General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I have been on DU for almost nine years now. [View all]DFW
(54,963 posts)In 2004, I suddenly felt a shortness of breath when climbing a hill and had twinges in my shoulder. Since both my dad's parents had died of heart attacks before age 70, I read all I could about symptoms of heart trouble, and I had just had two of them. I called up a cardiologist in the town I now reside in permanently, and asked to come in and be examined. They said they had an appointment free in two months.
I said I was visiting from the USA and would pay immediately. They suddenly had an appointment free that afternoon. When doing the EKG, the doctor said there was surely something odd, and could I come back in 48 hours for a stress-echo test? I said OK, and I did. The guy freaked out at what he saw, said to call my wife and get my ass to a cardiac clinic IMMEDIATELY, and he would call up there so I could be treated the next morning. Sure enough, the next morning, the head cardiac surgeon, Professor Doktor so-and-so looked at my chart and said, clear everything, this guy comes on at noon. The long and short of it was that I had two forward coronary arteries 99% blocked, and might not have survived the massive heart attack that was about to occur any second. He said I was the luckiest man in Europe that day. He explained that he could save 70% of the emergencies that are brought in to him, but they have to be alive first--something I might just as easily not have been. A couple of stents set me back out of the danger zone, and I have tried my level best to stay out of there since this happened in April, 2004.
My symptoms weren't so obvious that one could tell I needed emergency care. They were only caught because I paid to get in to see a doctor immediately. Had I gone the "normal" route, I would have been dead within a week.
Edit history
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)