Went in for a physical today but it turned into a sick visit since I was having some flu-like symptoms. I was having a tiny bit of chest pain but when I say tiny I mean miniscule and not even consistent. So the doctor had me do an EKG to my shock and surprise, the doctor said I probably had a previous heart attack. I have zero memory of this. I asked if it could happen in your sleep and she said no. Possible Anterior infract, age undetermined She said she wasn't concerned enough to send me to the hospital but I need to see a cardiologist. I'm setting up an appointment with a cardiologist ASAP. Did a little googling and apparently this can be a result for normal hearts as well, but better safe than sorry. Crazy ****. (I ended up not having Covid or Strep, probably just allergies per the doc, I got a steroid shot for the symptoms)
I think a lot of people have had "heart attacks" they didn't know about. Maybe strokes, too (?), but not sure. Some of them know they have a problem when the big one hits, though. lol. My dad was having a day-long heart attack, but he tries to ignore most pain. My mom knew something was up since she was an ICU nurse and told him to go to the hospital since he never complains about pain but did this time. She got someone to pick him up and take him to the hospital which is when they found out one of his arteries had a massive blockage. They did angioplasty back in the 80's on him. They said he was probably having that heart attack all day. Wth. I've had a cardiologist for years because of this and because I used to eat like a pig when I was in my 20s and 30s. lol. So far, they haven't found any serious issues with my ticker, thankfully. Well, unless they're just missing stuff - I'd be pissed then. One thing you can/should do is get a 2nd opinion just for giggles... a friend of the family went to the hospital complaining of chest pains and they sent him home saying it was probably just gas. He was dead the next day from a heart attack while his little kid watched (less than 12 years old, if I recall). The kid had to call and tell his mom at work that dad wasn't moving.
A bit concerning.... I have a genetic heart condition called Wolff Parkinson White where I have an extra electric pathway on my heart. I can't harness electricity to fight crime.... but I am prone to giving to folks static shocks and having a run away heart beat. Also someone already beat me to it:
Good feedback. I’m pretty tough so it’s possible I had something small and blew it off as being sore or pulling something during a workout. Cardiologist will definitely be the second opinion. If it’s bad news I’ll get a third opinion.
Xero, That sounds scary and disconcerting. Two things came to my mind when I read your opening post - angina and gall bladder issues. I have had both and came really close to having my gall bladder removed; however, I decided not to go through with it as I heard the recovery from it takes some time. Seeing the cardiologist sounds like the best thing you can do. Let's hope for the best and that this is nothing to worry about.
Damn. Hope you get a positive report from the cardiologist. Also reminds me I'm almost due for a full-scale checkup.
I thought I had one myself but it turned out to be a pulled muscle. Take care man...I get paranoid when my chest starts hurting while performing random movements.
Half of all heart attacks happen under 65* for men, and nearly half of first heart attacks are fatal. Exercise, eat well, and keep up with the doctors.
How old are you, if I may ask? Have you had Covid before? Which type of vaccines did you get? Hope you will be fine.
About 12 years ago I went to the ER because I thought I was having one. They ran a bunch of tests and said I was fine. I got home and a few hours later it ended up being the opening symptoms of the worse food poisoning I had in my life. My wife had it too. No doubt. I am super healthy, eat well, work out. People generally think I’m 10 years younger. That’s not to say my insides aren’t rotten. Just saying. My good friend passed away at 41 from a heart attack earlier this year so that’s put me on pretty high alert. My cholesterol is high so I need to make sure my arteries are good so seeing a cardiologist is a good idea anyway.
49. It’s in my profile so no worries. I got Covid earlier this year. Vaccinations were Pfizer. Edit- work is usually always stressful in a way. I quit my last job because the workload didn’t match the pay or title. In other words, I was doing way too much. New job is much smoother outside of making sure I’m building credibility.
We are at an age where we really have to look after our health. I have been traveling like a madman recently and have barely had any sleep. E.g., I need to get up in 2 1/2 hours to fly back to the US and am still on the BBS. Please stay safe!
Not me, but I hear that working too hard can give you a heart attack-ak-ak-ak. Might want to look into that.
The ECG machines will essentially place a read based on the pattern it detects on the ECG - by anterior infarct, it likely had some mild abnormalities on the precordial leads but doesn't necessarily mean that one truly had an ischemic event! (essentially, an ECG cannot determine if one truly had an MI in the absence of a convincing story or elevated cardiac biomarkers (enzymes that get released when there's injury to the heart)). It may have been a little overzealous for someone to have said that labelled you as having a heart attack (although obviously was not able to look at the ECG) One could consider just screening with a trans-thoracic echocardiogram (ultrasound of your heart) to look for wall motion abnormalities (areas where your heart isn't contracting as well as other parts), NM stress test/CT coronaries if one is more cautious, dependent on your underlying risk factors (e.g diabetes, hypertension, etc); can be ordered by a primary care physician but can see cardiology as well! Hope that helps! (am a doc)
****ing rockstar for that, man. Thank you! I’m not panicking by any means. Just need to take care of my ****.
Yup, this right here. It’s a pretty common template term (I am by no means excluding anything or denying the presence of an old infarct) but just saying you should have a cardiologist evaluate it and understand it’s thrown on A LOT of ekgs. something called a “q wave” in the right context is a lot more indicative of prior heart attack , unfortunately when it comes to that level of reading EKGs someone like a cardiologist that reads 100s a day like candy is the best person. Having a nuclear study/perfusion scan is probably most definitive and will tel you if there’s dead tissue (an area without blood), and your doctor may not even recommend that after looking at your ekg. But as this individual said automatically reading that and coming to that conclusion isn’t something I would do, in fact that likely misplaced stress is more detrimental so go see a cardiologist etc! I lost my dad to a heart attack out of the blue, encourage everyone to use ASCVD risk calculator, your doctors use it on a daily basis (assess 10 yr risk for heart attack stroke; guides things like statin/cholesterol therapy). Plug your info in, and obviously if everybody in your family has had a heart attack, you smoke, have a giant BMI, have diabetes, high blood presssure you’re at high risk https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/3398/as...vascular-disease-2013-risk-calculator-aha-acc
