Today, Ray Knight, former third baseman for the NY Mets and the 1986 World Series MVP, publicly revealed that he had a heart attack in 2003. Based on what he learned following his own heart attack, Ray and his wife, Ladies Professional Golf Association Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, have launched a campaign (called Back in Full Swing,) to urge others to take charge of their health following a heart attack.
In an interview this morning with DrRich, Ray and Nancy described their experience. Ray had known about high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, but had been treated for these conditions and remained active and vigorous after his days as a ballplayer. So, he says, "I felt indestructable." Then unexpectedly in early 2003, he noticed himself becoming weak, easily fatigued, and short of breath during activities that normally he handled with no problem (such as hiking uphill for 2 miles with a full load, or playing basketball.) He never had real chest pain, but only a "tingle in the chest." (For the record, Nancy allows that his symptoms may have occurred with lesser activities.) In any case, his symptoms became alarming enough for him to seek medical advice - and after appropriate tests he was informed, to his utter shock, that he had had a heart attack.
Ray's medical care following the diagnosis was excellent and aggressive; he received an angioplasty and stent to open the occluded artery, and all the appropriate drug therapy. However, for some months he was devastated both by the diagnosis, and from continued symptoms. He described feeling, for the first time, completely vulnerable and no longer in control - and his apparent depression was not helped by continued symptoms of tiredness and a lack of energy. However, with the unbending support of his wife Nancy, Ray kept at it - taking his medications, watching his weight and diet, and exercising as much as possible. Eventually, Ray turned it around, and now he feels completely energized, happy, healthy, and optimistic about the future. For most of 2004 he has been a new man.
Ray and his doctor attribute a large part of his turn-around to finding the right medications for his post-heart attack management, and possibly more importantly, for control of his relatively mild hypertension. In Ray's case the drug that appeared to get him on the right track was carvedilol (Coreg, GlaxoSmithKline). Once an optimal dose of this beta blocker was prescribed, his blood pressure was reduced to 120/75, and Ray's physical and emotional well-being improved dramatically. The turn around was so dramatic that he and Nancy agreed to launch the Back in Full Swing campaign (supported by GlaxoSmithKline) to encourage others who have survived heart attacks to take charge of their health - and to make sure their doctors place them on all the necessary and appropriate therapy. You can visit Ray and Nancy's web site here.
DrRich comments:
Clearly Ray Knight is one of the lucky ones. He not only sustained minimal heart damage with his "wake up call" heart attack, he also received state-of-the-art medical care - and state-of-the-art support at home from Nancy. He persisted through the tough period that patients commonly go through following heart attacks, and came out of the experience stronger - and healthier - than before it all happened. His prognosis, as long as he continues on his medical regimen and persists with his healthy lifestyle changes, should be excellent. His message - that a heart attack can be a new beginning instead of the end of life - is an important one.
But, as Ray and Nancy can tell you, it's not a slam-dunk. It takes a lot of hard work on the part of both the patient and the doctor to get to that good place. Unfortunately, all too often doctors drop the ball. There are several steps doctors should take after a heart attack to assure the patient's optimal outcome, and many doctors fail to complete the program. Click here for a review of what ought to happen after a heart attack.
And visit Ray and Nancy's website to learn more about their story, and for some good post-heart-attack advice. Note, however, that the site is pretty vigorous in promoting carvedilol. Carvedilol is an excellent drug for heart attack survivors - just be aware that other beta blockers have been shown to be useful in heart attack survivors, too, and the fact that your doctor may have chosen another beta blocker for you does not mean you aren't getting good care. The key is that you take a beta blocker (along with an ACE inhibitor, a statin, and aspirin) - which beta blocker you take is not as important.
Incidently, Ray Knight is the answer to an important baseball trivia question: Who scored from 2nd base in game 6 of the 1986 World Series, when Bill Buckner made his infamous error?
