Sunday, May 27, 2012

Sunday, November 13, 2011 Concerned In Canada asks

Q: Heart Attack or Heart Disease Symptoms?

I am sure you get a lot of these stories of concerned wives so I thank anyone in advance who takes the time to read this. I will attempt to keep it brief. Here it goes:

Male, 39 yrs old, active, non-smoker, casual drinker (only on weekends), organic eating, whole foods, fairly healthy diet ( limited fast food etc).

Last Saturday we were on a hike (we are active geocachers so hiking 4 to 6 miles at a time is common for us in all sorts of terrain). We were just starting off on flat, even ground, headed for a gorge that is about 200 stairs down and 200 back up. At the top of the gorge, still on flat ground husband stops. Heart is palpating VERY fast, he has a cold sweat, dizziness and nausea. Sits and drinks water for a bit, calms down. Takes about 20 minutes to return to "normal". After much prompting to just go home he decides to carry on. So, we hike 4 km (down 200 steps, hike 4 kms, up 200 steps) with no further episode. Just to clarify.............after this "episode" he continued to hike 4 km!!!


Sunday, nothing - no issues or anything bothering him from the previous day "episode".

Monday....numbness in left hand. Then eventually pain in left arm from elbow down to finger tips. He goes to MD and has following tests:

ECG in office - comes back "normal"
Blood tests
Chest x-ray
Holter Monitor (heart monitor) for 24 hours.
Blood pressure was 160/110 on Monday - two days after "episode" (he normally has very good, normal range BP)
Today he took blood pressure again - one week after episode and it is back to normal at 123/88

We get results back coming up this Monday so we still do not know what we are dealing with.

He has been EXTREMELY tired all week. He is NEVER tired like this. Napping in afternoon when he usually would not be able to nap if he was paid to do so.

Still has continued pain in left arm. 

Everything I read on the internet says heart attack to me. I am concerned as we STILL have NO diagnoses and we are more than a week after the original event and Monday will be TEN days since the initial "episode".

I have read about heart attack and from what I saw at the gorge he very well could have had a heart attack. And the arm pain I have to wonder might be from pericarditis after the fact. BUT, I can't get the fact that he continued to hike 4km out of my head.Is that even possible??? I mean, we are VERY active hikers and it was an easy hike for us but still????

Advice from personal experience would be helpful. I am worried that he has received NO treatment or diagnoses as of yet. 

Thanks you kindly for reading this far.

In Light and Love....................... 

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Answers (2)
11/16/11 5:00pm

Hi Concerned in Canada,

 

I don't have an answer or personal experience to relay. I just happened to take the time to read your story. Like you, I can't believe he may have had a heart attack (which I'd be thinking the same thing with his symptoms!) and he still managed such a strenuous hike.

 

All the best sorting out his health situation and what treatment steps he needs to take. . .depending on what the tests results indicate!

 

Lisa Nelson RD

http://lisanelsonrd.com

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12/20/11 12:25pm

you are right Undecided

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By Concerned In Canada— Last Modified: 12/20/11, First Published: 11/13/11