Had a Heart Attack (MI)

Sorry to be away so long but Monday I suffered another severe attack as I was mowing the lawn in 90* heat. Started to feel weak in my legs so came inside, sat in my recliner and started to get chest pains. I knew what that meant because I had an attack in 98 so I called 911 and they were here in minutes and lucky for me they were. Just got home from the hospital and have orders not to strain myself or go out in the heat of day as I now have an irregular heartbeat when exerted. Never thought it could happen again after losing all that weight? 130 lbs but the doctor said it was my cholesterol and I got another stent and was told that the weight loss definetely saved my life!
Anyway yesterday and today before I left they allowed my family to bring my dog to the hospital and she cheered up a lot of patients as I was able to take her around to visit the patients. Of course I was in a wheelchair and she on my lap occasionally jumping off to greet someone. She is a Shih-Tzu and her name is Scooter and I believe she gave hope and love to a lot of patients as per the Nurse Manager's opinion. Memorial Regional Hospital is a huge hospital and they are useing dog and cat therapy for their patients. I know we helped to save at least one life if just mine.

She is a real lover!

She is a real lover...

oH Paw!
So glad you're ok! Please follow doctor's orders TO THE LETTER, because we need you healthy and whole! Do I need to come to Florida?

Hugs,

Linda

So sorry to hear about your troubles Tplant. I know you're glad to be home. We wish you a very speedy recovery!

Sherri

Ted glad your doing okay..Take it slow & easy

Ted I am glad you had a happy outcome! Take it easy and get plenty of rest :)

whatever I can do, just call. Be well !!

BocaBob

I can't do much from here on! No heavy lifting and definetely no mowing the lawn as that plus my cholesterol is what put me in the hospital. Must not go out during the heat of the day and will be on plavix and a few other blood thinners for the rest of my life. I tell you it was a shock to me as I thought I was in great shape although I know my cholesterol was high @ 220. The zocor plus my special diet will relieve that problem plus another stent they put in me. That makes two!
This will not stop me from gardening as per my doctors, all four of them, told me as long as I don't lift. Lucky I grow in EBs or I'd be out of business. Looking into an electric wagon that I can use in my garden to carry stuff and also me if necessary as I am afraid the stress of my attack will increase the problems of my Post Polio as far as my legs are concerned. In 98 I had my first attack and within days my hair turned completely gray and shortly after PPS was confirmed as my legs were getting weak.
One thing for sure you don't get rest in the hospital and I had a great sleep last night from 3pm to 8:30am this morning without anyone waking me up to draw blood.

TPlant: It's hot right now down there, do what I do, little stints, then come in and rest before going back out hear? I know you, you are pushing it, and don't do that, especially in this heat.
joy

T, take it easy and please take care of yourself.

TPlant, glad to hear you are recovering. Please take care of yourself--you can get your gardening "fix" by sitting in your cool air-conditioning and sharing all of your expert advice with us newbies.
By the way, your little dog is adorable...one of my golden retrievers did therapy work at a local hospital, and I know how beneficial it was for both the patients and staff. I'm sure Scooter made a lot of patients happy with her visit.

As someone who is a memeber of the 'zipper club'. Just b careful and let everyone else do the work. Altho this is some oppresive heat right now, nothing says you still cant enjoy watching a garden grow......even if its not yours right now. As a matter of fact, the soul needs it to help you stay better!!! Glad your on the mend. I am in such shock they let you bring the dog in, that is fantastic.

Get better quick!! And start the Olive oil.

Check out www.lef.org, good info on health, but a little heavy on suppliments. I do take sups and can't imagine being without. They have a great book, kind of pricey, but it's about healthy living. I buy olive oil by the gallon, and eat butter about once a month. My cholesterol is low, and my b. pressure is too.

And 90 is too hot for anyone!

Great dog, and cute kid.

Get better quick!

Melissa

After I posted Friday I went to bed at 3:30pm and slept until 8:30am the next morning. All I did yesterday was complete rest and went out on my deck in the evening when it was much cooler as it usually is here in my part of the country. Sure glad BocaBob set me up with that self-watering system as I don't have to do anything until August 15 when I start my tomato seeds.
I still am in shock that I had another M.I. and recieved another stent. The medication that is given intravenously today breaks the clot within hours plus the stent keeps it open. I could actually feel the clot breaking up and the blood flowing to my heart. It was a tingleing sensation across the chest. The average stay in hospitals today because of that medication is four or five days depending on the cooperation of the patient.
Another good gardening practice for me is no weeding thanks to my EBs so I'll soon be doing some light puttering around the garden such as fertilizing and watering some of my open container plants such as figs and Jasmine trees that I trained in fifty gallaon containers. The rainy season is here now so that helps a lot! Meanwhile Thank You everyone for your concern especially you, Joy, as I thought you disliked me. Life is to short to hold a grudge!!!
Happy Gardening Everyone
Ted

Yikes! What an out of the blue setback, Tplant.

On a good note though, just think...no need to weed, no need to water (except with your timer system), no need to set up EB's and fight a time-frame ("gotta get these seeds started now!").

Keeping that in mind it seems to me now is the perfect time to be able to sit back and enjoy your garden and recuperate, eh? Of course now you'll need to get out there and pick some of that heart-healthy good food you're growing but I imagine your grandson will gladly help with that!

Rest up! And with all the heat and rainy season right now 'tis the best time to garden in Daves Garden!

Best,
Shoe

Ted, that must have been quite a shock for you. I am glad you are home where you can get some good rest. I swear hospitals are just no place for sick people needing rest. I hope you are staying cool and feeling better.

Oh my goodness, Ted, you be careful now, you hear? I'm so glad you are (apparently) doing what you're told.

Ted: Never hold grudges they are bad for you. You might want to try gardening on tables next time, it will help a considerable amount I think, won't have to stoop and they are right at your elbows. It is so hot here, I can only imagine how hot it is in south FL right now. Some pointers I heard, is do not go right from the heat right to the A/C, and drink something warm like tea or coffee instead of iced drinks, it really does cool you down and the sudden change of temperature is not good for us. I remember when I worked in an office in the summer, a bunch of people would have the a/c cranked up so high you had to wear a sweater, and my concern was someone having a stroke going from the ice cold A/C right out into the heat in the summer.

Doris' Italian Kitchen sells extra virgin olive oil that is cold pressed and from Italy for just under $20 for the 3 ltr. can. If you must use oil or butter, use extra virgin olive oil instead ok? I even use it to fry in. Garlic and onions also breaks down the high cholesterol also.

joy

Ted, I'm so glad you're alright and I'm sure you'll take care of yourself-- you can't let your plants or your puppy down! :-) By the way, I think it was really great of the hospital to let you bring her in AND share her with the other patients. It's nice to know that there are facilities out there that recognize that the answer to everything isn't always just drugs and surgery... pet love does wonders!

Scooter made a lot of patients actually "come to life." They were depressed but when they saw her and when she greeted them with tail wagging and big smile the patients seemed to perk right up and the same thing happened to the nurses. As a matter of fact the whole place cheered up.
I have a complete list of foods and the only real difference between my past and present food was butter? I'm now on several meds including zocor. The temps today are going to be bad according to the Emergency e-mail network it may go as high as 100* which is most unusual as we never go more than the low 90's and only at midday and soon after it would cool down.

Oh Tplant, so glad you and Scooter are home and recuperating! My husband has had two stents (1995, and another one three years later ) and is also on statins. He's been doing well ever since.
Wow, you're having 100+ degree weather, and we're in the midst of a Nor-easter up here! My 'maters will never get ripe!
Do take care of yourself. We all appreciate you and your positive attitude so much!

Somebody can confirm this. I read somewhere that olive oil was only heart healthy in a COLD state and loses most of its bennies when heated up for cooking with...I don't mind being corrected if this is not the case. I just want Paw around til I'M 70! Linda

Will have to research that! I know they say to buy the 'cold pressed' olive oil. I didnt know you couldnt heat it tho.

Gymgirl: How else do you use it dear? LOL I use it cold for salad dressings, I like to make my own vinegrette; but you might have a point there also, I read that microwaving does change the chemical balance of things; but, that is because of the microwave itself, I thought cooking was entirely different? Now that I need to know also. For a while everyone was pushing the canola oil and I found an article where it said that canola oil was synthetic and was not as good as proclaimed, in fact, it was bad for you.
joy

For frying, sauteeing, heating, use grapeseed oil. Olive oil has a 'low smoke point', meaning it burns easily. (I'm getting this out of one of my cookbooks)

"Most supermarket oils are a clear golden color and free from taste and aroma. This is because they've been extracted using hexane as a solvent, degummed, bleached, and deodorized." Some of these processes use high heat, which destroys nutrients and destroys oil's antioxidants.

Virgin and extra virgin refers to first run through the press, and second, using no heat, 'cold pressed'.

Zat nuff? There's more, but I'm tired of typing!

Ted, so glad you recognized the symptoms and took immediate action. Way too many people take the "wait and see" route. My prayers are with you for a speedy recovery. With Scooter there to offer love and support you'll be back to puttering in the garden in no time!

Molamola: I try to stay all natural without man messing things up with their little processes. LOL I heard that unprocessed butter is not actually bad for you, it is the processed butter that is bad for you. But then again, things change from one moment to the next, first they tell you to stay away from the yellow part of the egg, and eat just the whites, then they tell you it's ok to eat eggs and bacon? If they would all get it straight first then we could all get it right then correct? I love fried foods; ie. catfish, green tomatoes, okra, fries; so therefore, use the olive oil and just watch it that it doesn't get too old before dumping it and replacing it. Is grapeseed oil good for your cholesterol too? I have not really thought about or heard about that one.
joy

I do believe I read on the Health forum that heated olive oil is not as beneficial as unheated. Yes you would use it in a salad. It would be great to know if it is still good for you if you cook with it. I cook with olive oil because I like it.

Ted, I hope you're feeling better and better!

For cholesterol info, read this:

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cholesterol1.html

Just kind of skip over the Big Words, and you'll learn a lot. And don't depend on reporters to tell you what you need to know, such as TV, noospapers, Reader's Digest. They're trying to sell articles and make money, not inform. Bacon has zero positive nutrients, period. rant done...

Molamola -- I am 6'1" and weigh 222lbs with a body mass of 24 or so, so weight loss was not my problem as cholesterol is the culpurt. I now read all labels before purchasing. By the way our temp hit 105* today. This is most unusual and a very bad forboding to our hurricane season. The warmer the ocean the worse the hurricanes and I live in a mobile home. Even though we are well insured I would not like to lose our home. As it is now I can not venture outside because of the heat but that is OK as I am sleeping a good part of the day and night and am up at dawn which is 6am
and drink decaf coffee. I can't believe this heat! We don't live in the deserts of Arizona?

Yes, early for such awful temperatures! Poor you! (I didn't say you're fat, did I? I'm the fat one!!)

So much food has the bad oils in it. To still have a little of the flavor of commercial salad dressings, I've saved one of the squirty bottles, and when I get a new bottle of -- say, Bleu cheese dressing, I'll put just a little in the empty container, and fill it with olive oil. Sometimes I'll add a bit of lemon juice, from a real lemon, not a bottle, directly to the salad, or vegetables. Get those HDL's up!

For hurricanes, there's a huge blob of Sahara dust coming off Africa right now. The more of that, the less storms.

Stay good,

Molamola, a strange looking fish.

And right now, even the deserts of Arizona aren't that bad (but let's not talk about later this week, okay?)

Tplant, take it easy and take care of yourself, okay? We want you with us for many more gardening seasons to come!

Jill

All you poor people. I'm having 87 dys and 78 nights.

Ted, I want to thank you for this thread. I'm looking much more closely at my lifestyle, and making some changes.

Cheers,

Melissa

I'm very happy to hear that my attack has concerned others and proven that we are not invulnerable to heart disease. I am feeling like my old self but MUST take it slow and easy. No heavy lifting and must watch my cholesterol intake. I tell you that stuff just sneaks up on you if you are not careful plus working out by mowing the lawn in 90* heat was not to clever on my part but I never feel my age which will soon be 72. Where have the years gone?

TPlant: I have had 3 friends in south FL having problems with their breathing and hearts due to this heat I think, it is miserably hot here also. I bought a double wide Horton mobile home myself and bought the double lot to put it on also, with well water. It's been settling since it's now 5 years old and everytime a train or huge truck goes by it shakes the whole thing. I have a 4 bedroom, and the master has an office off of it, don't know why I bought such a huge one. LOL I have mine insured though. I'm finally going to get a AWS hooked up to everything outside, that will be nice. Your landscape looks beautiful since you have made all the changes. Just take short stints if you do go out and check on your plants. I do mine in stints, and far as I know my heart is ok.
joy

LOL, where have the years gone? Go to the Jokes forum and read the one called Body Parts.

My mother, when she was well into het eighties said that time goes by faster and faster, that a year just disappears. I'm beginning to experience that, being in my early sixties. ME??? Sixty??? Good Lord, I never thought I'd live this long, so many of my high school friends passed on young.

Our Department of Motor Vehicles was put into trailers after Hurricane Hugo, and they're still there. To help with the airconditioning, they built roofs over them.

Ah, well, to go look at the durn calendar and see what's up for today!

Cheers, and take it easy and smart, everyone.

Shortly after sunrise this morning when I let my dog out I decided to take a short walk to my back garden where all my veggies are and picked some Silver Queen corn but they do need a spraying as one of them had been chewed at the tip but it will just have to be as the walk BACK WAS VERY SLOW for me as my legs are still weak and I tire easily at this time but am getting stronger each day. It was nice to see my melons growing so healthy and I'll bet they will be delicious in another month if they survive this crazy constant 95* heat? Never have we had such consistant heat! Thank goodness for the afternoon storms or it would be impossible with the heat plus humidity. The evenings are pleasant most times but the humidity last night was very high. Even my dog didn't dilly dally. She did her duty and scrambled right back in to the house. Normally she likes to sniff around and take her time but not this time. I wish I would have had her intelligence the day of my attack!!!

Good thinking, Tplant. The very early morning hours should allow you some short excursions before the heat sits in. I have taken to doing my garden duties very early and very late. Its not humid here in the central hill country but the mid day heat is really baking things. I have all my stackers set up with 1/4 inch water lines and control all of them with a manual timer. I just twist the knob of the timer and set the number of minutes I wont to water.

Yep, dogs are smarter than we are about not overdoing it in hot weather. I take my dog walking and if she thinks it is too hot for that kind of foolishment, she just trots from tree shade to tree shade and waits there in the shade for me as I keep slogging along out in the sunshine. When we get close to the car, she goes and sits in the shade of the car untill I get there. Dang smartalec dog!

TPlant: We got just a minute of rain today, just enough to make the plants even more thirsty than they were to start with. I've been watering twice daily, early in the AM and then in the evening. My bigger tomatoes are starting to finally turn red!! Of course, with the heat comes the bugs, an uphill battle. Glad my corn was ready before it got too hot, they were spared.
joy