Pops had one today...

[xstreme357]

Pop's had a heart attack today. He is 54 and in pretty good shape for an "older guy". He is currently in the hospital and they are running some tests. He was just fine one minute, ran and got some bark dust. Came home and walked inside and complained of chest and back pain, and shortness of breathe so my brother took him straight to the hospital. It's really starting to hit home as I'm only 23 and this is a lot to take in. His mom, my grandma just had a heart attack about a month ago and our grandfather passed a few days before that. It's been a rough couple of months to say the least. I'll update as soon as I know something. Sure could use a few prayers, as i cannot even begin to think about not havin my best friend around.

Thank you

chris calcagno

[tsorrels]

[clamdiggermike ore]

[jokester]

Praying for your dad and all of you guys!

-jokester

[weirdbeard]

[CGRFish]

[Lou]

[letsfish]

[sinkerhead]

Hang in there Chris, our family is praying for your pops. Hoping he comes back better than ever !

[MegaByte]

Pop's had a heart attack today. He is 54 and in pretty good shape for an "older guy". He is currently in the hospital and they are running some tests.

I am sorry to hear that. I hope and pray he makes a full recovery. I do have a quesiton for you. Did he get a full annual physical each year? I am 60, look like 45 and feel great. Last physical I had showed high blood pressure. A for sure KILLER. So now I take a pill to be sure it stays in the proper range. Bottom line......go to the doctor for maintenace not just when you are sick.

[xstreme357]

thank you everyone for the support. MB, yes he is very anal about getting an annual check up and full bloodwork done. We have a long history of heart complications i.e. strokes, heart attacks, high cholesterol...so he made it a point of getting that stuff checked often. Doc told him he had high cholesterol but his bp was great, so he went on a pill in conjunction with his normal routine of pills including garlic, qc-10, asprin, a mild bp med, and a few others just to ensure good health. He's never had any sign of anything like this except for a mild panic attack due to stress.

Then it happened... he was at the yard shop here in town waiting to get a load of barkdust. He was waiting to be helped, and all of a sudden on came the chest and back pain like nothing he had ever felt in his life. So extreme he almost collapsed (red flag number one) then came on the shortness of breathe and the inabillity to capture it (red flag number two). He flagged someone down to get the bark dust and so they filled him up, he downed a bottle of water and came straight home about a 10 minute drive. He came in the house, and sat down. took three 81 mg bayers, and told my little brother he thinks he's having a heart attack or an asthma attack. My brother, rushed him straight in and they emitted him immediately. The doctors ran his vitals, and shot him up with nitroglycerin. When his vitals reacted to that, they rushed him by ambulance to SW WA medical where they have a better cardio center and they went to work on him. They ran the dyes and cut into his femeral (sp) artery and there the found it. 100 percent clogged in his right coranary artery, a big one. They ran two stents up his leg and into his heart. My dad said as soon as those went it, everything...pain, shortness of breath all of it was gone in a second. The doctors are still monitering him to see how badly damaged his heart is and how he is going to recover. Scary deal to say the least. My family is about as close as you can possibly get. My little brother is 19 and this hit him and my mom the hardest. I am still sort of in that disbelief stage that something like this could actually happen to a person that is so proactive in fighting "heart disease".

Pops, is like a lot of you guys and gals here from what i've noticed over the years. He's a type of guy that loves to go anchor up on a hot day and kick back with a cold beer and cigar to chew on occasionaly lighting it up for something to do while Jimmy Buffet's playin in the back ground. He's and avid fisherman of both warm water and cold water species and just enjoys havin a good time. This set back is something none of us saw coming, nor could have anyone prepared more for it. It's just a constant reminder of why heart attacks are called the silent killer. More than 1 million Americans suffer from them a year and almost half of them die from them. Do everything you can, especially if you have a history of heart complications in your family to do what megabyte said and have bloodwork ran and get a full check up. It's better to be in the know, than to wish you would have known.

[xstreme357]

As for an update, pops is doing great. Up walking around, he likes to take his walks in the morning at around 5 as there's not so many people up walking around. That way he doesnt have to tie his gown in the back he says...lol. The artery clotted up good, and the Dr. says if the improvement continues through tomorrow it's likely he will be able to come home. He's a stubborn old man, but the kind that kills you with kidness rather than the crotchety stubborn type (my late grandfather, lol). The nurses get a kick out of him 'cause his sarcastic jokes keep the mood light, even though the severity of what just happen is a 10 out of 10. He tries to joke with the dr.'s but they don't have it, lol. His room is comfortable, very clean and organized with good people so he doesn't mind being there so long as the "wait staff" as he calls them, keeps up the good work lol... but he's very ready to come home and kick it around the house. Dr. said no work for two weeks. Very hard for him as his life is his work. He owns several warehouses across the country and recently opened a new one up in Kent, WA. Doc things that's one of the major contributors to what happened. The increase in stress just sort of sealed the deal, so to speak. So absolutely no stress!! If the nice weather keeps up, it would be nice as the spirits most likely will rise with the temperature.

Again, I can't stress enough how much the extra prayers were greatly appreciated. My mom...god bless her, has had it very rough the past couple of days and sleep has been near non existant. Praying for things to go back to almost normal around the house!!

[STRUTTIN-1]

For Pop.

[chinookin]

Great news. I had a 98% blockage of the right coronary also. except I was only 42. Sayin our prayers for him.

[Kpete]

Glad to hear he is doing better

[feisty's wife]

Glad to hear he is doing well...I am 58, frequently have BAD chest pain, but nothing in arm's, jaw, will go away after awhile.I have only VA medical, no other insurance, so do not want to run another bill, on SSD.

[cubsfan]

Wow, hang in there. Just FYI. This post has inspired me to change some lifestyle habits.

[xstreme357]

Originally Posted by chinookin

Great news. I had a 98% blockage of the right coronary also. except I was only 42. Sayin our prayers for him.

and your doing well now? i sure hope so!

Originally Posted by feisty

Glad to hear he is doing well...I am 58, frequently have BAD chest pain, but nothing in arm's, jaw, will go away after awhile.I have only VA medical, no other insurance, so do not want to run another bill, on SSD.

thank you! pop's said it was unlike anything he's ever felt before. it was so intense that he knew something was up. sounds like you know your body, but if you think something is up...don't hesitate. the dr's said that because we acted quickly after the initial start of the "HA" it more than likely saved his life. trust your self to know when it's time to get it checked out. im no doc, but it's sad to hear of this stuff. i was pretty immune to the thought of heart problems in our family even though the river runs deep. im now a believer after hitting so close to home. so to speak.

Originally Posted by cubsfan

Wow, hang in there. Just FYI. This post has inspired me to change some lifestyle habits.

will do, everything seems to be on the up and up. pop's is quite a bit more tired now...but still working hard around the house. he's a motivated person and enjoys doing things so taking it easy is difficult for him. he's back to work now for about 4-5 hrs a day then meanders across the bridge to blow money at fishermans, lol. in all seriousness... we have changed out habits as well. we all are exercising a bit more, and our diet's have changed dramatically. it's all for the better. you can only benefit from it. watch your sodium intake, along with your fats and calories and you'll be fine. i know we all do that while on the boat (beer, chips, brats/cheesebugers)!!!

[chinookin]

extreme357, I am doing well with the heart thing, Ialso have many other health issues, but with the heart the doc says I only had about 20% damage, and with a change of diet, and excersise which is the hard one as I am disabled due to a car wreck, I will be fine if I take my meds and try to do at least walking a mile or two a day. Taht has become a hard thing to do as my last surgery was an artificial hip as the wreck shatterd my pelvis and even with 2 plate and 9 screws it didn't heal quite right, therefore pain with walking. But my last blood tests showed good improvement, so whenI get angina I take my nitro and it goes away. There is no more blockage but since they had to do my hip surgery before my ball joing broke off, they didnt give me the medicated stent, just the old fashioned stainless steel one that they have had problems with before. I am now on medicare and go in once a year for a check up and have blood tests every 3 months. so far every thing is fine. if pops is as onry as you say, depending on how much damage the heart attack did, he should be fine. onry for many years to come, even though, lori and i will pray for him on a regualar basis. Mike

[DAB]