Before I get into the story, I will start with: I’m okay. I didn’t have a heart attack, I was thoroughly checked out at the hospital and sent home (at 2:00 AM).
And now the story…
Yesterday was relatively “normal” day for me, email, twitter, RSS, etc. But towards the end of the day, I had buried the needle in my stress-o-meter in the red zone. This should have been my first clue.
By evening, thoroughly stressed about life stuff (something I will elaborate on at MapleLeaf 2.0 shortly), I went to visit a friend for a bit. On the way I started to have chest pains. Uh oh.
Chest pains, then nausea, then trouble breathing, then my left arm started to feel funny.
Yes, you can see where this is going.
When I got to my friend’s house, intermittently clutching my chest and saying “no I think I’m okay”, I decided that I wasn’t okay and that a trip to the ER was in the offing for me.
I could still drive, but my friend came with me for moral support.
The rest of the evening (this was about 7:30 PM by this point) was as you’d expect.
First ECG (gotta love those sticky tabs), wait for the doctor to read it (I got to wait in the lounge and dressed thankfully), get called into the back (which means the hospital gown fun), hooked up to the heart monitor, IV started, little O2, lots more questions, blood taken, waiting, chest x-ray, waiting, another ECG, more blood taken, more waiting.
Pretty much by 10 PM I was feeling much better. Chest pains were gone and I was feeling okay. I was given the clean bill of health at 11:30, but they had to keep me there until 2 AM to do a confirming bit of blood work (turns out elevated heart enzymes often don’t appear for up to 6 hours post event).
I have to say that the nurses, doctors, and staff at Victoria General were awesome. I was comfortable, kept informed, and treated with good humour and cheer. It certainly helped me to relax. Okay my b5 friends will also add that I was in rare comedic form last night, and that continued once the pain stopped.
In the end what was it? The doctor’s weren’t 100%, but it wasn’t a heart attack or angina. The likely culprit: stress.
Yep, stress. So this is something I have to work on. I have to learn to let go and relax. Maybe even cut myself some slack and take a decent break occasionally.
So there it is. My first heart scare. I have to thank all my friends (I told a couple people at b5 that I was going) for their support.
So if I’m not posting a lot today, I’m giving myself a little break and time to reflect.
Just so you know.
Tris Hussey is a writer, teacher, blogger, and speaker on all facets of Internet life, WordPress, and social media. If you are interested in having Tris speak, teach, lead a workshop or consult for you, feel free to email tris [at] trishussey [dot] com.
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I can definitely relate to the experience as I have been suffering from the similar for some time. Luckily though up until about two weeks ago it didn’t require a trip to the ER (I’m expecting a good talking to by my doctor on my next monthly visit)
At this point I have to wear a nitro patch daily along with the other regular “heart” problem medications.
It’s not fun at all and I’ve had many sleepless nights because of the problem. The only thing I can suggest is to start having regular visits with your doctor so he/she can keep on top of it.
Sorry to hear about this Tris, but glad you’re doing better!
Steven and Mack, thank you. Yes, this has been eye opening for me. I know I’m at risk, but haven’t really been taking it seriously. Right now, I don’t think I’m going to need additional drug therapy, but getting more exercise is top of my list.
Stress? I have no definition on that. What is this stress you speak of?
Wow! Good to hear it was just stress, but none-the-less still serious. Relax friend. As GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons says, what’s the worst that can happen? They can’t eat you.
Take care Triss.
I’m glad you’re ok.
Glad to hear you’re ok, Tris! I’m going through the same bottle-neck too right now, and it’s definitely affecting me physically, so I’m going to be more aware of that. Meditation is great for that, even 5 minutes at a time. Also, what energizes you? What juices you and makes you feel alive? Those things tend to cancel out stress.
glad yer doing ok! sit back and relax a bit
Yes, turning things down a notch is a high priority for me now. Maybe even a little time off.
Relieved to hear that you’re OK, Tris! FWIW, I’ve found Yoga to be a great stress-reliever, and if you find the right class, it’s also one hell of a workout.
Time off is always great, of course, but if you’re like me, you spend half your time off thinking about work-related stuff anyway
Thanks Nick. Yes, I am going to take a vacation in July. First one in years. I’ll bring the camera, but laptop … well maybe something like a Eee. Gotta be able to upload pics!
I’ve been thinking about a Wii and Wii Fit … just for the yoga part. A bike though is something that I’m going to invest in.
Just saw this! Scary. But, glad you’re OK! I need all of the conferences I attend to be well photographed.
Kidding.
Patrick
Don’t worry Patrick … I’m turning over a new leaf.