Help, my 46 year old husband just had a heart attack on Saturday. We were blessed enough that he was in an emergency room when he coded so they were able to shock him back and then put two stints into his heart. He came home tonight and seems to be doing very good and was told there was very little damage to his heart. I am wondering what to expect next. I know the emotions are all over the place, I figure there will be some depression and some fighting doctors orders. Are there things I should watch out for?
E.
My husband had a heart attack (stint too) 5 years ago when he was 36. If you would like to talk, email me at ____@____.com with your email/phone number. There is a lot to expect but it is hard to talk about all of it in just this response. Have hope, it can all work out just fine.
E. ~
What were his symptoms to start with...what took him to the ER? The symptoms can be different for everyone. It can be the typical chest pain, pressure, tightness, left arm pain, shortness of breath. But it can also be jaw pain, back pain, or others.
Sometimes you're at risk because of family history. There's nothing you can do about that. But it could be his lipid/cholesterol levels. He should be on a low-fat diet. There is more and more out there that is low-fat, and alot of it tastes really good, including the ice cream! He also needs to do some exercise....walking, riding a bike, etc. It doesn't have to be a big work-out, but some exercise to keep the circulation going like it should.
He needs to take the medications that are ordered as ordered. My husband can be bad about taking his meds, and he's been taking the same ones for 11 years. He also needs to go to the doctor for his regular appointments, whatever the doctor is recommending. Men tend to be hard-headed about seeing a doctor for anything.
Even with the stents in place, he could be at risk for more blockages. We all have some blockages, they don't usually do anything about them until they are over 70%. I'm sure that when they did the cardiac catheterization (when they placed the stents) that they noticed what percent the blockages are in all of the arteries on the surface of the heart. You can always ask the doctor at his next visit.
Right now, he should somewhat limit his activity...careful going up and down stairs, because of the insertion point of the catheterization (the groin). There will be some bruising at the area because they do inject heparin (a blood thinner), plus they poked in there and were in that area for a little while. You can also check the pulse in his foot if you are worried...feel the top of the foot, near the ankle with 2 fingers...there should be a pulse there (check on yourself first to know about where to look), and behind the bone that sticks out on the inside of the ankle.
You'd be surprised, there may not be any depression at all. He will probably start feeling better, because the heart is getting more oxygen than it was before! But don't let him think he is done, he still needs to be followed for the rest of his life. Hopefully you were given a good cardiologist. Don't ever feel that you need to stay with that one if you don't like him. You can always change...ask around, you may be surprised at how many people you know that have a cardiologist. If you know someone who is a nurse, or works in a hospital, ask them who they would recommend. Bedside manner is not always the only good thing, the way they practice will be known to people who work in the health care field.
Good luck! And don't treat him like an invalid! He'll be just fine!
D. (RN, started out on a cardiac floor) :)
Shock therapy. If he goes through bouts of not listening, ask him where the assets and life insurance policies are located. If that jogs him into asking why you're doing that, explain that you got the shock of your life when he had the heart attack and that if he doesn't care enough to follow doctors' orders, then you need to be prepared.
Then show him how much you do love him.
But do ask the doctor for professional advice. They can best tell you what to watch out for.
I know how worried and scared you are about everything that has just happened. One of my co-workers suffered a major heart attack, was shocked once, and was later discharged from the hospital 34 hours after the incident with 2 stents and very little cardiac damage.
The main thing that I could tell you (speaking from a little experience) is listen to him. He might want to talk about what happened, about what he needs to do in the future, or (if he's anything like my friend) he'll want to ignore the fact that it happened because it scares him. Either way, be supportive, and stick to your doctors orders. My co-worker/friend is now back at work, completely healthy, and as funny as ever. It's probably going to take him a little bit of rest, relaxation, and time to get back to normal, but he'll get there.
Take care and God Bless
