Heart Health

[Scythe]

Long post

November 2nd 2015 a day that is forever etched into my mind.

It seemed like a normal day. Got up loaded up the car and went to a pickup game at one of the local rinks for a 12 to 2 session. I remember feeling extra tired during the skate. I remember thinking my skates must need to be sharpened logic being i was working extra hard moving around on the dull blades. I didn't take a shower at the rink that day just packed up and drove home. Once home i got into the shower and when i was getting out it hit me, it felt like weight sitting on my chest, i couldn't breath normally, pain ... i thought it was just a cramp .. i was having a heart attack. 

I really don't think I'd be here telling this story if it wasn't for my girlfriend showing up moments after i got out of the shower and calling 911 as I was on the floor rolling around. Thank you Christa you truly are an angel. 

The FD got there quick the station was less than a mile away from the house. After they got my vitals i was put into the ambulance. Once wheeled into the ER it seemed like 20 people talking and moving fast all around cutting of my clothes. In the operating room the doctor placed a stent into the lower part of my heart through my wrist. 

There's been at least one study on the relationship of (recreational) ice hockey and heart attacks. The report I read said the short bursts of speed during a players shift then coming back to sit on the bench could have something to do with it.  Especially if the player is not a professional athlete. They recommend a regular exercise regimen away from the rink. We all heard about Alan Thicke's incident. He was playing with his son the day he had a heart attack and later died at the hospital. 

I am trying to stick to a good diet and regular exercise. i can do better though. One of the first things i asked my doctor after telling him thank you for saving my life, was can I play hockey again. He said to do everything i was doing before. Not immediately of course but once he gave the ok. 

Just be mindful of it guys and gals. I know when were young we are invincible but know the warning signs of heart  attacks. Ask your rinks to get AED's if they don't already. Familiar yourself with one. They're easy to work, some have spoken instructions when they're opened and learn hands only CPR. Have a good day everybody it's great to be here with you all. 

[bunnyman666]

I have noticed better play with riding my stationary bike for at least thirty minutes per day. I also would recommend interval training on the bike three times per week.  I could do better by adding in weights and a better stretching programme.

[Scythe]

Good information bunny.

I referred to what Alan Thicke went through as a heart attack when it was really an aortic dissection. A tear of the aorta wall. It has all the same signs. 

Any tips or suggestions, exercise or good super foods ? Bring it on. I love cut up cucumber with a little lite dressing for lunch. Except i gotta peel them. It's said the skin is where a lot of the nutrients are.but the seeds are good too 

[jeff da goalie]

cucumbers have almost no nutritive value.  a salad is a good idea, but throw in some salmon or something for protein and healthy fats.  

If your only exercise is a hockey game, then yeah, it's not ideal.  I lift heavy a few times (4 if I can) a week and play hockey twice.  Lifting is anaerobic, so is playing goalie.  If I don't have games I'll do interval training once or twice a week.  And trying to lose more weight now.  But that's a lifelong struggle.

[Doc1200]

Definitely felt better on/off the ice after adding a strength training program to my workout routine. Some cardio away from the ice as well, I like to mix it up with the stationary bike and elliptical. After turning 30 I could no longer keep up and feel good with just hockey 2 nights a week as my primary form of exercise. 

[Naz]

July 27, 2014 - 3:30pm - Sunday.  I was 43 years old.  I was painting a bedroom.  Had a Myocardial Infarction in the Front Left Descending artery of my heart.  The Heart Attack I was to later learn is known as the "Widow Maker"  100% blockage of the biggest artery around your heart.  If I had gone to lay down until I felt better, I would not be sitting here typing this today.  Even with today's advancements, there is still a high mortality rate with this type of Heart Attack.  

Like you @Scythe , I felt that enormous weight on my chest, was losing use of my left arm.  I went and changed out of my painting clothes, grabbed a phone, called 911, and went and sat on the front steps to my house waiting for the Ambulance.  911 stayed on the phone with me until the Ambulance arrived.  They took me first to the Hospital closest to my house (4 minutes away) for the initial diagnosis, even though they knew from just looking at me what it was.  They contacted the Interventional Cardiologist on call at the other major hospital in town, it specializes in Cardiology and is a major teaching hospital for Cardiac Care.  Cardiologists from all over North America come here to learn.  Back into the Ambulance, over to the other hospital and straight up into the Heart Cath Lab I went.  Ironically, part of the job that my work team does, is calling in the Heart Cath Lab staff after hours and on weekends.  So enroute, I knew that my colleagues were calling in the Team for ME!

From the moment I called 911 to when I was sitting in my bed in the Coronary Care Unit after the stent had been put in, texting my parents to let them know what happened... total time elapsed.  3 hours.  Pretty damn good for a Sunday afternoon. 

I still recall the moment laying on the table in the Cath Lab, the stent placed in via the small wrist incision, the EXACT moment the stent was inflated I felt INSTANTLY so much better, because well, blood was flowing in my heart again.

At that time, it had been 17 years since I had played hockey.  But, I was planning a return to the ice, and told my Cardiologist that was my goal.  I was not out of shape when the Heart Attack happened.  I had remained very active my whole life and always ate very well.  In fact at that time, it had been 15 years since I had eaten anything deep fried.  My Cardiologist told me I certainly did not look like a Heart Attack patient.  All my cholesterol numbers were excellent.  He said I was "a healthy guy, screwed by genetics".  While in hospital I also found out I was Diabetic.  Both my parents had a Cardiac History and both of them are Diabetic.

2 years ago this past April I returned to the ice.  This past season I played sometimes 6 times per week, seems I still know how to stop a puck quite well, so I get many calls asking me to play for different teams.  I workout using H.I.I.T. regimens and have altered my diet slightly.  After initially being on 7 medications total upon release from the Hospital for both Cardiac and Diabetes (was on Insulin for 6 months) I now have it down to ONE heart medication (half dosage at that) and am off all Diabetic medications.  It's hard work, and have to stay on top of it.  But, it's worth the hard work, as I don't want to ever go down that road again.

Sorry for the long winded novel, but this is a subject that certainly hits right at home for me.

[bunnyman666]

@Scythe @Naz thanks for sharing your stories. 

This is important for us to know as we can be seemingly healthy as can be but have a ticking time bomb in our chests. Knowing the signs is very important. My dear dad needed quad bypass 25 years back and if it weren’t for my mum bugging the piss out of my dad when he complained of some symptoms, we’d speak of dear ol’ dad in the past tense. He avoided the heart attack, but had he waited much longer, we’d be saying how great of a guy he was.

Take heed, ladies and gentlemen.