Find a good cardiologist, and take whatever medicine and advice he gives you religiously.  Avoid stressfuld situations, even if it means finding a new job.  Avoid certain types of foods. At the first symptom (pain shooting down the left arm, irregular heart beats or chest pain), go to the ER -- do not live in denial like I did when the symptoms started, it could get you dead.

no such animal as a minor heart attack

Quoted: Well, yours truly ended up taking a trip with blue lights and outriders to the ER on Wednesday morning. I was having a major argument with the boss when the world went tits up and I ended up in a soggy heap. Paramedics arrived asap and did the usual and packed me into the back into the ambulance. Wired for sound and shitloads of tests and injections later I was  diagnosed with a minor heart attack and discharged Friday evening from the Cardiac unit, more tests to follow… So, anybody else been down this road? Any pointers? ANdy

You feeling better Andy?

I've never heard of a "minor" heart attack.  

Change your diet, change your life - avoid stress, stressful people, stressful situations, Doc will probably put you on a low-salt, low-fat, low cholesterol diet (not as bad as it sounds, easy if you or the Mrs. does a lot of home cooking - tougher if you eat out a lot)

Depending on precisely what happened, they may put you on meds (325 mg aspirin, plavix, lipitor all sorts of fun things) and will check progress on regular blood tests. You may carry nitro tablets or an inhaler. Might want to learn a few basic medical tasks (how to take your BP for one, Lumiscope makes some handy electronic testers that are reasonably accurate - although should be checked against the Doc's)

Do learn about the warning signs and do take them seriously, you can be a dead tough guy or a living wimp (by going to the hospital when you feel things going wrong) Don't overexert yourself and heed your Doc's advice on any exercise programs.

Sometimes a little heart attack earlier is better than the big one later - you likely have a chance to change your habits and avoid the latter.

Good luck!




ETA: Find something soothing for a hobby, fish can be very relaxing, or gardening, or classical music.

Agreed, "minor" is usually just "one you live through".

On the bright side, the boss might be really hesitant to stress you out from now on.  Any time he gets on your ass, you can grab your shoulder and grimace.  It'll probably give him a stress heart attack.

On the serious side, you've gotten good advice already.  Find a cardiologist whom you can trust with your life, because that's what you're doing, and then do what he/she says.

Jim

Sorry to hear of your health problems.  I hope all goes well for you.

If it happened on the job diring a major argument, you need to call a worker's comp attorney and file a Form 3 (whay they call it in Oklahoma, don't know about GBR.)

In Oklahoma, that is considered to be a work related injury and is often compensable. You may also receive Temporary-Total Disability (TTD) benefits for the time you are off work.

This is not bullshi'ite.

They stuck the catheter up my femoral artery all the way up into my heart.  It was mental torture up until the time they injected liquid valium into my arm.  I clearly remember the point where I changed from being freaked out to "I don't give a dang".

Quoted: no such animal as a minor heart attack

A big +1 on that.  Glad you're doing well!

Now take care of yourself, dammit!!!

Do they know the cause - blockages in the arteries taking oxygenated blood to the heart muscles, or is it something else, such as some sort of irregularity caused by disrupted nerve signals that trigger the heartbeats?

Andy, what do you do for a living? If your job is stressing you out maybe you need to find a job that causes you less stress.  

Quoted: no such animal as a minor heart attack

something like 1/3 of all first time heart attacks are also the last.

Quoted: Well, yours truly ended up taking a trip with blue lights and outriders to the ER on Wednesday morning. I was having a major argument with the boss when the world went tits up and I ended up in a soggy heap. Paramedics arrived asap and did the usual and packed me into the back into the ambulance. Wired for sound and shitloads of tests and injections later I was  diagnosed with a minor heart attack and discharged Friday evening from the Cardiac unit, more tests to follow… So, anybody else been down this road? Any pointers? ANdy

You are lucky.   My father did not survive his first heart attack.

You have been given a wake-up call to get your shit straight for the sake of yourself and your loved ones......Do not waste the chance.

An extremely small number of those who have a heart attack survive after receiving CPR even by trained people.  PREVENTATIVE approach is the only approach.

BTW, an ASPIRIN a DAY makes a WORLD of difference -- ask any doctor.  It may make the difference between life and death.

Whatever you do take proper care of yourself, and follow the doc's advice.

Quoted: Thanks guys, good advice here. I'm due to see a Cardialogist in a weeks time and I'm off the the Navy Hospital for a Thallium Scan next week… sounds like fun. Andy

Thallium stress test is not that big of a deal (radioactive dye that imaging picks up - tells the cardiologist areas that are recieving proper blood flow) - they will likely put you on a treadmill (getting resting & active images) but under the supervision of qualified staff should the old ticker act up while on the 'mill.

Cath lab (heart catheterization through the femoral artery) is also not that bad (IF they give you a good local first) - dignity is however not an option - they will shave the local area, and it is usually either a very cute nurse or a big wumpus - either way you get laid out spread eagled (and can watch the monitor if you like) of them poking about. If there is significant blockage (60-70%) of the coranary arteries, they can stent it (put in an internal expansion mesh) or angioplasty (blow up a balloon. Worst part is laying still on your back for 6-8 hours afterwards, and the local pressure required to stop the femoral artery from bleeding when they take the sheath out. Great fun.

You will also now have something to bore fellow travelers to tears with: "let me tell you about my medical problems..." you can say as they furiously try to operate the exit escape window mechanisms...

Quoted: They stuck the catheter up my femoral artery all the way up into my heart.

I guess there are different Thallium tests.

I don’t even remember precisely what they did to me when I had one, but they didn’t do that (or I’d certainly remember it!!).  IIRC they gave me a glass of milk to drink and then simply hooked me up to some sort of IV thing.

Also, I didn’t notice any effect at all from the thallium.

Anyway, +1 on avoiding stress.

I retired from a really high-stress job somewhat pre-maturely due, in part, to simply realizing that things weren’t working right with my body.  An EKG taken a bit later proved I was right – and prompted the thallium test.

If I had stayed working, I’m pretty much convinced I wouldn’t have made it another year.

Good luck and listen to your cardiologist.

There's no such thing as a small heart attack-that's med speak for you are going to have the big one in the near future if you don't do something about it.

How old are you, Andy?

As stated before, thallium test is a nuclear medicine test - no arterial puncture required.

Angiogram/PTCA - that's when they stick the big catheter in the femoral artery, thread a wire up to the heart, inject dye to take a look at the coronary arteries & their branches, and depending on degree of blockage, may elect to perform angioplasty, with or without a stent (drug-eluting or otherwise).  If the blockages are too bad, you might end up in the OR for a bypass.

Post-ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome  <-- new buzz owrd) care is lifestyle modification (eat healthy, stop smoking, exercise, etc...) and whatever medications the cardiologist things you need ( Beta-blockers, anti-platelet agents, etc...)

Close follow up is definitely recommended - find a good cardiologist.

Take care of yourself broham and take this shit serious. In the last 3 weeks 2 of my buds died from a "first" heart attack---------43 and 44yr's old!
And for God's sake if you need a pacemaker make sure it's not a Lucas mfg'ed one...!

Quoted: Quoted: How old are you, Andy? 46… Somewhat 'hefty'… 5'11", 205lbs… don't smoke, cholestrol is OK, blood suger spikes though, hypertension for which I take Atenolol.   Drive a desk for the British Navy, Departmental Manager, had to put in a 12 hr day on Monday, 17 hour day Tuesday…meltdown on Wednesday. ANdy

Andy I'm so sorry to hear this. Just after all the shit with your leg too.
I'm an Ex Union Steward

If your job is causing you stress....no matter how little, your Employer has a "DUTY" to reduce it.
I'm assuming you would be with the IPMS

No(desk) job is worth dying over.

Get Well good friend

Taffy

My Father had a relatively "minor" heart attack, he detected the symptoms coming on and got his ass to the hospital.  He was lucky as there was no heart muscle damage, he ended up with a couple of stints.

My brother had a similar situation as yours but it ended up being an anxiety attack that mimicked a heart attack to a tee.

Hope you feel better Andy.