Islander
01-31-11, 05:24 PM
Sharyn Duff-Kibbe
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
I am an ER nurse. I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.
Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing a heart attack? You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest and 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 have brought it on. I was sitting all snuggly and 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 La-Z-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. 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. You 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 (hindsight, 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 (myocardial infarction/heart attack) 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. 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 (911). 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. I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney, getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way. 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. I 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. That is 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.
Both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was ready 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 of installing the stints).
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned firsthand.
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body during a MI, not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act, I didn't see it). Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep!
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. They commonly mistake it as indigestion; take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation. They go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up...which doesn't happen.
2. My female friends, your symptoms might NOT be exactly like mine. So I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING unpleasant is 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!
3. Note that I said, #1 'Call the Paramedics.' Then, if you can, take an aspirin. 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 ask 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. If it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. Also, he doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved. The Paramedics DO, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP.
4. 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 (HELLO WOMEN!) and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones
into your system to sludge things up in there.
Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.
Source: personal communication
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
I am an ER nurse. I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.
Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing a heart attack? You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest and 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 have brought it on. I was sitting all snuggly and 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 La-Z-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. 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. You 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 (hindsight, 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 (myocardial infarction/heart attack) 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. 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 (911). 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. I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney, getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way. 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. I 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. That is 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.
Both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was ready 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 of installing the stints).
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned firsthand.
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body during a MI, not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act, I didn't see it). Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep!
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. They commonly mistake it as indigestion; take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation. They go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up...which doesn't happen.
2. My female friends, your symptoms might NOT be exactly like mine. So I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING unpleasant is 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!
3. Note that I said, #1 'Call the Paramedics.' Then, if you can, take an aspirin. 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 ask 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. If it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. Also, he doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved. The Paramedics DO, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP.
4. 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 (HELLO WOMEN!) and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones
into your system to sludge things up in there.
Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.
Source: personal communication