Chest Pain
My husband went to the Emergency Room with chest pain on Friday. It was very frightening to receive the phone call that informed me of what had happened. There are so many thoughts that race through your mind: is he dead? will he recover? will he need surgery? how long will he be out of work?
He had classic symptoms: chest pain that filled his chest and then radiated into his jaw. The symptoms are different for women; “Symptoms such as indigestion, sleep disturbances, or weakness in the arms, which many of us experience on a daily basis, were recognized by many women in the study as warning signals for AMI.” says an NIH researcher.
What do you do if you think you are having a heart attack? In Seattle, call 911 immediately. Do not drive yourself! The fire department were “jonny on the spot” for Scott. They plugged him in and started monitoring him. Scott was taken to the ER at Swedish where they took blood, did a couple of ECG’s and eventually a stress test. All showed no signs of a heart attack.
He walked out of the hospital feeling fine. We actually went out for dinner with friends that evening. His heart is very healthy. None of the medical pro’s could tell him what had happened. Was it stress? indigestion? who knows.
I am happy Scott was fine. I am grateful we have good health insurance. There are a few things we don’t have – like life insurance for Scott (he is recently self employed), and no short term disability. We seem too young. Stupid to take your health for granted….you just never really know.