Shit Tom, I am glad you're okay now. Take care of those arteries, they can be real bastards when they clog.

Well, the ambulance ride was $605, and the actual surgery was about $3000. Still waiting to see how much the 4 day 3 night hospital stay was, and all of the testing and drugs. fun fun.

Welcome back and take it easy before going all out :thumbsup

Good to hear you're back Tom :)

good luck further...

wow man, get well, have as much rest as possible and follow your doctor's indication to the A, I know they can be annoying, but you'll be rocking very soon. The 9 to 5 sure can wait :winkwink:

Nice to hear you are all right. Take care.

glad to hear you are doing well keep up the good work life is precious!!!

Tom, ask to talk to the social worker there. You'd be amazed at how much they'll knock off the bill. When I had my son we had no health insurance and got about 50% in discounts for paying cash to the hospital, my doctor gave me a "professional discount" which was the fee he would charge one of his nurses, the anesthesiologist knocked of several hundred dollars, etc.

There are also grants that the hospital receives to cover uninsured patients - there are forms and such to fill out but it will probably be worth it!

Good advice, Peaches, thanks :)

My cardiologist has been slipping me lots of free Lipitor and all the Plavix I need. Those are the only expensive ones I need.

They did have me sign for medicaid, but I doubt I can get it since I make a decent income. I'll get by for sure.

its ridiculous that health insurance isnt mandatory in the US... what if this happened to a broke dude? He'd be lying in his coffin by now. Anyway good things are ok now. Btw what was the reason you had a heart attack? Too fat, stress, or another reason?

Wow, thats something. Glad to see you are on the mend. :thumbsup

Tell me something... Did you have any symptoms or feelings going on before it happened?

Wishing you a speedy recovery Tom.

The #1 reason was 30 years of smoking, there's just no two ways about that. I am also overweight and lived a sedentary life. I'll pick up a machine to workout on and no more smoking for me.

Only when I think back do I realise that I'd been more tired and run down feeling than usual, but other than that I didnt have any symptoms. Just wham bam one fine saturday morn.

Glad you're ok, that's a scary story. I've been getting some very mild chest pains, went to the ER awhile back and was told it was acid reflux. Still has me scared shitless and watching my diet and working out.

Although the health bills and incident sucked, sometimes these events turn into a huge wakeup call and start a lifestyle change.

glad that you're fine and nice to see you back and posting here..:)

That all happened to me 2 years ago. My bill for 2 days in the cardiac ward, plus the cost of all of the emergency room stuff was $60,000.00. I had 100% blockage in 1, 75% blockage in another and 50% in a 3rd. They stented the 1 blockage

I went back in a few months later and they did the 2nd blockage - 1.5 days, $17,000.00

I've been on a test drug since the second stent and go back in this month so they can see if the drug has had any effect on the 3rd blockage or not - this one is a freebie

Only in America... seriously. :winkwink:

go vegan & check out some meditation/relaxation space -- in many cases it can be avoided -- seriously

...(obviously some can't)...

:2 cents:

Speedy recovery Tom..hope you stay strong

Speaking seriously for a second, which is rare, what tests can you get to get your heart/chest checked out to check for clogged arteries in particular, but also condition of the heart? I’m a paranoid person with regular anxiety attacks and would love to get a checkup like that but don’t want to have to pay out the ass for it.

Inexpensive and comprehensive don't really go together - hell, everything dealing with the heart is eeeeeeexxxpensive!

3 tests I would suggest to you to do often are:

1. Blood Pressure
2. Cholesterol
3. Blood Sugars

These are more of the "warning" signs tests to do the expensive and comprehensive tests if these become out of whack.

And... I fired the yard service guys and bought a lawn mower!

Not in America that's for fucking sure (@inexpensive + comprehensive LOL).

My Blood Pressure is fine, Cholesterol is good... blood sugar is somewhat high (stays around 90ish). But I want a more "conclusive test", my mind is fucking paranoid and shit and I worry about it all the time. I lost a good bit of weight (I got almost up to 400lbs at one time, I weigh about 240ish right now) but I'm still not 'satisfied' and would like to see if there is any damage there.

I'm in the same boat. After I had a scary bout with chest pains to find out it was acid reflux, the heart thing is always in the back of my mind. I always wonder if they did enough tests, if there are blockages that might not show and whether they overlooked something because of my age (only 27).

I would easily pay for a comprehensive test that shows exactly what my blockage is. I've heard stories of guys who go to their doctors for routine stuff and everything shows up fine, then they drop dead from a massive heart attack a week later.

Yep... this one older guy (around 50) I knew had chest pains, went to the doc. He had an array of tests done (like you had done, and I had done a few years back). Everything came back A'ok. He had an ekg, that blood enzyme test, the works. Doctor said he was fine and that it was acid reflux. The next day the guy is dead.. from a heart attack =|

About two years ago I had all the tests you had done... had chest pains, radiating pain in the left arm. Had the x-rays, ekg, blood test. Was told I was fine, that it was just acid reflux. I'm still worried about it, even though two years have passed. I would love to get a test that would be conclusive and accurate...

welcome back and a speedy recovery tom :)

Good luck Tom. My heart put me into an ICU in November '95, similarly with no warning and unfortunately not only were the blockages where angioplasty couldn't reach them, but my heart itself was already badly weakened. More recently that resulted in congestive heart failure, which means that nowadays if I even wash dishes too energetically, I get pains and puff and blow as if I had been climbing a mountain.

You sound as if you have a second chance and a pretty good shot at living normally if you get on top of the smoking and weight. I strongly recommend that while the scare is fresh in your mind, you switch to some sustainable habits. Don't go over the top, because once that fear recedes the chances are you will fall back into your old ways. It is much better to do something you can handle comfortably and be able to keep doing it, year after year. And there is no reason you cannot make a few improvements now, adding more once those have become routine.

Although the shock you just experienced will fade quite quickly, don't allow yourself to forget the warning you have had. Apart from the risk to life itself, the impact of bad heart is profound. Simple things you have taken for granted become a struggle, many things become impossible. The physical, emotional and financial costs just keep piling up. So get yourself back into decent shape and make damn sure you stay that way.

Again, good luck.

good for you, man! you should celebrate your second life

Glad you made it!

google "Pauling Therapy"

Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid) 6g to 18g
Take with or before meals, i.e., 2 to 3 times daily

Natural Agent Lysine 3g to 6g

Proline (.5g-2g)

CoQ10 (150mg-300)

I've heard that this can help a lot!

def dont over do it with a lot of phsyical activity at once IMO

Welcome back!

Dude go for a few miles walk each day if you dont already will shirt those extra lbs and make u feel alot better

hope you're feeling better!

I think about the only real way to know 100% is catheterization and coronary angiography. They inject some dye into your blood and take lots of neat pictures and videos. http://www.americanheart.org/present...dentifier=4491

And hey, if they find any blockage(s) they can balloon it/them open, and like in my case, insert stent(s).

It seriously is not painful. In my case they went in through the right groin/leg, and up into the chest. There are no nerve endings in the chest so no pain at all, and they numb your groin locally so you just lie still and chat while they work. They even have a collagen like "plug" they use these days to close the artery, so you can stand and walk within a few hours. In the old days they applied pressure for 20 minutes and you lay immobile for 8 hours or so before you could even sit up.

Quit smoking, get exercise and eat right (portion control when all else fails).

poketkangaroo, one of my brothers had a similar thing to you. He thought he was having heart troubles but it turned out to be severe acid reflux. Thats why when I first felt the pain, I drank a glass of milk thinking if it was acid, it'd neutralize it somewhat. Not everyone feels the same symptoms, especially women. They dont often feel the left arm pains for example at all.. some people throw up, or sweat, or get chills. You simply cant fuck around when your chest hurts, or if you feel irregular heartbeats.

As to the costs, well I have no doubt whatsoever that the hospital stay itself is going to be quite a crushing bill... While I was laying in the bed I was figuring a crazy $100,000 grand total when all is said and done. We'll see though. So far so good.

Don't rush to get back to work.. get better first! Glad to hear you're recovering :)

Please be informed of what you are eating okay..Goodluck and be healthy!:)

I'll quote this for dramatic effect!

Hah.. seriously, this is good advise. I am now walking 3 miles a day and running half a mile and it has made me feel wonders better. I don't get anxiety attacks as often anymore either, another plus.

Yeah, I still get the chest pains but I've never had any other symptoms like shortness of breath, arm pain, sweating, or naseau. It still worries me everytime I get a bout of heartburn, but it's something I've had to deal with. I've had to incorporate acid reducers and a more GI friendly diet.

I am 27, and the doctors said there is no chance of it being a blockage at my age. I feel a little better about that, but always have some aspirin handy.

I dunno man.. I'm 42 and my sister is only 33 and she's been on blood thinners for a few years already.

When I went to the grocery store after my surgery, I spoke to the night manager who I always deal with, and she said her husband had a heart attack at 34. She said at the time he seemed to have the Flu, and she told him fine go to the emergency room, but they're just going to give you flu medicine and send you home.

I mean, just keep an eye on it.

There is a nuclear imaging stress test that can be done. You get injected with a mildly radioactive isotope, then they take images of your heart's blood supply. The isotope makes it possible to see the blood distribution.

Then you get an a treadmill until you're pretty exhausted and they take the same set of images again for comparison.

I had a cousin die of a heart attack at 23. You can have blockage at a young age :(