FIBROMYALGIA-MAN TAKES A HIT

( OR WAS IT THREE ? )

IN THE HEART

MY MISSION

Early on in my hospitalization, I knew I wanted to do something here on this website to get the message out of the lessons I have learned about heart attacks, especially to those fellow sufferers of fibromyalgia, but also to everyone else, that we are all ultimately the first person in charge of our own health. We need to be vigilant in our own care and feeding. I thought I was. I thought I was doing all the right things.... I had stopped adding salt to my food most of the time, had been on the aspirin-a-day program (with my doctor's ok) , tried to keep to a lean diet, used whole grain breads and cereals, added more fruits, etc. , and have been doing these things for years now, but it wasn't enough. Even regular doctor visits weren't enough. My doctor had been checking me earlier this year for elevated blood pressure readings, but it wasn't critical at that time. Budget restraints in our health-care system were most likely responsible for him not ordering tests at that time which could have saved me from what was to follow.

About 8 days after that first mild attack that ultimitly got me to the hospital still on my feet, and where I was when the second and third attacks took place, one of my sisters-in-law told me that a man who was working for one of her brothers, was in his vehicle when he apparently had a heart attack and crashed his vehicle. When they found him a few hours later, he was dead. He likely never knew that he was a candidate for a heart attack.

We have heard stories in the news of young people in high school athletics, having heart attacks and dying.

I believe I had mine for a reason. To live through the experience so I could warn you from first hand experience, of this deadly situation. One thing in my favour, was the purchase years ago of an electronic blood pressure monitor, that told me this time when I used it, I was in BIG trouble .More about these units later.This is where I will begin my comic strip of events to tell my story.

Please note.... I am not a medical professional. I will only be giving what happened to me. Other people can have widely ranging symptoms that you wouldn't recognize as a warning that you may be having a heart attack. An associate of my chiropractor told me of one person's symptoms while he was in training in a cardiac care unit..... the person had an unusual pain in the tip of his/her little finger!

Cholesterol is one big thing we keep hearing about in the news constantly, and these tests were done while I was in hospital again. One of my doctors here, provided me with my numbers, but they didn't mean much to me as I had no reference to what they should be. So, with some research here on the internet, I have found a reputable source for you to go to, too. Here in Canada, we use an international standard. In the USA, they have a different way to show the readings. This site will give you both, and also shows you how to convert the numbers as well. Click here to go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada site.

Please also remember, that these helps I have given above are only supplemental to your health care. See your doctor if any of them are giving you warning signs, or get to your hospital emergency center if they are critcal ( this is what 911 was developed for) signs, like mine was.