Heart Attack-ack-ack-ack-ack You ought to Know by Now..

No I’m not talking about the ’70ish song by Billy Joel, I mean I had a heart attack on Tuesday Night the 1st of March, and here I sit on the 4th of March writing about it.

You see when you smoke, you get chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) like I did. COPD then in turn places additional stresses on the heart that can lead to repercussions on the heart, in the form of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale (alteration in the structure and function of the right ventricle caused by a primary disorder of the respiratory system). Severe COPD affects the heart through various mechanisms, including loss of pulmonary vascular capacity due to parenchymal destruction, hypoxic pulmonary arterial vasoconstriction, and pulmonary hyperinflation with elevated intrathoracic pressure. Is is also thought that even a mild form of COPD effects the heart in much the same way.

I had one of my nasty coughing fits.. hacking and spitting up phlegm. Not unusual when you have COPD, just embarrassing when it happens in public, but at home you can let it rip. I got through the fit and continued washing my dishes when I started getting a sharp pain in my chest. I also felt some pressure.. like someone was sitting on my chest. Then a sudden sharp pain to my left jaw up to my temple. Then More sharp pains into my left arm.



Now I’m no doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV, but even I know I was experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack. The pain on a pain scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst pain you have ever felt, it really wasn’t that bad.. it kinda ranged from 1 and shot up to an occasional 6. I did have a feeling of doom.. a sense that something was really wrong. My girlfriend was at work, and I didn’t want to fall out with no one else here, so I dialed 911.



The cardiologist admitted me to the new cardio vascular wing of the hospital. I sent my girlfriend home so she could get some sleep before she goes back to work as it was now about 4:30 am. They plugged me up to a nitro I.V. and continued to poke and prod at me at various times of the night before during and after they moved me to my room. Each step of the way removing and and reestablishing electrodes for heart monitors. Each time I lost some chest and leg hair, I joked that at least I don’t have to endure wax jobs like the ladies do. They informed me I would have to have a cath the next day.

Cardiac catheterization is when Catheters are inserted using a guidewire into the groin area and moved towards the heart. Once in position above the aortic valve the guidewire is then removed. The catheter is then engaged with the origin of the coronary artery (either left main stem or right coronary artery) and x-ray opaque iodine-based contrast is injected to make the coronary vessels show up on the x-ray fluoroscopy image.



When the necessary procedures are complete, the catheter is removed. Firm pressure is applied to the groin to prevent bleeding. This was done by a nurse by hand with another nurse there to monitor vitals. I talked and joked with them, although I avoided any groin jokes. Once they felt sure that there would not be any bleeding, I was moved back to my room, and given a meal. I was still hooked up to an I.V. and a heart monitor.



Once again boys and girls, I remind you that all this pain and suffering boils down to one decision in my life. To smoke. Do you think it’s worth it? Do you think I wish I could turn back the hands of time to when I was just a pre-teen and change that one decision? It is a regret I will carry to my grave, an early grave. Don’t do it. Don’t let you life go Up in Smoke!

"Heart attack ack ack ack ack, you ought to know by now"… that smoking will kill you.



To follow Jim (The Figster) Newtons fight against lung cancer and how to live with COPD visit his blog Up In Smoke