Mom had heart attack. PSA

[Lizzie in Ma]

My Mom had a massive heart attack on Sunday night. She had symptoms since Thursday but they were so atypical none of us picked up on it, even my sister who has worked in the cardiac field for 12 years. She had intermittent pain in BOTH her arms that finally got so bad Dad made her go to the ER.

NO chest pain, no nausea, dizziness, nothing else, nothing typical.

By the time she got there she had 100% blockage and was taken immediately to the cath lab for a stnt. It was touch and go for awhile and she is not out of the woods yet.

Bottom line is she killed off half her heart muscle and it remains to be seen how much function she regains and she is still in danget of a "catastrophic event".

So, like most of us, who would have popped some ibuprofen and had some wine instead of goint to the ER, lesson learned. Had she gotten there earlier, prognosis would be a lot better.

She had NO history and NO risk factors.

Fair warning.

[Laura Corin]

I'm sorry you are going through this. Thanks for the warning. Best wishes to you and your mum.

 

Laura

[TeacherZee]

((Hugs))

[DragonFaerie]

:grouphug: Hope your mom recovers quickly.

[delaney]

Thank you for that reminder of how easy it is to dismiss potentially fatal signs. Hope things turn around for her!

[twinmami01]

Praying for your mom and your family.

[Night Elf]

:grouphug: That is scary. Things like this are beginning to worry me at my age, 45. I didn't realize a heart attack might not have chest pain. I also thought accompanying pain in only the left arm meant something. I guess I need to find out more about this. Sorry about your mom. I hope she fully recovers!

[speedmom4]

That is so scary. I probably would have done the same thing in your mom's shoes.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Elise in NC

[Joanne]

{{{hugs}}}

 

The variety of heart attack symptoms in women has been an "issue" of mine since a friend had one. She called EMS, and they LEFT telling her to "go to sleep, it's indigestion".

 

A friend drove her to the hospital (thank God) and she was having a heart attack.

[Lawana]

I am so sorry for your mother. I was with my MIL when she fell, breaking her pelvis. At the ER, she complained about chest pain, and the feeling of someone sitting on her chest. Despite these classical symptoms, her heart attack wasn't diagnosed until the next day.

[Guest inoubliable]

:grouphug: Hoping the best for your mom. Thank you for the warning.

[Laurie4b]

Thank you for sharing. Sorry that your mom and family are going through this. :grouphug:

[Tammyla]

:grouphug: How scary for everyone. Prayers for healing.

[Ellie]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

I have read that heart attack symptoms for women are different than those for men, but even though I know that, I'm not sure that I would have recognized only arm pain as a heart attack. :-(

 

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

[Word Nerd]

:grouphug: :grouphug: I'm so glad she got to the ER in time and hope she gets better.

 

A woman from our area had a heart attack last year. She was seemingly in good health, exercised regularly, and was only 44. During the week before she blacked out and started having chest pains, she had shared with friends at an event that she felt absolutely exhausted and couldn't seem to get enough sleep. That was the only symptom she had (at least that she shared with anyone), and no one thought much of it until afterward. I didn't know that extreme fatigue even was a symptom of heart trouble.

[cin]

This whole arm pain thing scares the bejeebies out of me. I shattered my collarbone when I was a kid, so my arm hurts a lot of the time. It is my right arm, and even though I know it always hurts, still, in the back of my mind, I sometimes wonder.

 

Praying for a good recovery for your mom.

[Lilaclady]

That is so scary but yes, women typically present with atypical signs like pain in arms, pains that resemble GI. Praying for a fast and good recovery

[Wildcat]

Best wishes to your mom for a speedy recovery. :grouphug:

[UmMusa]

I pray she recovers fully.

[Twigs]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[*********]

Oh Lizzie, I'm so sorry about your mom.

 

My dad waited just five hours before going to the hospital with his heart attack symptoms. Even just those five hours made a huge difference in how much damage his heart sustained.

 

Prompt attention to ANY strange, unexplained symptoms is very important.

 

Hoping your mother recovers. If you ever need to chat, feel free to pm me. We are still dealing with MAJOR complications from my dad's heart attack he had six months ago.

 

(And I can't *not* add this.Please, PLEASE be very aware of making sure the nurses are changing your mother's position frequently. As in, every two hours. My father's biggest complication right now is the horrendous bed sore he got when he was on life support for three weeks following his heart attack. I'm so mad that he survived such a major heart attack only to possibly lose his life to a bed sore of all things.)

[Desert Rat]

Oh, Lizzie! I'm so sorry. I hope she pulls through and thanks for the PSA. :grouphug:

[unsinkable]

I'm so sorry .

 

You all have my Prayers!

 

 

[RoughCollie]

Lizzie, I'm sorry about your Mom. Please keep us updated on her progress.

 

Another PSA is that if you think you are having heart problems, be prepared to be told that it is from the stress of homeschooling. Stick up for yourself and don't get fobbed off because you are a female.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm so sorry, Lizzie.

[LibraryLover]

:grouphug:

[happi duck]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[swellmomma]

:grouphug: praying your mom pulls through. It sounds like even if she went to the hospital with her symptoms they would not have seen it as a heart attack anyway and the damage would have been the same, after all your sister who has experience in this field didn't see it. I am glad for the PSA but it sounds like there wasn't much that would have made a different outcome for your mom.