Heart Attack

As if surviving one Heart Attack wasn’t enough, this veteran of Heart War I had to succumb to another one — Heart War II within three years ! Once a survivor, always a survivor is the guiding motto of all those who cheat death repeatedly. Yours truly was already a Life Member of Survivors’ Inc., having survived a snake bite, the marauding rear wheels of a double-decker bus from which I fell, a murderous assault, umpteen incidents of factory violence, several accidents, grave injuries and several close encounters with poisonous snakes.

At the outset let me share with you this episode of the First Heart Attack where initially several gross mistakes were committed. Tora ! Tora ! Tora ! was the Japanese code for for the Pearl Harbour attack. How this code sneaked into my life is now more history than mystery. The clinical post-attack analysis conforms to an almost 9/11 situation — there were many dry runs, near hits and near misses which were all but overlooked out of sheer over-confidence. Eat well,  exercise regularly and sleep well may be something for the books, ‘coz that was what I had been doing all along. Even the day before was spent huffing and puffing at my regular workout. Anyway I survived the blitzkrieg to tell this tale of Myocardial Infarction, and believe me, he who survives most, survives best !

Instead of the standard “why me?”, the question I asked myself was, “Why Not Me ?” Wasn’t I the Type-A personality ? — time-conscious and aggressive with exacting attitudes ? Like 9/11 this incident was just waiting to happen. As the Secretary of the Community Welfare Committee I had successfully intervened in a household problem at that member’s request and settled the problem with his tenant amicably. This led to some politicking, causing tension as I was subjected to taunts and barbs by a few. The incident jolted me a little. Further, the oily snacks and sugary tea served at the meeting made me feel queasy inside. That day I had taken a little red meat which may have compounded the problem, being a perfect recipe for a heart attack. A late dinner with red meat again may have ignited a fuse somewhere. Around 3 AM I woke up with a burning senation in my innards. A terrifible pain near the left nipple left me cold and numb. The lights were dimming, darker and darker and I was feeling cold, with sweat poring all over. My initial shouts had brought my other family members to the room, but instead of calling for a doctor they sat perplexed ! After an hour of this continuing pain a doctor was called. He came at 5.30 AM and found the BP high at 114-160 and remarked that there was much flatulence. He gave some medicine for reducing the flatulence and blood pressure but nothing for Cardiac problems. An ECG was casually suggested and Sorbitrate prescribed as S.O.S. The pain lingered till 11 AM when I threw up violently. Soon the pain subsided and everyone thought that it was a stomach upset !

I was back to my routine work after 24-hours, and I remember that very day, I had come out in the sun around 2 pm to show a Civic Engineer a particular sewerage problem a few blocks away from my house. After 10-days I went for the ECG and was shocked to learn that what I had was a Massive Heart Attack ! Then I consulted a Cardiologist MD to salvage whatever was left of me physically. He presecribed further tests like Echocardiography, Lipid Profile, Blood Sugar etc. while giving specific Cardiac recovery medicines. How could this happen to me, the Superman ? doing yoga for 40-years, and for last three years Reiki ? I had given up red meat for last 13-years, having some only on  rare occasions. It was possible that the homocysteines of the red meat had triggered the attack. Other factors which came to mind were – my voluntary retirement from active service three years back, a nagging wife syndrome and the conflagaration at the community meeting.

Mistake No. 1

With the onset of the attack I should’ve been rushed to the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit of the nearest hospital, ( there was one just within two kilometers), put  on Oxygen and given a Streptokinase injection for thrombalysing the heart muscle, preventing clot formation etc. Neither the attending doctor had advised us correctly nor my family members had the presence of mind to think clearly and take proper evasive action. 

Effect of the Mistake

During those critical moments running into hours, my heart had suffered Oxygen starvation leading to death of some Heart Muscle tissue. The heart then gets into a swelling mode which is why complete bedrest and/or hospitalisation in an ICCU is advised. Finally, the swelling subsides after 7-days and a scar-tissue starts forming over the infarcted area. In three to four week’s time the scar-tissue formation is complete. Full recovery takes about six months depending on the extent of damage to the heart muscles and the general health of the survivor. Keeping a pet and a positive attitude always helps speedy recovery.

Post-Recovery Fitness

One should’ve started light walking right after a month’s time. and after six months’ time one’s ability to climb two to four flights of stairs without discomfort is a good sign for starting a fitness regimen. I remember, I had been doing Reiki from the third day onwards and it definitely helped healing faster. After this recovery period a person can go back to his normal duties including taking up sex from where one left. Those familiar with an exercise schedule can easily switch back to the old pattern without much difficulty. Keeping track of the Initial Target Heart Rate is necessary while fixing the Exercising Pulse Rate around an Initial Target Heart Rate. The ITHR of  a 50-year old person will be 220-50=170(Maximum Heart Rate) x .5 or .6, ie. 85 to 102 Beats Per Minute. If BPM exceeds one’s ITHR, short periods of rest should be taken. The Target Rate should be increased gradually after full recovery, multiplying Maximum Heart Rate with .7  or .8. Thanks to my Reiki, I was able to “Reverse The Heart Attack” after-effects within Nine Months when ECG waves showed “Normal” pattern. Regular Cardiac Check Ups and regular intake of prescribed Cardiac medicines is a MUST for avoiding a Second Heart Attack.

Mistake No. 2

After getting back to my old self a period of laxity set in but I did make my rounds of Cardiologists around the city. One even suggested to go for an Angiography but I was destined to commit Mistake No. 2 in 2006 by stopping the prescribed Allopathic medicines and switching on my own to Homoepathic Medicines, Craetagus and Arjuna. More about this later.