I am a 70-year-old white male that has had a cardiac condition for some 24 years. I have had two balloons procedures, percutaneous translumina coronary angioplasty (PTCA), attempts; most literature now says they do not seem to work anyway. I have had two by-pass surgeries, a quadruple in (1983), and a triple in (1991). I had a stent in 1998. Went into atrial fibrillation, irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia). First noticed in August 2006 while climbing to a glacier in Alaska and then again in September while diving in Hawaii. I first underwent 5 cardio-versions that were unsuccessful. Finally, I had a cardiac ablation in 2007 that corrected the arrhythmia.
So you see, I have had a number of problems for many years and still will quail hunt all day, do physical work at the farm, exercise several times a week, and without any major problems. The main problem I have is more related to just being older. Have a number of friends my age and there are not many that can keep up with the pace I set. I should also mention that I have a fairly comprehensive background in physiology, chemistry, and biology along with some medical experience.
It seems that all the male members of my family have experienced rather serious heart conditions; my Father passing away at age 53 with a massive heart attack, my brother had his first heart attack at age 27. Starting in 1983, at the age of 46, is when I first experienced my first major heart attack. I feel certain that I had a number of minor attacks before then, since there were a number of times I felt some tightness in my chest and remember one that was particularly more severe a few years earlier. I have always been a very active person and generally ignored minor aches and pain. Rule #1 Do not ignore those symptoms like I did. I was a big jogger for a number of years and always thought it would make me immune to the cardiac conditions the male members of my family experienced. I would run 3-5 miles at least 5 days of the week, running 8-minute miles for three miles and 9-minute miles for 5 miles. I later found out the guy that wrote the book on Running, Jim Fixx, also had the same thoughts, but passed with cardiac blockages similar to mine. Apparently, his were more seriously blocked than mine.
I also had nuclear stress test for each year for 5 years prior to my first “real” heart attack. A physician in general practice conducted these examinations. This first major attack occurred at night while I was alone, but having some medical background did realize it was a heart attack. I did not feel threatened by it, but did take some aspirins during the episode. I had also been taking aspirin, 325 mg, each day for years before the attack. I will say that since I did not have any nitroglycerin I could have tried taking gunpowder and the nitrates in gunpowder could have helped lessen the damage. I did have some shot shells available that I could have used, but I did not do so. May have been a poor substitute for nitroglycerin, but do think it would have helped.
I was experiencing considerable stress at the time, going through a divorce, loss of job, loss of children, financial losses, and decided to go back to graduate school. I just mention this to indicate that there were a number of stress factors that could have had a definite impact in precipitating the heart attack.
This full-blown attack occurred in February 1983. I tried to run that morning and was unable to do so. This was the worst thing I could have done, as I understand now it really complicates the problem, but I was just so hard headed that I had to try and see what I could do. I did not seek medical attention until April. Again, I did not feel threatened even though I could not run, so I walked for several miles each day. I had my masters to complete and had a couple of papers to write and present at local universities. This was not a smart thing to do so, Rule #2 Do not put off seeking medical attention even though the symptoms may have lessened.
When I finally went in to see my general practice physician, he sent me to have an electrocardiogram (ECG). The technician looked at the resting ECG and tore the sheet off and went to the physician. He came in and said, “Looks like you had a heart attack?” I then went to a cardiologist that was sent all my records and this is where I was somewhat shocked about my condition. He stated I had been deteriorating for some 4 years prior to my heart attack. Rule #3 Go to a specialist, a cardiologist for testing of a suspected cardiac condition. Had I gone to the cardiologist for my stress test, my heart attack and the resulting damage may have been avoided.
Finally, I have been taking, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) chelation for over 16 years and contribute a lot of my being able to function as well as I do to that treatment. I have had hundreds of treatments and go twice a month, but I can tell you exactly how many treatments when I noticed a change in my cardiac condition. It was twelve treatments of 3 mg of EDTA. I will have a section on the blog for a discussion of this type of treatment. I have a number of physician friends, some say quackery, some say they have seen miraculous results with the treatments.
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