Please DO NOT ignore the signs

[tvguy]

We have no idea whether my mother in law knew of her health issues, if she had been told by her Doctor she had the issues, and if so, if she chose to ignore them. She didn't show up to work one day, passes away from a heart attack in her sleep. Coroner said she would have been a prime candidate for a bypass.

 

[DLgal]

Sorry for your loss. Very sad situation.

 

[Meriweather]

Sorry for your family's loss

 

[fly girl]

Thank you, everyone. Crazy we wouldn’t know if we passed each other on the street, but I really do appreciate this Dis friends I have made over the years. Funny how a message board can become part of your daily routine.

And my heart goes out to those whom have experienced similar events too. Death is never easy, just more trying when they are young.

If this thread has sparked anyone to listen to their body even a tiny minutia more I will be so pleased.

Thanks everyone! Much love

 

[Kitty 34]

So very sorry to hear this Flygirl.

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

I'm so sorry for your loss @fly girl.

 

[TeresaNJ]

I am so so sorry for your loss. My brother had a massive heart attack at the age of 50, but he was one of the lucky ones, and got to the local ER in the nick of time, where he was treated with the protocol and then life-flighted out to a major University hospital to undergo surgery. He was having signs a few days prior, feeling like a heavy weight was sitting on his chest when working out, and heavy arms, and he had to keep stopping to rest. He neglected to tell any of us until he called me a few days later while he was at work saying he just didn't feel right, that his arms were heavy. He didn't have any of the classic signs such as chest pain, profuse sweating and shortness of breath. Just the heavy arms and that something didn't feel right. That was when he told me what happened a few days earlier when he was working out. Fortunately someone in the office asked if anyone had aspirin, and my brother said he brought some to work with him that morning, which was highly unusual, as he usually only takes ibuprofen. He immediately took a few, and left for the ER, with a co-worker driving him. I think the aspirin and not waiting for EMTs and an ambulance show up is what saved his life. So I agree with the OP. Do not ignore any signs that are unusual for you. Better to feel embarrassed at the ER if you only have indigestion, rather than be dead. Here's another PSA for you. Do not ignore sudden severe heartburn and indigestion either. It could be MI symptoms. Also, do not ignore chronic heartburn or indigestion. My brother had those also, and was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last February a year ago, and passed away in September, 7 months later. He was only 63.

 

[soccerdad72]

So sorry for your loss

 

[CGB]

I’m so sorry for your loss and your nephew for losing his dad at such a young age. I hope your friend has a quick recovery and I send strength to his wife. Hugs to you. That’s a lot of reality all at once.

I almost lost my DH when he was 57, but thankfully we got him to the hospital in time. His quadruple bypass was enough to convince him to drop his bad habits and six years later, he's doing great. We made a lot of changes and he still attends the maintenance program with his cardiac rehab to this day.

We had warning signs before but didn't recognize there was a problem. DH's mother had a bypass, but he had never had any issues. He was in good shape and wasn't on high blood pressure meds, but he was a smoker. His warning signs included: high irritability, loss of breath/sweating with little exertion, very susceptible to short exposures to heat/humidity (tiredness, wiped him out). It was enough that our daughter and I gave each other looks behind his back. We thought he was stressed out and hoped our Disney trip (two days later) would help him relax. I even commented that if the trip didn't help, I'd make him go to the doctor when we got back. On the day it happened, he had gotten mad at something that happened at work. He came home early, complaining of a tight pain in his chest that hurt when he breathed. At that point, all he could say was "something isn't right" and knew he needed help. It was the first time he had actual pain. Later that evening, doctors discovered four of his arteries were clogged 95-100%.

So, warning signs can be easily overlooked. Higher temps/humidity during the summer can bring those health problems to the forefront. They can easily be explained away. Don't ignore them.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Sorry for the loss and a good reminder.

 

[maxaroni]

So sorry to hear of your loss.

My DH had no warning signs and had spent the majority of 2020 painting our house, up and down ladders, doing some repairs, etc.. We were planning on putting our house on the market and had the time to do it himself as he was working from home and business had slowed due to Covid. We were on a Sunday morning walk in our neighborhood where he developed acute chest pains and collapsed. He wound up with needing triple bypass and is doing well.

 

[Shellsbutt]

I'm so sorry for your loss-I am so lucky that my DH is still here, he had triple bypass surgery two months ago. He is 56 years old.

We were out on a walk when he complained of chest pains, he initially thought it was just heartburn or indigestion. He thought he was going to just make an appointment to see his doctor- I'm so glad we went to the emergency room instead. We were told to call 911 for chest pains, take it seriously and don't wait.

 

[RUDisney]

I'm so sorry to read this. My prayers for you and your family.

 

[fla4fun]

My condolences on your loss. Thank you for taking time out of your grieving for the health reminder.

 

[georgina]

I will add my condolences. Sudden loss is especially shocking.

Family history of heart issues here. My dad was golfing and had some pain, sat down for a while to wait for his golfing buddies to finish, then had a quadruple bypass! I am 60 and had some chest pains a few months ago that did not go away for 30 mins or so, so had DH call 911. My city goes all out, brings 2 trucks (!) and about 6 people, so I'm sure it gave the neighbors something to talk about. They did a mobile EKG, checked O levels, finger prick for something, and said it all looked OK, they could transport me to the hospital or I could just follow up with my Dr the next day. Decided to follow up, Dr did another EKG, said probably a reflux issue, or possibly muscular.

 

[Pink Partridge]

I type this with an extremely heavy heart. I have been absent on the boards because we had a very unexpected death of my brother in law at the age of 53. By appearances, he was in overall good health. Sadly, a massive heart attack took his life way too soon. He leaves behind his 16 year old son.

Oh. This is so terrible. I am so sorry for your entire family, but the 16 year old boy without a father makes my eyes well up. This is such sad news.

 

[Pink Partridge]

I will add my condolences. Sudden loss is especially shocking.

Family history of heart issues here. My dad was golfing and had some pain, sat down for a while to wait for his golfing buddies to finish, then had a quadruple bypass! I am 60 and had some chest pains a few months ago that did not go away for 30 mins or so, so had DH call 911. My city goes all out, brings 2 trucks (!) and about 6 people, so I'm sure it gave the neighbors something to talk about. They did a mobile EKG, checked O levels, finger prick for something, and said it all looked OK, they could transport me to the hospital or I could just follow up with my Dr the next day. Decided to follow up, Dr did another EKG, said probably a reflux issue, or possibly muscular.

Well, thank God you got checked. I am glad you didn't ignore the signs.

 

[Mysterian]

I'm so sorry, Fly Girl. I hope you and your family are holding up. It's never easy losing someone close so suddenly like that.

It's frightening how common this can be, where seemingly healthy people can be unaware of underlying issues until it's too late.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I will add my condolences. Sudden loss is especially shocking.

Family history of heart issues here. My dad was golfing and had some pain, sat down for a while to wait for his golfing buddies to finish, then had a quadruple bypass! I am 60 and had some chest pains a few months ago that did not go away for 30 mins or so, so had DH call 911. My city goes all out, brings 2 trucks (!) and about 6 people, so I'm sure it gave the neighbors something to talk about. They did a mobile EKG, checked O levels, finger prick for something, and said it all looked OK, they could transport me to the hospital or I could just follow up with my Dr the next day. Decided to follow up, Dr did another EKG, said probably a reflux issue, or possibly muscular.

I’d hope they’d schedule you for a stress test, given your family history and your symptoms. Even though nothing acute may have been going on at that moment, you still could have some coronary artery disease brewing. Family histories are so important. The danger is that if it happens again, and is, say, CAD, you might think not to seek help because of what happened last time. So be aware there can still be issues. It’s interesting to me the emergency personnel called it in the field. I’ve never heard of that before. Most people are transported to the ER, where doctors there do a full assessment, look at the big picture, and make recommendations for follow up and things like stress tests and such, if not fully admitted.

 

[fly girl]

I will add my condolences. Sudden loss is especially shocking.

Family history of heart issues here. My dad was golfing and had some pain, sat down for a while to wait for his golfing buddies to finish, then had a quadruple bypass! I am 60 and had some chest pains a few months ago that did not go away for 30 mins or so, so had DH call 911. My city goes all out, brings 2 trucks (!) and about 6 people, so I'm sure it gave the neighbors something to talk about. They did a mobile EKG, checked O levels, finger prick for something, and said it all looked OK, they could transport me to the hospital or I could just follow up with my Dr the next day. Decided to follow up, Dr did another EKG, said probably a reflux issue, or possibly muscular.

So glad you got it checked and happy to read you are doing well. You did the right thing, better safe than sorry.

Oh. This is so terrible. I am so sorry for your entire family, but the 16 year old boy without a father makes my eyes well up. This is such sad news.

That is who we are heartbroken for. Dh's parents have passed already so they didn't have to bury their son.

Nephew has his mom (BIL and her were divorced) and his half siblings so I am thankful for that. But he was very close with his Dad. Whole new level of heartbroken when you want to make it better for a kid and you can't.