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Women's heart attack symptoms: OT but important



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 25th 08, 03:55 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
tanadashoes
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,879
Default Women's heart attack symptoms: OT but important

I got this from Christine Burel. I miss that lady.

Pam S.
===================================

NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
FROM AN ER NURS

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have
ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and send it on!
Diane K. in AZ
FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
description I've ever read.

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.

'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior
emotional trauma that one would suspect might've 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 spasming), 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 footrest 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 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 unbolt 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 Cardiologist 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 stents 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 stents.

'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 asprin.
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).
MIs 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.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male
& female) you care about!**





  #2  
Old June 27th 08, 12:55 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Kylatte =^. .^=`
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18
Default Women's heart attack symptoms: OT but important

Thank you for that most important info, Pam.
Much appraciated
Hug
Kya
--scared now

"tanadashoes" ...
I got this from Christine Burel. I miss that lady.

Pam S.
===================================

NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
FROM AN ER NURS

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I
have ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and send it on!
Diane K. in AZ
FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
description I've ever read.

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.

'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior
emotional trauma that one would suspect might've 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 spasming), 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 footrest 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
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 unbolt 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 Cardiologist 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 stents 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 stents.

'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 asprin.
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). MIs 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.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male
& female) you care about!**







  #3  
Old June 30th 08, 10:45 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
polonca12000
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,521
Default Women's heart attack symptoms: OT but important

tanadashoes wrote:
I got this from Christine Burel. I miss that lady.

Pam S.
===================================

NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
FROM AN ER NURS

snip


Thank you so much for this very important information, Pam.
I miss Christine too.
Purrs,
Polonca and Soncek
  #4  
Old July 2nd 08, 03:10 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
John F. Eldredge
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 976
Default Women's heart attack symptoms: OT but important

On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:55:47 -0400, tanadashoes wrote:

I got this from Christine Burel. I miss that lady.

Pam S.
===================================

NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
FROM AN ER NURS

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I
have ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and send it on! Diane K. in
AZ
FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the
best description I've ever read.


And, just to let everyone know, men's heart attacks can have the symptoms
described here as well. I had a heart attack in 1999. I had had pain in
my left arm for several days, mostly at the elbow joint, so I thought
that it was arthritis. On the morning in question, I was on my way to
work and started feeling a sensation of pressure in the right side of my
chest, as well as the aching in my arm. I also started feeling pain in
the right side of my jaw. I decided to drive myself to the nearest
hospital, about four miles away (in retrospect, it would have been safer
to call an ambulance). When I got to the hospital, they were able to
tell from a blood test that I was, indeed, having a heart attack. When
they got me on the operating table, and put the arteriogram dye into my
blood stream, it turned out that my right coronary artery was 95% blocked
by a blood clot. They put in a stent. Since that time, I have had
several more stents put in (but haven't had any more heart attacks). I
have now gone about 2 1/2 years without any new blockages, so hopefully
the medication and diet will keep me from having any more.

So, male or female, heart attacks don't necessarily come with the sharp
stabbing pain that you hear about. If you think that you might be
feeling the early signs of angina, have a doctor check it out. If
problems are caught soon enough, it may be possible to deal with them
without surgery being necessary.

--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from
http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria
 




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