Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

or knows someone that has...
They said my FILs heart attack was a severe one and that if he had waited another hour he'd be dead for sure. They just keep telling him how lucky he is. He waited 2 1/2 hours before calling 911 b/c he thought it was just indigestion.
My FIL is getting his other artery unclogged tomorrow- his 1st was 100% clogged and his 2nd I believe is 70%. They're not touching the 3rd one- so I guess that one is ok. My FIL should be coming home on Wed. I went online tonight and sent him an email so he doesn't have to search for stuff when he gets home on lifestyle changes, etc... and I ccd my MIL in case she wanted to print it out and read it over before he came home so she'd have any questions prepared.
So on to my question--- now what? What can he eat? What can he do? He has to find a cardiologist near Bellport--- though we've been given a couple of suggestions and I know he's going to look into them.

I'm so exhausted from all of this. And DH is in Vegas b/c he had to go for work and couldn't get out of it. He won't be home until Wed. night. And to top it all off I'm getting a tooth pulled at 9am tomorrow AM!!! This stinks.... TIA!

Message edited 10/28/2007 11:13:09 PM.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

First of all

Is he having stents put in? My Mom had this done almost 2 years ago. She just takes blood thinners and watches her cholesterol. She's a firecracker and was back golfing, bowling and traveling the world not too long after she had it done.

Lots of prayers for your FIL

Message edited 10/29/2007 10:20:44 PM.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

Posted by Phyl

First of all

Is he having stents put in? My Mom had this done almost 2 years ago. She just takes blood thinners and watches her cholesterol. She's a firecracker and was back golfing, bowling and traveling the world not too long after she had it done.

Lots of prayers for your Uncle

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

Posted by MrsMessina

Posted by Phyl

First of all

Is he having stents put in? My Mom had this done almost 2 years ago. She just takes blood thinners and watches her cholesterol. She's a firecracker and was back golfing, bowling and traveling the world not too long after she had it done.

Lots of prayers for your Uncle

Thanks- yes, he had 5 stents put in on the first. We saw pics and it was amazing how much didn't show on the photos b/c it was blocked so the blood wasn't flowing. I'm not sure how many they'll do tomorrow. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

My mom has had many heart attacks. Her first diagnosis was August 2006. She was actually in congestive heart failure before she even went to the hospital. By that point, she had already had 3 heart attacks. Her arteries were so blocked that they couldn't even open them wth stents at the time. Her arteries were very blocked. Only one major artery was open and it was 85% blocked. The other arteries were 100% blocked.

Since then, she has had 3 more heart attacks, including one event where her heart completely stopped and only her internal defibrilator saved her life. Her heart stopped while she was in my car and I was driving.

In an effort to get better, she has lost 50 lbs by eliminating red meat, fried foods and lowering her carb intake. She eats more fresh fruits and veggies. She eats white meat that is grilled or baked. She avoids white cream sauces etc. She is on 13 different pills a day to reduce her cholestrol and help maintain her health. Her only hope for survival is a heart transplant. She has been part of a clinical trial that involves injecting stem cells into her heart. She was lucky to get into the program and it helped so they were able to insert 6 stents in her arteries to open up the blood flow.

As you can tell, I have learned a lot about heart attacks and the treatments. Please feel free to FM me with questions.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

First off Having a heart attack is traumatic and when they were talking about it being close to life or death they were trying to stress how lethal it could have been. Most people blow it off as indigestion. Chest pain is a VERY serious problem. Now........take a deep breath a nd relax a little. He's alive, the arteries are getting unclogged and he is coming home soon. Honestly relax on the printed research. It can be overwhelmiong and he may just get mad. Yes there are things you can do.....eat healthier foods, take a walk for 20min everyday, exercise, cut out tobacco, caffine, and lead a lower stress ife. I do not know your father or his lifestyle, but keep in mind that a lot of heart problems are hereditary. He may be a healthy man but it could run in the family. For the first couple of days just take it easy on him let him rest and recover. Start adding healthier foods slow. It's hard to have a crappy diet and then go right to carrots and celery. Baby steps. FM ANYTIME if you need ANYTHING. Try to relax because if he sees you this anxious he will feel guilty and may hide how he's really feeling, and you might not know he's feeling like crap and having chest pain again. Trust me I see it a lot. You are in my prayers, and I would make dh give me one hell of a back massage after he gets home

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

My father had open heart surgery 3 weeks before my wedding (in July). Just be thankful it hasn't come to that for him!

His doctors will give him all of the information he needs on diet, exercise, etc. If they want him to go to cardiac rehab, he should go. (My dad was running 4 miles a day when he went in for his surgery - he had not a clue anything was wrong, so it was a total freak thing. He had already had at LEAST 1 silent heart attack. A major heart attack would have killed him) Even my dad went to the rehab, though the docs said he didn't have to.

Get him the Heart Healthy Cookbook. It's a HUGE cookbook, with a great introduction written by the authors about eating healthy, etc. for your heart. He also may want to read You on a Diet by Doctors Roizen and Oz. That book is excellent, though more about weight loss / management. (If this is an issue for him, he should definitely read it. Even if it's not, it's a really interesting and helpful book.)

The biggest concern with heart disease / heart trouble is keeping blood pressure low and cholesterol low. So, that means cutting out the salt, red meat, pork (even lean pork), full fat dairy, sugar, white stuff (white flour, sugar, white rice, etc.). Stuff that IS good -- extra virgin olive oil, whole grains (MUST say "100% whole wheat" or "100% whole grain" -- he should read labels to make sure these "whole grain" products don't contain any enriched flour.

BUT.... that aside, don't get on his case, don't try to be his nutritionist, and don't be too overbearing in sending him tons of information. He's a big boy, and I'm sure he's going to find a great doctor who will help him out. You can't do this for him, and he may not appreciate it if you bombard him with information as soon as he gets home from the hospital. He'll learn what to do from his docs. My oldest brother (self-proclaimed neurotic) sent my dad tons of web links and information and was constantly calling him to tell him don't do this, do this, don't eat this, go here, don't do this, that, or the other thing. My dad was doing just fine. Having his son and DIL breathing down his neck made him feel incompetent and made him feel like they were crossing the line. I'm not saying you crossed the line. I'm just saying be careful as to how the information you're sending is being received and make sure you let him deal with this with his doctors.

Also, not all the information on the internet about heart disease and healthy heart diets are good. A lot of it was contrary to what my dad's cardiologist said. (My dad's cardiologist is stricter)

My dad has a phenomenal cardiologist. (Mind you, he found the blockages when there was nothing more than a "very slight" abnormality in my dad's test) Unfortunately, his cardiologist is in Mineola. That's probably too far for your FIL.

Best of luck to him! It is manageable. I'm sorry you and your family have to go through all this.

ETA - Feel free to FM with any questions. I myself have been doing the heart healthy diet for a while now.

Message edited 10/29/2007 8:55:27 AM.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

Thanks everyone. My FIL is actually the one that said that we're going to have to look online to learn more about this--- besides what the drs give him. He and my MIL aren't overly comfortable on the computer so he asked for my help--- which is why I sent him the ites. I'm not worried about him getting mad at me--- he wanted me to look for stuff. Thanks for all of the info!!!

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

Posted by MrsMessina

Thanks everyone. My FIL is actually the one that said that we're going to have to look online to learn more about this--- besides what the drs give him. He and my MIL aren't overly comfortable on the computer so he asked for my help--- which is why I sent him the ites. I'm not worried about him getting mad at me--- he wanted me to look for stuff. Thanks for all of the info!!!

Message edited 10/29/2007 10:20:26 PM.

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

Posted by MrsMessina

Thanks everyone. My FIL is actually the one that said that we're going to have to look online to learn more about this--- besides what the drs give him. He and my MIL aren't overly comfortable on the computer so he asked for my help--- which is why I sent him the ites. I'm not worried about him getting mad at me--- he wanted me to look for stuff. Thanks for all of the info!!!

Re: Anyone w/ family that's had a heart attack...

My father had a near fatal heart attack when he was 37 years old!!! Can you believe that? I was 9 at the time, but now i'm almost 34, it shocks me how young he was.

Although he was young, he would have checked yes to every no-no there is regarding heart health- he was overweight, chain smoker, going through a divorce, working too much and never sleeping, eating double bacon cheeseburgers, everything....

so, the changes he made were drastic - he stopped smoking. He still yo yos with his weight and has had several heart things he had to go through - he now has a defib in his body....

Honestly - FIL should take walks everyday, and maybe see a nutritionist to help him eat better. thats what my dad did... good luck! Thank God he is ok!!!