Member Profiles
TOOTSIE
My father died of heart disease at age 51, my
Mother had a stroke as an accident of surgery from breast cancer. therefore I
always worried about heart disease. When my husbands plant physical required he
see a cardiologist I found one near his job in our PPO book and made an appt for
us both. Dr. P. He asked why I came I gave him family history. I am self
employed..no plant physical. After a complete checkup and blood test he said I
would live another 50 yrs. I never saw the blood test. that was 1996. In 2000 I
went to him with heavy angina pain..he did an ekg and stress test and told me I
was fine. He prescribed Toprol. As time went by the symptoms worsened. He kept
me coming back but said I was fine. I was tired all the time, weak, and with any
exertion I had angina. I joined a gym, and went on the Atkins diet. I had many
stress tests and 2 Cardiolite tests but was always told I was fine. The last was
Oct. 2002. I told Dr. P I was trying Adkins and how bad I felt and he said it
was a good diet. His assistant said "not if cholesterol is high".. he then
ordered a blood test, the first since 1996! My cholesterol and triglicerides
were very high. In Dec. I saw him and he told me to watch my cholesterol, did
not give me meds or a diet to follow. In Jan 2003 the angina was so bad I could
not function. I tried to move plants in from a freeze and had to lie down after
a few plants. I called him for an appt. Jan. 24.He told me it was the cold
weather..I should stay warm, exercise and rest. Since July 2000, it was the only
time I made an appt to see him..all others were scheduled..something big was
wrong! He scheduled an appt for one week later...Jan 30. On Jan 29 I felt bad
all day and did not want to eat that night. I went to bed as soon as I got home
from work. The next morning I made breakfast.. Adkins and only ate a few bites
of my omelet. I went back to bed and each time i got up I vomited. I called my
office thinking I had a virus. I told them I had an appt with my cardiologist so
maybe he could give me something. My appt was at 3pm. I was so sick I slept on
the sofa in his waiting rm. He did an ekg and asked if I had ever had an
angiogram. I said no. He asked if I could do it next week and I said yes. He
told me to go by the hospital to do paperwork and bloodwork and be there first
thing Monday morning. This was Thursday. I did. From the parking lot to the
hospital the angina attacks were bad. In the admissions waiting area I vomited.
I handed the girl my paperwork which included the ekg...for the first time I saw
the words "Myo Cardiac Infarction" (excuse spelling). It was there on the ekg!
He never said a word! I went upstairs for blood work and vomited twice in the
process of trying to take blood. The lab tech said "I think I am going to take
you down to the emergency room." There is no doubt she saved my life. I indeed
had a heart attack and it wasn't an instant moment thing..it was over that 24
hrs. I was admitted, had the angiogram on Monday and found a 90% blockage in the
left main. I also had a 50% in the left main at the aorta and a 45% in a lower
area. There was damage to my heart from the heart attack. P. recommended diet,
medication and exercise. He wanted to release me on Tuesday morning. A nurse
contacted the hospital administrator about it and the hospital refused to
release me. I was then transferred to Methodist to Dr. Gerald L..a very good
surgeon. He ran the nucular stress test and found a 4th blockage. I stayed at
the hospital several days under constant monitoring and had quadruple bypass and
8 hrs later went in again when one of them leaked. Recovery took longer than
expected due to the damage from the heart attack, but today my cholesterol and
tryglicerides are low..I take 20 mg Zocor a day. Dr. L. started me on 40 and my
NEW Cardioligist Dr. R. gradually cut it down as my quarterly blood test show
both are very good now. I go to the gym, eat ! the right foods and feel great.
My words of wisdom..always get copies of your medical records as you go
along..it was all there once I read them after the fact.... do not trust Drs
over your own instinct. I also think some of the reason women are discounted in
cardioligy is the cultural background of many of the Drs. Even though I don't
believe it is on a conscious level, if women are not of value in their ethnic
culture it very likely will show up in the practice of some..of course not all.
I asked Dr. P. why he kept lying to me. His answer was "sometimes the mind can
create a bigger problem for the heart"..so I wonder how differently I would have
dieted and exercised if I had known the truth? I believe the truth would have
scared me enough to shape up. A heart attack sure did!
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