This Just In – It was an ordinary Thursday.
I sat at my desk two weeks ago to write a note to my aunt. She’s getting settled in California a year after my uncle passed away and I thought a “welcome to your new home” card would be a nice first piece of mail for her to receive.
As always, I had my phone with me on my desk. My husband had gone off to play tennis and my son was still asleep. I picked up the pen to write that note and my phone rang that funny “ah-oooo-gah” ringtone that’s only for Rick.
I answered. I heard him talking, but only very faintly – as though he was far from the phone. All I heard was “chest pain” and “nausea.” I said I needed him to get closer to the phone as I could barely hear him, but I had heard those three words.
His friend, Niall (a retired doctor), came on the line. He told me that Rick had chest pain, was nauseated, sweating profusely and looked very pale. Paramedics were on the way. I told him I’d be there in 10 minutes.
I got to the tennis club and found my dearest surrounded by friends and EMTs who were recommending that we go the Emergency Room at UNC. Off we went.
When we arrived, another EKG was administered which still did not indicate any arrhythmia. Blood was drawn. The ER doc was talking about an X-ray. Rick looked ashen. He was plainly uncomfortable, restless from pain.
I know the patient and none of these people did. My desire to be in denial about what I was seeing did not interfere with my power of deduction and observation. I knew he was having a heart attack.
In this situation, time is muscle. Waiting for blood work to check his rising enzymes? Nope. Waiting for an X-ray? Nope. About two minutes with an excellent cardiologist and we were mobile — off to the cardiac catheterization lab.
The team of six or seven doctors (residents and fellows) that crowded into the exam area in the ER swept out of there in one fluid motion. It was everything I could do to keep up with them. They walk very fast.
About 45 minutes later, the cardiologist came to the waiting area and sat next to me, shoulder to shoulder. “Well, it’s the real deal,” he said. “He’s had a heart attack. I found a 100% blockage of his coronary artery and installed a stent. He’s going to be ok.”
After we both spent a day and a night in the Cardiac ICU at UNC, Rick was released. And just like that, we were back at home, sleeping in our own bed.
There are new medicines, follow-up appointments and a sense of caution about levels of exertion, but the damage to his heart should be minimal.
Heart disease has been quite prominent (and lethal) among Americans through much of the 20th Century. Fortunately, it’s been reducing in recent decades as we’ve all reduced our cholesterol levels.
But this husband of mine … who spends countless hours playing tennis, doesn’t smoke, maintains a healthy weight, has maintained an enviable cholesterol level and has never found a vegetable he wouldn’t eat … this guy had this thing happen to him anyway.
Getting regular exercise IS a happiness-maintaining-mandatory thing for Rick. A week without tennis is a miserable thing indeed.
So this won’t be a lifestyle adjustment so much as it is a realization—for both of us (and for our kids). This kind of earthquake can happen anyway. All the good lifestyle choices most definitely contribute to helping us survive it, but the numbers at your checkup are data points, not a guarantee.
The most important lifestyle choice that both of us made on April 20th was this one: Listen to your body. Chest pain (or in your left shoulder or jaw), nausea, pale color, shortness of breath – these symptoms point to a heart attack – whether you believe it or not. Always seek medical attention right away. Time is muscle. If your smart watch says you have a normal heart rhythm, you could still be having a heart attack – just not from arrhythmia.
And let your friends help. I’m not sure I possess the vocabulary to thank Rick’s friend, Niall for his quick action in summoning help, but I’m going to keep trying for a long, long time.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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