Member Profiles
GOOD NEWS HASAN
Dear Readers,
A lot of these personal stories are
depressing .. I am here to tell you that there is good news and I am saying that
without being on any feel-good medication.
Before my heart problems, I was NOT a typical risk for heart problems in
America: young, never smoked, more active than average population, in good
physical shape, cholesterol level about 200, BP under control with medication,
not a diabetic, not heavy (5'6¨, 169 lbs), no family history.
I had a heart attack when I was 41 despite having limited risks!!
I did not have the traditional symptoms to know it was a heart attack: no
elephant on the chest. My arms felt sore, that was it! I thought it was from
carrying all those beach chairs back and forth that week on vacation. After a
few days of mild ¡§soreness¡¨, it got worse. So, I went to the ER. They figured
out quickly I was having a heart attack. I could not believe it.
They took me in for angioplasty right from the ER. They put a stent in the LAX
area. I have to say that the whole episode was NOT scary. It did not hurt at
all. I was awake through the whole thing. I was watching the monitor that showed
my arteries and the doctor showed me where the blockage was. I was joking with
them, asked for a picture of that (and got before-and-after shots of the blocked
area !!..). It looks like my arteries are OK but a plaque broke off and traveled
until it blocked the artery. What luck ..
I was out of the procedure room in a few hours to a hospital room for recovery.
I was up on my feet that evening, walking around and joking. I feel that I had
excellent care (Abington Hospital in Abington, PA). I was back home in three
days.
I went through a brief "why so young, why me" period but it really was not so
bad. I see this as a blessing that it was a MILD heart attack. I saw this as a
warning: it gave me a chance to change my ways and live longer.
Now, I am going to tell you what you MUST do to go back to normal yourself: You
need to change your lifestyle. It may be hard to believe but most of the heart
attack deaths are preventable. Our lifestyle in America is killing us. How do we
change the lifestyle? Here is what worked for me beautifully:
- REHAB: go to that Rehab after you are out of the hospital. Stick to what they
say. I was in good shape by the time I left. I was the youngest patient in rehab
and that was not fun but when life gives you a lemon, make a lemonade.
- Change What You eat: If you go to extremes on this, you will fail. Do this in
moderation. Dramatically cut down animal products: meat, milk, cheese. You can
eat them but eat in moderation. Try SOYMILK. If you do not like that, try
SOYMILK with Vanilla. You will get used to it. Eat more of a vegetarian diet.
You will discover new delights once you leave the realm of our meat/potatoes
American diet.
- Take your medicine: Be religious about this. I was lucky not to have side
effects. If you do feel side effects, work with your doctor to find a balance
and stick to it.
- Exercise: You need to do something cardiovascular at least three times a week
for about 40 minutes. If this is a pain, at least try walking for that time.
ANYTHING is better than sitting on that couch. If you must watch TV, buy a
treadmill or elliptical and exercise while you are watching. This is the hardest
part of lifestyle changes. I switch what I do periodically when I get bored with
the current scheme.
Obviously, what I am telling you is nothing new here. If you read a bit on web,
you will see this and more. This site does a great job of educating people. I am
here to tell you that the common sense stuff worked for me.
CAVEAT1- I realize that some people have genetics that may have a difficult time
but please do not go the easy way and blame genes before giving these a fair
shot.
CAVEAT2- Depending on your risk factors, you may have to do more. For example,
If you smoke, do you really want me to tell you that you need to quit smoking?
Look into the face of a loved one (wife: .. OK maybe not her ļ ), son,
daughter, dog and tell me if that cigarette is more important that spending time
with the loved one.
Where are we now?
I had my heart attack three years ago. Everything is looking good.
I had a stress test recently and everything looked fine. Doctors were
complaining how long it was taking for my treadmill test to reach the target
rate (..this is a good thing !! ..).
I feel that the lifestyle changes I had to make were not real burdens and I feel
good.
I hope this was helpful.
In most of the cases, you have more control over how things are going to turn
out than you think.
- Pray to your Supreme Being/god if you want but do not leave it all to
him/her/it,
- Trust your doctor if you want but do not leave it all up to him/her and the
little pills,
- Do YOUR part also. See what worked for me above.
I wish you well.
PEACE
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