So I had a heart attack last week (Feb 1)

[DFW]

11. Amen to that! Your body knows what's going on way before any doctor does

I had my first and (so far!) only heart attack 11 years ago. It shouldn't even have happened. I have serious cholesterol problems (runs in the family), and so have to watch things. I had two stents put in back in 2004, and the surgeon who put them in said "just in time." He said a day or two longer, and I might have had a heart attack I would NOT have survived. I had sought out a cardiologist two days before that because I FELT that something weird was going on. I had to insist and cajole to get an appointment, and say the magic words ("I am a private patient and will pay cash!&quot for the receptionist to even let me in the door. When I first called, she said they had an appointment in two months. I said I'd pay cash, and they had an appointment that afternoon. Two days later, in the OR, was when the surgeon said he put the stents "just in time." Two months? The only thing that would have been happening then would have been people gathering to divvy up my estate.

The fly in the ointment came in 2011 when I was making an appointment for my regular 5 year colonoscopy. They said if you are taking blood thinners (I was), go off them for ten days before the colonoscopy. I did. I promptly had a heart attack a few hours after the procedure. It was very mild, and the cardiologist said he couldn't even detect any heart muscle damage. However, he raged at the colonoscopy people. He said the amount of time necessary for artery-locking white blood cells to clog an artery completely was ten days, and I should NEVER go off them for ten days.

We let the colonoscopy people know, and sure enough, when it was time again five years later, their form said that if you are on blood thinners, go off them for FIVE days before. That seemed to do the trick, because I haven't had any serious heart issues since.

As far as my insurance goes, this incident happened in the USA, so my hospital bill was about three times what it would have been in Germany. I learned something about how these things are billed in the USA. My bill was $35,000, reduced to $26,000 because it was being presented to an insurance company instead of to me privately. My Blue Cross covered 90% of it. I think that is the last time my Blue cross covered ANYTHING. I even told Obama about this personally in a 2012 meeting, and he had one of his White House guys follow up with me after the meeting. But he only had four years after that to try and get the health care system improved more than he had already, and it apparently wasn't time enough.

We haven't bought a house since 1990, but don't worry--I think we have, at this point, spent more money repairing it than we did to buy it! I'm just grateful our property taxes are calculated in Germany, and not in New Jersey.