Monday evening and night and again on Tuesday morning, I suffered an incredible amount of pain in my left chest and left back. Also, the troponin (.178) continued to rise. The cardiologist scheduled a second heart cath for late Tuesday but found the stent was still in place, no new blockage, and nothing unusual.

I awoke Wednesday with little discomfort but no real pain. I ordered breakfast and waited to be discharged. My troponin came back at .351! Then we got a call from the cardiologist. He told us not to leave as he was conferring with colleagues and needed to talk to us about a possible dissection of the artery. I knew that Alan Thicke and John Ritter both died from arterial dissections. We went through two hours of hell! Lisa and I talked about finances and wills and moving on after I died. We were scared.

When the cardiologist arrived, he explained that he couldn’t figure out why I had so much pain between the two heart caths. He performed a more detailed review of the ultrasound he did during the second heart cath and found a tear between the layers of the wall of the artery. This tear was not detected during the first heart cath was that when the blockage ruptured, it formed a tear in the inner wall of this artery. Luckily, the stent he placed closed the lead opening of the tear and it should heal over time, but may still cause some pain.

I had a STEMI heart attack. This means there was little or no damage to the heart muscle.

I AM LUCKY!

I am lucky to have a knowledgeable wife who went out of her comfort zone to second guess the ER staff and the hospitalist and called the cardiologist when they wouldn’t.

I am lucky the ER staff did decide to admit me for observation even though they found nothing wrong.

I am lucky that my cardiologist had just been given privileges at the hospital. I received the first and second caths he performed at this hospital.

I am lucky that the blockage ruptured when it did and didn’t cause more problems.

I am lucky to have had such a great care team in the cardio-vascular unit at the hospital.

Now for some lifestyle changes!