Member Profiles

KAREN

I was a fairly healthy woman, or so I thought, in my mid forties with two young children. I had my daughter at 40, and my son at 42....so my activity levels were quite high when my problems began. Oh yes, I also need to mention that I was smoking at the time, and had been for about 25 years.

One day I was outside trying to empty my children's wading pool..which was extremely heavy. The next day I went school shopping with my two older daughters and began receiving shooting pains in my left arm. This I attributed to carrying lot of clothes on my left arm around the store. I saw down and rested and it went away. I then began to notice a pain in my upper spine, between my shoulder blades and pain in both hands noticed while folding clothes. I went to my family doctor then because this pain was getting to be a real nuisance thinking I had pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve. My doctor said he thought it was just a pinched nerve, my EKG was fine, and gave me not only pain relievers, muscle relaxants, but "nitro" in case the pain gets severe and doesn't go away....and just to be sure he scheduled a Cardiolyte stress test. I did the stress test without any problems. Several days later when lifting a couch I experienced chest pain so I went to the ER. After being monitored for 6 hours, and having a normal EKG I was sent home with the diagnosis of muscle sprain. About a week later I was driving to the doctor's to receive the results of my stress test when I became so dizzy I don't know how I drove there, or got into the office where I just about collapsed. I was then rushed to the Intensive Care Unit because my stress test was abnormal. I was transferred to another hospital and had an angiogram, and it was discovered my mian coronary artery was 98% blocked. I was told I was lucky, that usually heart attacks at that spot were fatal. I had a stent placement and have had no problems for 5 years now. I just want women to know that if they have any weird symptoms (as my hand pain) to find a doctor who will take the time to look for a real reason of their pain...everyone, especially women, experience cardiac related problems differently. I was lucky, and want you to be too!


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