Joe
Joe* describes his account of undergoing treatment for a heart attack.
*Names have been changed
On this page: Tests · Angiogram · Inserting stents · After the operation · A week later
Over the past two or so years, when hurrying I became very short of breath, and had pains in the heart area of my chest and left arm.
So what did I do? I convinced myself not to be a wimp, and that the pain was indigestion and I was unfit. The trouble was, I was reasonably fit, doing multi-day treks with a heavy pack, and I didn't experience those symptoms (or thought I didn't) while trekking.
Five weeks ago I could distinguish between indigestion pain and another sort of pain around my heart. The pain in my arm was getting more pronounced, and my shortness of breath was beginning to distress me, so I commented on it to my GP when having my six-monthly checkup.
Tests
After hearing my heart, my doctor organised an immediate ECG, and from that he sent me to a cardiologist, saying it was reasonably urgent.
The cardiologist organised a stress test and echocardiogram. After 15 minutes I was running quite fast, until the doctor became concerned and hit the stop button.
It was decided I had a serious condition, possibly angina, and that I needed an angiogram. So a few days later I was whisked into a coronary lab at Royal North Shore Hospital.
Angiogram
Starting at 9 am, the whole procedure took an hour and a half from angiogram to stent insertion. I was fully conscious and able to watch the action on one of four big screens.
The first five minutes involved accessing the femoral artery. I was very anxious, probably through fear of the unknown event ahead. Soon I could feel something proceeding up my body until it reached my heart. At that point I stopped looking at the screens as I was becoming most anxious.
After 30 minutes the surgeon told me we were almost there and he would talk to me soon. Then another figure emerged and called out to the surgeon, and I thought I heard the word stent.
Inserting stents
The surgeon told me two arteries in my heart had minor restrictions, but a third had a big restriction. I agreed to an immediate stent, and after five minutes they began putting it in.
Another cardiac surgeon scrubbed up, and once again someone was attacking my groin and heart. By now I was much more relaxed, so I tried to follow the views of my heart on the screen. I was shown the still that revealed the blockage.
I clearly remember the balloon inflation, where the surgeon was calling for 10 atmospheres and 15 atmospheres. During those periods I certainly felt pressure/pain in my heart.
Then they started talking about a stent dimension again, and I was informed they were putting in another stent, because a second blockage had become more evident.
Soon the x-ray head started to move away from my heart down to my groin and I could see the catheter being pulled down the artery. There was more vigorous pressing down on my groin and an Angio-Seal plug was put in to seal off the femoral artery.
It was all over by 10.30 am.
After the operation
The surgeon told me everything went well and he would see me later.
When the doctor visited me some hours later, there was a rush of blood flooding in my groin. He jumped in and applied pressure, and hit the emergency button. People came flying in and fitted a pressure device around my bottom to hold an inverted dome against the incision point in my groin. This was removed some four hours later, and there were no further complications.
I spent a reasonable night in a private room, but was confused as to why I was having to pee so much. I was drinking some bottled water from time to time, but not the amount I was passing. The nurse told me they were putting a litre an hour into me through the drip on my hand. I hadn't really thought about that.
I spent most of Friday alternatively wanting to go home or sleeping. My wife brought in my iPod and I listened to Evan Thomas's Life of Robert Kennedy. When I noticed I was dozing, I switched it off and had a nap.
My sons visited in the afternoon, and that was good. Other friends and relatives phoned and texted, and one sent me flowers. So I had lots of family support.
At 4 pm the specialist checked me over, and I was released.
A week later
It was all very exciting, and if I am good during my recovery period I will get to go trekking again soon.
Having had my tri-annual colonoscopy and a major eye check-up, I feel the ‘old boy' has been through a pre-69-year service. So I should be good for another few years of trekking and living life to the full.
