The Heart of the Matter
You're "power hiking" when suddenly something hurts. Is it just acid reflux—or should you quit hiking and go to the hospital?
I did almost all of the right things: I ate a cup of whole-grain, dry cereal with high fiber content just about every day. I swallowed one of those horse-pill-like Omega-3 fish-oil tablets every day. I partook of apple-cider vinegar each day to keep my blood thin and my vitals healthy. I consumed lots of olive-oil. I drank three glasses of heart-healthy red wine per week.
Along with those healthy practices and more, I exercised strenuously at least four to five times per week by power-climbing the hill behind the house, and taking Barney-Dawg on long hikes over similar hills.
When last taken in late July, my resting heart rate was a low 55-59 beats per minute and my blood pressure hovered at 107/73. In other words, for all practical purposes, I was a healthy specimen of a 61-year-old man, and probably healthier than most 40-year-olds.
Now, I have this self-developed theory that my blood arteries are akin to sewer lines: You keep the sewer lines clear by flushing them with water at a strong enough force to keep them functioning. In turn, I allowed that if I kept my own blood lines flushed, no clogs or plaque could possibly develop. So I power hiked and climbed and biked, causing my heart to beat strong and hard and push blood through those lines in force. Plaque buildup didn't stand a chance!
So when I developed what felt like strong acid-reflux after exertion one day in early August, I figured that I could just power-hike up the hill and flush the adversary out of my body, plus cleanse my lungs of any impurity just in case I was developing a chest cold.
The only trouble was that after 150 yards of climbing, my chest was burning worse than ever and in fact, it stopped me cold in my tracks. I returned to the house and informed my wife that I "may" have a chest problem. But in 10 minutes I felt fine, so I announced to her that I would resume my power-hike and thus force out any abnormality from my system!
Undaunted, I grabbed Barney-Dawg and off we took, determined to "blow" the intruder out. Same spot, same results, but this time I felt slight pain running down the inside of my right arm; yeah, I said right arm, not the left. My fingers on my right hand were all tingling too and I felt a slight tightness on the left side of my neck in the front. Uh oh! I now had strong suspicions that my heart was the source of the disruption.
I spent the next 13 hours at Gila Regional Medical Center for testing and observation. All results were negative and I was feeling mighty fine the whole while.
Then around 10 p.m. the Hand of God intervened when my "heartburn" returned as I lay in bed outside of the Special Care Unit. I was then moved inside the unit for stricter monitoring. At around 12:30 a.m. I "coded," which in laymen's terms means that my blood pressure bottomed and my heart stopped for 13 long seconds, or in my case, 12 heartbeats—nearly a quarter of a minute. Time that: It is a heck of a long time.
Pandemonium now broke out as medical staff rushed to my side. The next thing I knew, the doctor, who was called from home, and my wife, also called from home, were hovering over me.
I was shipped via ambulance to a waiting aircraft and whisked away to the Veteran's Hospital in Albuquerque in the wee hours of the night, where later heart surgery was performed, not once but twice over the next seven days. While there, I also experienced one very minor heart attack and possibly a second (so I was told by staff).
One of my first questions to the chief of the cardiology staff was, "How could I have prevented all of this?"
He replied, and here is the shocker, "You couldn't have!" You see, the other two arteries inside my heart were nearly all clear of blockage, as were the blood carriers outside the heart. My heart muscle itself was strong and healthy as were the valves; my heart rate and blood pressure were low and excellent. I was slightly overweight (five pounds!) and I had slightly high cholesterol. But since only one artery had blockage, it was concluded that my heart disease was genetic!
After four days home, I was hiking, albeit slowly and shakily, and by the second week, I was power-climbing once more. The old bod felt great!
But I have learned some things and I would be remiss if I didn't pass on to you what I found. First, I have changed some eating habits to lose that excess weight and in fact, I've already dropped 10 pounds as I write this in September.
I've dropped carbonated drinks entirely along with chips and other like snack food. I now use olive oil on bread and no butter at all. Pastry consumption is all but gone, heh, heh.
Now to dispel some misconceptions. First, you can have heart disease even if you do everything right. Second, you can feel pain down the right arm instead of your left. Third, you may not experience any of the classic warning signs. Fourth, acid reflux may not be that!
I also have heard all along that the health care at Gila Regional and the VA Hospitals was maybe not all that great. Horsepuckies!! I received excellent, hands-on 24/7 care at both facilities. Through God's guidance, the SCU staff at Gila Regional saved my life by their efficiency and professionalism. There are none better—period!
The Critical Cardiac Care and Intensive Care Units at the VA were top quality, too. At one point I awoke after the operation and there sat a nurse outside my glass door, facing towards me. I asked her how many other patients she had, and she gave me a big smile and said, "Just you!" She sat there the entire night. In my mind they are as good a heart-care staff as any in the country. I don't have one complaint about them or Gila Regional.
I'm blessed. I'm healthy once more, along with being much the wiser and definitely very thankful. There is a God who is in control—what a grand and comforting thought. I can look back and see His hand in this all along the way.
Well, I hope I see you out along the trails, or on the hunt, or biking cross-country and basically enjoying your time in the outdoors. Just don't ever ignore that heartburn!
As always, keep the sun forever at your back, the wind forever in your face, and may the Forever God bless you too!
Larry Lightner writes Ramblin'
Outdoors
exclusively for Desert Exposure.