Thought Heart Attack....But Not - General Health Message Board

Chintzy · 09-04-2006, 08:21 AM

Hope someone can help us figure this out. We do have a drs. appointment in a week for follow up from hospital.
My husband was rushed to hospital; sweating; no chest pain but tightness; pale as ghost and dizzy and a feeling of doom. EKG showed that he was having a heart attack and ER doctors thought so too; however the angiogram showed good heart, vessels and aorta. However, he did have complications from the angiogram that sent him to ICU but is home and doing fine. Thank Heavens for that.

I am going to try and explain his symptoms as good as I can without going into too much detail:
For a few years now, upon exertion when working in yard, etc.; usually in the heat, but not all the time, he sweats profusly, changing clothes twice sometimes. He drinks water and gatorade. He starts to feeling really bad; pale, voice even sounds strained when he trys to talk and says he hears a gurgling sound coming from his chest sometimes when he feels this way. Just totally doesn't feel well when having this reaction. He has feared it was his heart, but that has now been ruled out.

He does have a benign small nodule on his lung that drs. feel has been there for awhile. We have known it was there about 4 years and have checkups every year and no change.

I am hoping that someone would know an avenue for us to look into to see what might be causing these symptoms. He had a physical less than a year ago. The only problem he had then was blood pressure which he is now taking coreg. (However, he had these symptoms before he even had blood pressure problem)

Hope I haven't totally confused everyone; just wanting to find out what is wrong with him.

Thanks for any information you can pass along.

Mari526 · 09-04-2006, 09:45 AM

Do you know what his CPK level was when his was having the episode in the ER? I would have your husband follow a cardiac diet even if his angiogram was clear. His symptoms sound cardiac related so he would benefit from a healthy lifestyle change. No one should work outside in the heat if it can be avoided, he may be losing more fluids than his body can replace even if he is drinking extra fluids. Dehydration is a serious condition.

midwest1 · 09-04-2006, 10:36 AM

Does he have any other symptoms, and does he have them frequently - most notably ~
Ravenous appetite without weight gain, or with weight loss?
Muscle weakness, particularly the large muscles of back, arms, legs?
Unexplained bouts of diarrhea?
Episodes of rapid heart rate or uneven heart rhythm?
Frequent anxiety ("feelings of doom")?

And if I may ask, what are the particulars of his bad reaction to the angiogram?

I ask all this because hyperthyroidism causes these symptoms and the ones you mentioned. The iodine-based dye used in the angiogram might have made existing hyperthyroidism much worse until the dye agent cleared his system.

A regular, workplace physical doesn't always include thyroid testing, so it may have been missed at that time. I would insist on both a TSH test and a free T4 test at the upcoming doctor visit.

Chintzy · 09-04-2006, 06:22 PM

Mari526....Thank you for your reply. They didn't tell us in the ER what his CPK level was. (I didn't know what CPK was so I looked it up on internet). We are going to try and find out because I know that his primary doctor will like to know also. We are going to look at the cardiac diet that my father had and try and eat better. I know that would be the healthier thing to do.

Midwest1...Thank you for your reply also. He has always had a good appetite and has gained a few pounds over the years, however he is 6'4" so it takes alot of eating for him to gain anything. I think it is just in his genes. Anyway, I forgot to mention in my original posting and it reminded me when you mentioned muscles....that when he has this feeling, he feels like his shoulders are pulling downward. Strange. On the day that he had the episode, he wasn't working outside in the heat but he did the day before. He said when he woke up that day that he didn't feel good and felt anxious.
As far as the angiogram, When they felt like he was having a heart attack in the ER, they gave him Heperin (sp?)...I think this thins your blood. Anyway, then they rushed him up to have the angiogram right from ER since they thought he was having h. attack. Everything came out from the Angiogram good. They put him in a room to lie flat for 6 hours after the angio. Well, when we were in the room, we noticed he was turning very blackish blue in the area where they inserted the needle. Didn't take long for the nurses to start rushing in and they took him to ICU. He was bleeding internally. Scared me so bad....and him of course. They ordered units of blood in case they had to give him blood. The nurses had to stand there next to him and hold pressure on the spot where then inserted the needle. He is doing better but still black and blue color in lower extremeties.
He is going to ask doctor to check tor the hyperthryodism. Thanks for the info.

thegardener · 09-13-2006, 06:46 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your scary ordeal! I'm glad your husband did well. Just one thought, gurgling in your chest can occur with congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failure can be caused from high blood pressure. The high BP stresses the heart so that it doesn't work as well (because the heart has to pump against this higher pressure. Think of trying to push water out of a balloon while you are restricting the opening). If the heart is stressing trying to pump, this can back fluid up into the lungs which causes the gurgling. If your husband is keeping his BP under control this will help. Is your husband overweight? If he is exerting himself, maybe this is only occuring with exertion, especially if he is overweight and doesn't exercise? Does he exercise? Did the doctor address his weight and exercise? Did you all tell the doctor this story about the gurgling with exertion?