Heart Attack?

stickarts

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Thanks for the post. Very useful information to know.
Heart attacks can happen to anyone, any age, and even if you don't have any classic risk factors (such as overweight, are a smoker, etc...)
 

Bob Hubbard

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Well, I did say "Its the Big One" earlier.....the ER nurse wasn't impressed. :)
 

Cryozombie

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I dunno.

I find it a bit on the vauge side.

Pain, in the chest, or the neck, or the arms, or one arm, that lasts. Or that goes away, then comes back... or no pain...

I guess its good to know, but how do you REALLY know... that seems so vague that it could apply to a lot of stuff... gas, minor muscle strain, heartburn, etc...
 

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Technopunk said:
I find it a bit on the vauge side.

That is why when you feel these symptoms you go to the hospital and get checked out. Many have ignored the symptoms and died, many have ignored the symptoms and where fine.

It is most unfortunately a vague thing. No flashing lights no big arrows no one yelling HEART ATTACK.

I see a cardiologist every 6 months, never had a heart attack but I got a family history that makes me prone to the possibility. I have had the symptoms 3 times (all 3 sever chest pain, shortness of breath) and been to the ER 3 times, most fortunately none where heart related.

They all where inflammation of the fluid around the lungs. I worked 3rd shift back then and it really did not agree with me.
 

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Signs and symptoms of an MI (or heart attack) normally last 30 minutes. At least. This is a baseline and may not be true to all others. Also, many people experience silent heart attacks where they do not even know what is happening inside their chest and that their heart is dying. The geriatric community is more likely to have these as pain receptors have decreased in sensitivity or a fear of going to the doctor (for various reasons) so they ignore the pain and brush it off. If your symptoms don't go away after an hour or so and seem to be getting more severe...go to the ER or call 911. Don't wait.
 

Cryozombie

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Xue Sheng said:
That is why when you feel these symptoms you go to the hospital and get checked out.

Yeah, I get that, but after a couple "false alarms" do you honestly keep going everytime? (not you personally, but ya know what I mean)
 

Bob Hubbard

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The symptoms of a heart attack, side effects of most blood pressure meds, an anxiety attack, heat exhaustion, and several other non-threatening issues can be very similar. Take for example the old "if you feel tingling in your arm and hand" comment. That is a sign. It's also a sign of a herniated cervical disk, a pinched nerve, and laying on that arm too long.

I'd hate to call 911, race to the ER, fart and suddenly feel better.....then get the huge bill.

The other side is, staying put, waiting to fart, keeling over, and then having the pleasure of an eternal dirt nap.

In all seriousness, if you have those symptoms, go and get checked out. Only after doing certain tests can they be certain what the problem is. If it';s a false alarm, so be it. You'll at least have some extra information on which to base future events on.


Side note: I spent some quality time at the ER yesterday as a result of having some of these symptoms. Take care of yourselves folks.
 

Slippery_Pete

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Bob Hubbard said:
I'd hate to call 911, race to the ER, fart and suddenly feel better.....then get the huge bill.

I'm a paramedic student and the thing about not calling because you can't pay is bs. We take calls all the time for people who flat out can't afford it but they need to be seen. About half of ambulance services go un-paid for, but in the end...EMS is to help people, not make people go broke. Sure, if you are starting to experience symptoms but are unsure, then drive yourself (preferably have someone else drive you) to the hospital and GET SEEN! Don't ignore symptoms because you're afraid of the paper coming in the mail. It is a lot cheaper to pay for a visit to the ER than it is to pay for a funeral.

Some education to take to heart (pun intended):
A major portion of heart attacks are cases of sudden death (death occurs within 2 hours of the onset of symptoms) and normally outside of hospitals. Nearly 25% of these individuals have had NO previous cardiac problems (at all).
 

crushing

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Technopunk said:
Yeah, I get that, but after a couple "false alarms" do you honestly keep going everytime? (not you personally, but ya know what I mean)

I'll answer personally. I'm probably less likely to go back. I was having shortness of breath and my heart was racing and skipping around. It had me worried and I went to the emergency room. The doctors hooked me up to the monitoring 'stuff' (EKG?). Whenever I felt a beat skip or whatever it was doing I could actually see it on the monitor and printout. I was worried, but the doctors didn't seem to be. They did a good job of making me feel like an idiot for wasting their time. They told me to lay off the caffeine, as I reported during their questioning that I had a glass of green tea about a half hour before the symptoms.

Heck, the hospitals are the ones that drum up business by putting up billboards that say stuff like, "Heartburn? Could be heart attack!" It seems like they can understand a non-doctor not knowing what the heck was going on showing up in their emergency room. It's not like I didn't have better things to do with my morning than hang out at a hospital.
 

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I drink a gallon of tea a day.....the sudden decrease could kill me. ;)
 

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Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd resurrect this one. A story in the local news about a guy who left Karate practice to meet some friends, and was lucky to have been observed by a nurse who encouraged him to go to the ER. Saved his life.

 

Xue Sheng

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My acid reflux symptoms mimic heart attack symptoms.... spent a few nights wondering if I should go to the ER. Discovered 2 things.
1) a man my age just needs to mention chest pain, or discomfort, in an ER you're made #1 on the list and then fast tracked to a cardiac room.
2) But before I get to that, If i take a shot of Apple vinegar and the symptoms calm down, its acid reflux. So far, they have calmed down every time
 

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You might also want to learn about the signs of a Stroke. Especially if you have any of the older crowd or are part of the older crowd. Time is a big issue for strokes as well... When you see someone a little dizzy is that because of his exhaustion, did he just get thrown really well or almost choked out or is he having a stroke. In the case of a stroke, minutes count.
 

isshinryuronin

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You might also want to learn about the signs of a Stroke. Especially if you have any of the older crowd or are part of the older crowd. Time is a big issue for strokes as well... When you see someone a little dizzy is that because of his exhaustion, did he just get thrown really well or almost choked out or is he having a stroke. In the case of a stroke, minutes count.
Studying karate history, I have noticed that in the late 1800's and mid 1900's, many of the Okinawan masters and their students lived to be 75-90 yrs old. Quite a benchmark, even considering their healthy diet on the island. Then, during the rest of the 1900's, it seems that a number of them died younger from strokes.

Maybe Western diet made its way there, or modern hustle and stress took hold. Maybe they did not condition properly or lost the idea that, while strenuous karate can be done in advanced years, there is a limit as the old extreme training methods of their youth had to be toned down. Maybe religion crept into their art and, unlike some of the colorful characters in karate's past, foreswore healthy doses of sake.

Regardless, I have learned to heed the advice of both my wife and sensei to ignore my ego and enthusiasm in favor of common sense in my training. Stop when your face turns red, don't forget to breathe, and don't try to prove how strong you are. I know there are many old warriors out there, but take care to compensate for your age - you have other skills besides pure physical ones to rely on.
 

jobo

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Studying karate history, I have noticed that in the late 1800's and mid 1900's, many of the Okinawan masters and their students lived to be 75-90 yrs old. Quite a benchmark, even considering their healthy diet on the island. Then, during the rest of the 1900's, it seems that a number of them died younger from strokes.

Maybe Western diet made its way there, or modern hustle and stress took hold. Maybe they did not condition properly or lost the idea that, while strenuous karate can be done in advanced years, there is a limit as the old extreme training methods of their youth had to be toned down. Maybe religion crept into their art and, unlike some of the colorful characters in karate's past, foreswore healthy doses of sake.

Regardless, I have learned to heed the advice of both my wife and sensei to ignore my ego and enthusiasm in favor of common sense in my training. Stop when your face turns red, don't forget to breathe, and don't try to prove how strong you are. I know there are many old warriors out there, but take care to compensate for your age - you have other skills besides pure physical ones to rely on.
you a bit vague on dates, but in the mid,1900s, I'd sugest the second world war had a serious impact on average age of death

there nothing unhealthy about a western diet, prior to circa 1940, the most dangerous part was they didnt have enough to feed everybody, there after is exspessly the american diet that the problem,
 
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isshinryuronin

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you a bit vague on dates, but in the mid,1900s, I'd sugest the second world war had a serious impact on average age of death

there nothing unhealthy about a western diet, prior to circa 1940, the most dangerous part was they didnt have enough to feed everybody, there after is exspessly the american diet that the problem,
I could give dates of birth and death for a number of the individuals referred to, but my post was not meant as an academic work. And thank you for your comments on diet.

I would more than suggest that WWII impacted ave. age of deaths in the world, but the topic was a few karate practitioners who had little effect on world wide mortality. And I was not referring to starvation, getting shot, fried or blown up, only natural causes, particularly stroke.
 

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