SCAD Heart Attack - Page 2

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@cherry wrote:
Maybe it is my artery that is small, and not the vein

@cherry...if you were told this after the cardiac catherization, they probably meant your arteries. An offshoot of my left anterior descending artery could not be opened because at the time it was too small to put a stent or balloon. This new doctor I have was able to open it. Skill is everything with this type of medicine.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

Hi @Trinity11,

I wasn't aware of your hematoma from a Heart Cath. You may have mentioned it, but I did not see it. Not sure if you read of my experience, or I just may not have mentioned it.

My experience came because of an Echo reading, and also a follow-up to a negative looking treadmill stress test. Was put into the hospital while I was still on Warfarin for my PE episodes, thus has to wait days until my INR/ProTime numbers came down low enough where my Cardiologist felt was safe enough to do the Heart Cath.

Expected maybe a 3-5 day hospital stay, but it was not to be. Had the Heart Cath(groin) done on a Friday. Monday morning while my GP was visiting me, I told him about a pain in my upper leg. When I looked there was nothing suspicious looking, just some pain. When he checked it out he too saw nothing of concern.

By the time we were done talking and he was exiting my room, I called to him that "I was going to pass out". Next thing I remember was me in my room bed with several nurses and 2 doctors beside my bed. They were discussing which course to take because of a big hematoma at the Heart Cath entry point. They kept measuring it to see if it was getting bigger. First time I could see it, from my vantage point it looked like the size of a small orange(clementine).

They were discussing(what I can remember from that live time) whether this was caused by a blood clot, or by the artery being damaged(I was back on Warfarin after my Heart Cath). What I was told once I was "out of the woods"(my BP was no longer 60/35), was they were debating opening up the hematoma or waiting to see if my body would "absorb(for lack of the medical terminology)". They chose the "waiting", which turned out to be the correct decision.

My 3-5 day stay ended up being 18 days because of this life threatening event. I spent every day with an ice bag between my leg and groin during those days, and for months after I got back home. It was many months before my groin returned to normal with the help of mucho ice.

I was fortunate to have still been in the hospital when this happened, as after a Heart Cath, if no problems detected, a person is discharged after 48 hours. I was still there while my Pulmonologist was waiting for my INR to get above a 2.0 reading, it was a 1.2 before they would perform the Heart Cath.

All 4 of my Heart Cath procedures were via the groin, not sure if the wrist route was being done back in that earlier year.

Like myself, sometimes telling a very personal story, like you have done here, can benefit others greatly, and I thank you for doing so. My hope is that you are in a good place health wise now, and having room to improve.

Yesterday I had a setback, but nothing to do with my heart, just something that kept me from my day of ice skating, and may take time to heal before I go skating again.

Take good care of yourself my friend,

JOhn(hckynut)

hckynut(john)

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@hckynut, sorry to read about the set-back regarding putting your beloved skating on hold.

Yes, I had a large hematoma. The idiot kept trying to get in but an assistant told him to stop. This is the same cretin who never put a stent in one of the arteries he claimed to, falsified it and changed his report when my new doctor asked to see it. He was let go of the hospital network and fired from the practice. He is now a holistic doctor. We are not litigious but there are times I wonder about it. That 2nd heart attack never would have happened if he had done what he claimed he had.

software · ‎06-08-2016

@Trinity11 wrote:
@software I posted about women having smaller arteries.

Women who are thin, eat healthy and exercise are often over-looked in the ER. Both my heart attacks I was met with a dismissive staff telling me I was too young, thin and looked too healthy on arrival. My cardiac enzymes proved I was having a heart attack. Treatment was delayed as the hospital had no Cath lab and I had to be transferred to one that did. I ended up in heart failure for months with my first heart attack.

My assessment of women and heart disease is that the medical community have a lot of work ahead of them to catch up with how they treat men. My arteries are extremely small making going through the wrist for an angiogram impossible. I ended up with a large hematoma because the first doctor I had kept trying and could not do it skillfully. Thankfully, I found a good doctor since who I believe has saved my life.

i only tell this very personal story to warn other female patients that if you feel something is wrong, don't be shy and ask for help..

Thanks for sharing your story, sorry for your experience.

I know years ago, doctors hesitated to include women in certain studies because they felt their hormonal cycle would skew the results. Heck with that, find a way around it, I say.

But we have made some progress, in the 1960s a complaining woman was given a Valium and sent home.

Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

@software wrote:
@Trinity11 wrote:
@software I posted about women having smaller arteries.

Women who are thin, eat healthy and exercise are often over-looked in the ER. Both my heart attacks I was met with a dismissive staff telling me I was too young, thin and looked too healthy on arrival. My cardiac enzymes proved I was having a heart attack. Treatment was delayed as the hospital had no Cath lab and I had to be transferred to one that did. I ended up in heart failure for months with my first heart attack.

My assessment of women and heart disease is that the medical community have a lot of work ahead of them to catch up with how they treat men. My arteries are extremely small making going through the wrist for an angiogram impossible. I ended up with a large hematoma because the first doctor I had kept trying and could not do it skillfully. Thankfully, I found a good doctor since who I believe has saved my life.

i only tell this very personal story to warn other female patients that if you feel something is wrong, don't be shy and ask for help..

Thanks for sharing your story, sorry for your experience.
I know years ago, doctors hesitated to include women in certain studies because they felt their hormonal cycle would skew the results. Heck with that, find a way around it, I say.

But we have made some progress, in the 1960s a complaining woman was given a Valium and sent home.

@software Unfortunately, times are still the same except instead of a Valium these days it is anitdepressents. My sister was caught up in that until she found a female doctor who listened and knew what perimenopause was and how to deal with it.

Don't be afraid to stick up for yourselves, girls!