My Heart Attack Story

Why would it even cross my mind that the chest pains were heart attack symptoms and not heart burn?

Hi! I'm Paul

My heart attack story actually begins about 6 months before the actual heart attack.

I was a "healthy" 45 year old. OK, so I didn't play any sport, but I was active and fairly fit.

So although in retrospect the events leading up to the heart attack were typical early warning signs of a heart attack I never for one moment considered this.

Over these months I was getting short of breath and suffering bouts of severe pain between my shoulder blades.

This was mostly when I was walking outside, but it also happen on quite a few occasions when I was just sitting around. The only way I could get any relief from the pain was to force my back against a door frame.

Now I ask you, why would I think that this was an early warning sign of a heart attack?

Any way - to continue my heart attack story, two days before the actual heart attack I was building some fitted wardrobes but I was having trouble drilling into the wall. In order to get some leverage on the drill I put my whole weight against it by pushing against it with my chest.

Suddenly I had the worst pain that I had ever experienced. It was so severe that I had to go and lie down. After about half an hour the pain had passed and I continued with the wardrobes.

About 1.30 in the morning I woke with severe chest pain. I didn't notice any other symptoms - I didn't ask myself " Is this a heart attack or heartburn?" I just assumed that it was heartburn. The thought of a heart attack didn't even cross my mind!

I got out of bed and went downstairs. We didn't have any tablets or medicine as we never suffer from indigestion, so the only thing I could think of was to have a fizzy drink. This did relieve the pain a little, and after sitting down for a bit I went back to bed. Pam was still fast asleep.

Within 15 minutes the pain returned. This time it was a crushing pain not just in my chest but also through to my back. I also had the classic heart attack arm pain.

I woke Pam. I must have looked awful because she realized straight away that it was something serious.

She rang the emergency services and the paramedics arrived before she had even finished getting dressed.

Within minutes I was in the ambulance, sirens wailing and off to hospital.

In the emergency ward of the hospital I was given a "clot buster" injection and then transferred to the Cardiac Care Ward where I remained for 5 days.

So that's the first part of my heart attack story.

No matter how aware you are of heart attack symptoms, when it actually happens, it is the furthest thing from your thoughts.

The probability of surviving a heart attack is massively increased if you get a "clot buster" injection within 1 hour of the onset of a heart attack.

Don't take the chance: don't wonder if it's a heart attack or heart burn, always assume it's a heart attack and get medical attention immediately.

Take Care

Paul

It’s Your Heart. It’s Your Life.

It’s Your Choice.

Go to My Story part 2 Signs Of A Heart Attack from Heart Attack Story
Go to My Story part 3 Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme