Docs don't prescribe nitro unless you have known coronary artery disease.
A MUST have for me on any hunt, and is always with me.
- Thread starter PNWdude67
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T3ninja I had the same question.
Very interesting reading.
Very interesting reading.
Biggest thing to watch for is decreased ability to exercise or do activity.
If you notice you can't complete your normal routine.... whatever that is.... TELL YOUR DOCTOR.
"I can usually walk a mile every day but for the last month i couldn't do more than half a mile. "
Push your doctor to do a stress test.
Calcium scores help but aren't perfect.
OP... glad you are ok!!
If you notice you can't complete your normal routine.... whatever that is.... TELL YOUR DOCTOR.
"I can usually walk a mile every day but for the last month i couldn't do more than half a mile. "
Push your doctor to do a stress test.
Calcium scores help but aren't perfect.
OP... glad you are ok!!
david g ranes
Well-Known Member
I started carrying powdered aspirin in my wallet several years ago it comes in little folded packets that lay flat you can't even tell they are in there only thing people give you a funny look when you empty your wallet to get something and you have these little packets with this white powder in it I did explain that one time. DavidTwo years ago I believed I was a fit 53 year old dude, active and aware of avoiding certain "lifestyle" indulgences that "increase risk" for cardiovascular "events". My physicals were all good and I was never prescribed a medication for blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes. The last thing on my mind was being acutely prepared in the event I experienced a heart attack. By that I mean, I worked out, avoided tobacco, ate healthy food and did not do any drugs so why would I need to have some simple items in my pack that if used during the early phase of a heart attack, could save my life and preserve heart muscle. I knew what a heart attack was and had a little bit of training in dealing with them so there really was no excuse other than I never thought it could happen to me. Wrong! Fortunately, when my heat attack presented I was not 6 miles into the wilderness on a back pack hunt, or 5 miles off shore fishing. I was .5 miles from an ER working out in the gym at 10 AM. When the tell tale symptoms started I was able to get to the ER and receive life saving treatment that cleared the proximal blood clot in my left anterior descending artery before it damaged my heart. Then, after a look at what was going on in the cath lab I was faced with the reality my coronary arteries had been building up to this moment for some time and underwent triple bypass surgery. So what should I have had with me and do carry with me now, besides the standard first aid and emergency contact devices I have had?? A botttle of Chewable baby aspirin and some nitroglycerin. Why chewable baby aspirin? In a pinch chewing up any aspirin would have the same effect but baby aspirin has flavoring that cuts the edge of the very sour and bitter taste. When experience chest pain and symptoms nausea often is part of the bodies reaction so baby aspirin is ideal. Chewing it releases the active molecules into the blood faster and they will help move blood through the blocked artery in your heart and keep downstream muscle alive!! Without blood for an extended period of time muscle cells die. In the heart this is called myocardial infarction MI. We want to get blood moving down stream past the blocked artery. Nitro helps because it almost immediately opens the arterial passage (vasodilation) giving more room for blood to flow! An acute heart attack happens when some of the arterial build up we have as we age breaks free and our body automatically recognizes this as an injured tissue and activates the clotting cascade. It's the clot that forms rapidly inside the artery that blocks the blood and creates the symptoms of a heart attack. It also is what can kill heart muscle if not dealt with rapidly or kill you. What to do? Study the symptoms and listen to stories from your friends who have experienced this and survived to tell about it. Mine symptoms were very mild and not remarkable, but I knew they felt different and realized they were similar to the classic symptom of a heart attack, so I acted immediately.My clot was very proximal (far up stream) in the artery, it has an infamous name… "widow maker". Had I experienced this a few weeks later on a hunt last fall I most likely would be a memory and not typing this post right now. No matter how healthy you are, male or female, mid 30's or 60's we need to be aware this can happen at any moment as we all develop some form of arterial plaques that can potentially rupture and cause a heart attack. Risk factors just make it statistically more likely and it's never impossible. Have some baby aspirin handy, know the symptoms of an acute event and listen to the stories from survivors like me. Stories and knowledge, that was all I had when it happened to me. That and the dumb luck of it happening in such close proximity to a hospital. So, that's my story, and if you have one please share it whenever possible because it just may save someone's life. Good hunting and safe adventures!
My calcium score was on the very low end of the scale, so they didn't even make me do the stress test. Nothing in medicine is absolute/perfect and I'll be the first to agree. But laying on a table while they scan your chest (1 minute tops) is better than a stress test.
To clarify...
If you experience a decrease in your ability to do your regular activity level, tell your doctor and push for a stress test.
Seems like you'd only need to worry about the other chemicals in the makeup of the gunpowder. It's pretty much a question "is the juice worth the squeeze" maybe if you're miles from help, and know you're having the big one, it might just be worth it!
Thanks for the great post. Great info. I am in that group that thinks I am invincible and will worry about it later. I'm not in the greatest of shape, eat like crap and never work out but it could never happen to me. I am very glad to hear you caught it early and are doing well. Thanks again for the post.
BC powder. Supposed to mix with water, kinda like a non fizzy Alka Seltzer. My concern would be trying to swallow it dry in an emergency when your throat is probably already dry from stress.
Glad the original poster is OK and shared with us. When things happen, they usually happen quickly and when least expected!
Under the tongue is fine
ATTkid
Active Member
I had a similar MI in 2006. I'm a musician by trade and had played a four hour benefit to raise money for one of the older guys in our business had no insurance and was struck with an MI a few months prior. Here's the point: I had no "Hollywood heart attack" symptoms. No chest pain, shortness of breath, pain down the left arm or arm pit. I had the worst case of indigestion I'd ever had in my life. This occurred on a Friday night. I ate Tums like M&M's to no avail, so I called my doctor Monday morning, related my problem and he told me to get to the ER immediately. When they gave me an EKG and sent me to the cath lab stat. Right coronary artery was 100% blocked. 3 smaller vessels were partially blocked. They put 2 stents in the blocked artery and said they could treat the others with medical. 9 days later I had a follow-up at my Doc's office and I had another MI while he was examining me. Ambulance to the ER, 3 more stents in the small vessels, and I had lost about 25% of heart muscle. I've been great after rehab, just a little hitch in my getalong! When you have symptoms that are unusual and persistent don't blow it off like I did. The Doc said "If you don't know, go!" (To the ER). The advice above is golden re: having some aspirin with you at all times. Nitro tabs will kill the pain, but you need a Rx to get them. Don't be a dead hero like I nearly was. My Dad did the same thing and it cost him his life. Get the aspirin and "If you don't know, go" to the nearest ER. Sorry to be so wordy, but I don't want it to happen to you.Two years ago I believed I was a fit 53 year old dude, active and aware of avoiding certain "lifestyle" indulgences that "increase risk" for cardiovascular "events". My physicals were all good and I was never prescribed a medication for blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes. The last thing on my mind was being acutely prepared in the event I experienced a heart attack. By that I mean, I worked out, avoided tobacco, ate healthy food and did not do any drugs so why would I need to have some simple items in my pack that if used during the early phase of a heart attack, could save my life and preserve heart muscle. I knew what a heart attack was and had a little bit of training in dealing with them so there really was no excuse other than I never thought it could happen to me. Wrong! Fortunately, when my heat attack presented I was not 6 miles into the wilderness on a back pack hunt, or 5 miles off shore fishing. I was .5 miles from an ER working out in the gym at 10 AM. When the tell tale symptoms started I was able to get to the ER and receive life saving treatment that cleared the proximal blood clot in my left anterior descending artery before it damaged my heart. Then, after a look at what was going on in the cath lab I was faced with the reality my coronary arteries had been building up to this moment for some time and underwent triple bypass surgery. So what should I have had with me and do carry with me now, besides the standard first aid and emergency contact devices I have had?? A botttle of Chewable baby aspirin and some nitroglycerin. Why chewable baby aspirin? In a pinch chewing up any aspirin would have the same effect but baby aspirin has flavoring that cuts the edge of the very sour and bitter taste. When experience chest pain and symptoms nausea often is part of the bodies reaction so baby aspirin is ideal. Chewing it releases the active molecules into the blood faster and they will help move blood through the blocked artery in your heart and keep downstream muscle alive!! Without blood for an extended period of time muscle cells die. In the heart this is called myocardial infarction MI. We want to get blood moving down stream past the blocked artery. Nitro helps because it almost immediately opens the arterial passage (vasodilation) giving more room for blood to flow! An acute heart attack happens when some of the arterial build up we have as we age breaks free and our body automatically recognizes this as an injured tissue and activates the clotting cascade. It's the clot that forms rapidly inside the artery that blocks the blood and creates the symptoms of a heart attack. It also is what can kill heart muscle if not dealt with rapidly or kill you. What to do? Study the symptoms and listen to stories from your friends who have experienced this and survived to tell about it. Mine symptoms were very mild and not remarkable, but I knew they felt different and realized they were similar to the classic symptom of a heart attack, so I acted immediately.
Flintlock shooter
Well-Known Member
Glad you made it young fellar....... ;-)
Man this is scary real world information!
If you don't know,go.
I will try to remember that.
If you don't know,go.
I will try to remember that.
SteveBurton
Formerly 'Jackmonkey'
Thank you for sharing your story and I'm glad you are OK. That is really good information. I started carrying a small trauma kit with me into the field but did not think to add aspirin to it. My friends and family joke about it but you know the old saying. It's better to have it and not need it...
To expand on this story with something I don't think a lot of people realize. When you have a heart attack, large or small, the possibility of your heart muscle not getting blood is very high. As the OP said, that part of your heart that is starved from oxygen rich blood dies. It does not recover or grow back. It is forever a dead piece of your heart which will reduce your overall activity level for the rest of your life. Your body is a remarkable machine and will compensate for it but you will never be 100% again. Anything that you can do to prevent this is a positive.
To expand on this story with something I don't think a lot of people realize. When you have a heart attack, large or small, the possibility of your heart muscle not getting blood is very high. As the OP said, that part of your heart that is starved from oxygen rich blood dies. It does not recover or grow back. It is forever a dead piece of your heart which will reduce your overall activity level for the rest of your life. Your body is a remarkable machine and will compensate for it but you will never be 100% again. Anything that you can do to prevent this is a positive.
