I Had a Perfectly Normal EKG at My Check-Up, and the Next Day I Had a Heart Attack

[shockedcanadian]

A cautionary tale by a woman who reluctantly made the right choice. I felt better after reading it as I have my own health issues I am trying to figure out right now. Bottom line, in her own words:

"Sure, it might be embarrassing to take action and discover it was just indigestion, or stress. But despite the cliché, nobody has ever died of embarrassment."

Well said.

I Had a Perfectly Normal EKG at My Check-Up—and the Next Day I Had a Heart Attack

Here's what I want other women to know about the test, and the subtle symptoms I tried to ignore.

www.yahoo.com

On the day of my annual physical, I wasn’t worried about my heart: At 63, I was a non-smoker with a BMI of 20 who got (mostly) regular exercise and took no daily medication.

A blood test the week prior had shown my total cholesterol was 187, with a good HDL/LDL ratio and low triglycerides. The report included this reassuring notation: “lower relative cardiovascular risk according to American Heart Association/Centers for Disease Control guidelines.”

At my check-up, my blood pressure registered at 110/70. And I had an electrocardiogram (EKG), which showed no abnormalities. I left my doctor’s office with a clean bill of health.

That was on July 7th. On July 8th—in a scenario that sounds unlikely even for fiction—I had a heart attack.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

A cautionary tale by a woman who reluctantly made the right choice. I felt better after reading it as I have my own health issues I am trying to figure out right now. Bottom line, in her own words:

"Sure, it might be embarrassing to take action and discover it was just indigestion, or stress. But despite the cliché, nobody has ever died of embarrassment."

Well said.

I Had a Perfectly Normal EKG at My Check-Up—and the Next Day I Had a Heart Attack

Here's what I want other women to know about the test, and the subtle symptoms I tried to ignore.

www.yahoo.com

On the day of my annual physical, I wasn’t worried about my heart: At 63, I was a non-smoker with a BMI of 20 who got (mostly) regular exercise and took no daily medication.

A blood test the week prior had shown my total cholesterol was 187, with a good HDL/LDL ratio and low triglycerides. The report included this reassuring notation: “lower relative cardiovascular risk according to American Heart Association/Centers for Disease Control guidelines.”

At my check-up, my blood pressure registered at 110/70. And I had an electrocardiogram (EKG), which showed no abnormalities. I left my doctor’s office with a clean bill of health.

That was on July 7th. On July 8th—in a scenario that sounds unlikely even for fiction—I had a heart attack.

You cant always trust an EKG.
Got one done at my GP's office and he said there were some irregularities like I'd had a minor heart attack.
Less than a week later I went into the hospital for a planned surgery on my hip and they give you an EKG before they put you on the table.
It came back perfect.

 

[Rambunctious]

There are all kinds of reasons for having a heart attack that might not show in a physical.... For patients that have had stents placed in their heart who complain about any level of chest pain will all get sent to the Cath lab because EKG's... BP.... Blood testing.... doesn't always show an issue.... especially in women for some unexplained reason....

 

[MarathonMike]

What about irregular heartbeat at night? I've gotten those a couple times it feels kinda weird but I have no bad symptoms. The next morning it goes back to normal.

 

[DudleySmith]

What about irregular heartbeat at night? I've gotten those a couple times it feels kinda weird but I have no bad symptoms. The next morning it goes back to normal.

I used to get palpitations a lot then I gave up all caffeine, smoking, and sugar, and haven't had any since. They aren't necessarily indications of heart problems, just stress. Just a guess, since I don't know squat about your personal habits, but it might apply to some others.

 

[Thunk]

None of these things show if your arteries are clogged or not...you need an angiogram for that.

 

[MarathonMike]

I used to get palpitations a lot then I gave up all caffeine, smoking, and sugar, and haven't had any since. They aren't necessarily indications of heart problems, just stress. Just a guess, since I don't know squat about your personal habits, but it might apply to some others.

Thanks, I don't think it's serious and a couple of times it happened after I had drank more alcohol than I normally do. I think if I had a bad heart I would have croaked during one of my marathons, but I'll keep in mind what you wrote.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

None of these things show if your arteries are clogged or not...you need an angiogram for that.

An ultrasound will also find them.
Thats how they found the clot in my leg.

 

[Thunk]

An ultrasound will also find them.
Thats how they found the clot in my leg.

For me they did a nuclear lexiscan...then an echocardiogram...and wanted to confirm it with an angiogram.

Let me tell ya...open heart surgery is great fun

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

For me they did a nuclear lexiscan...then an echocardiogram...and wanted to confirm it with an angiogram.

Let me tell ya...open heart surgery is great fun

Yeah...surgery and I are well acquainted.
Open heart surgery is about the only thing I haven't had the joy of meeting.

 

[Thunk]

Open heart surgery is about the only thing I haven't had the joy of meeting.

That was my ONLY surgery in my life. I had to do alot of talking with myself to get me to actually show up for it.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

For me they did a nuclear lexiscan...then an echocardiogram...and wanted to confirm it with an angiogram.

Let me tell ya...open heart surgery is great fun

After my fifth hip surgery I was obviously not very mobile and my inner thigh started feeling like I'd pulled a muscle.
Obviously I hadnt been doing wind sprints so they pretty much knew already what the problem was.
They put me on blood thinners and that did the trick.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

That was my ONLY surgery in my life. I had to do alot of talking with myself to get me to actually show up for it.

Yeah...they start messing with the ticker I'd be nervous myself.
After 7 surgeries over the last six years it's become old hat. Still have one more hip surgery to go.
Started with cancer surgery,then it was hip surgery followed by back surgery and I followed it up with four more hip surgeries.
It's gotten to the point that I can tell the nurses and the docs what they're going to say next verbatim.

 

[Thunk]

Yeah...they start messing with the ticker I'd be nervous myself.

It was more the cutting open of the chest that had me freaked out.

I went to the cemetery to talk with my mom...she told me to "grow a pair and get a haircut"

Same old mom...even from the great beyond she's giving me sound advice

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

It was more the cutting open of the chest that had me freaked out.

I went to the cemetery to talk with my mom...she told me to "grow a pair and get a haircut"

Same old mom...even from the great beyond she's giving me sound advice

Getting cut open isn't a big deal to me anymore.
I remember as a kid I cut my heel open to the bone and was worried about having a scar.
I look back on that and I have to laugh.

 

[Thunk]

scars go away if you rub vitamin E oil into them...but it has to be 100% healed...not even a scab.

It's only been 3 months any my scars are much MUCH less than they were.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

scars go away if you rub vitamin E oil into them...but it has to be 100% healed...not even a scab.

It's only been 3 months any my scars are much MUCH less than they were.

Yeah....at this point I really dont care.
I'd have to bath in the stuff. The scar on my hip after five surgeries is a good inch wide with an indention in the middle.

 

[Indeependent]

For me they did a nuclear lexiscan...then an echocardiogram...and wanted to confirm it with an angiogram.

Let me tell ya...open heart surgery is great fun

How many years ago was that?!

 

[Thunk]

How many years ago was that?!

6/9/2022 (3 months ago)

And I'm already walking a mile & a half (just did it again today)

 

[Thunk]

The scar on my hip after five surgeries is a good inch wide with an indention in the middle.

I had a huge lump on my neck where they had a catheter in my jugular...that lump is gone already.