Heart Disease
richosea
Posts: 2
In 2008 I was in the best shape of my life at 54 years old. While at the gym doing squats I started having weird pains in the chest. I tried to ignore the pain and continued my work-out. But that was impossible. Subsequently I ended up in the ER with AMI Acute Myocardial Infarction. This was alleviated with 3 stents to 3 different vessels in the heart. One particular vessel almost completely clogged with plaque was the LAD commonly referred to as the "widow maker". I was lucky it was caught.
One month later I had to have another stent to a 4th vessel. One month after that I had a major heart attack destroying most of the anterior wall of the heart. This resulted in emergency open heart surgery by-passing 4 arteries. I was left with an EF, ejection fraction, of 27%. That is my heart is only able to eject 27% of the blood that enters the heart.
Now at 59 and 245 lbs I am lucky to still be alive. But I am tired of the shape I'm in and frankly a little embarrassed at how out of shape I am.
So now is the time to do something.
One month later I had to have another stent to a 4th vessel. One month after that I had a major heart attack destroying most of the anterior wall of the heart. This resulted in emergency open heart surgery by-passing 4 arteries. I was left with an EF, ejection fraction, of 27%. That is my heart is only able to eject 27% of the blood that enters the heart.
Now at 59 and 245 lbs I am lucky to still be alive. But I am tired of the shape I'm in and frankly a little embarrassed at how out of shape I am.
So now is the time to do something.
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Replies
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Wow! That is quite a story...I am so sorry you have been through this, but thank god it was caught and you are still alive!
27% is a terrible ejection fracture, I imagine you get tired SO easily.
I actually had a cardiac catheterization in late April and that said my EF was actually 60% instead of 40-48% that the Echo said. So technically, I am not in "heart failure" anymore according to my Cardiologist. They also discovered that all of my arteries are CLEAR and I don't know how that is possible since I have been overweight my entire life. So at age 38 (39 this fall) I was told I couldn't physically have a heart attack for about 20 years. Pretty great news considering my family history.
Nevertheless, I *need* to drop weight, big time. I have been dropping and gaining the same 10lbs for months and I'm sick of it.0
