a heart attack

Our SUHS Batch '78 Yahoo Groups Website has come alive these past weeks with well-wishes, prayer requests and thanksgiving because one of our beloved classmates, 47-year-old Cado DMaX of Calgary, Alberta, had a massive heart attack, and survived it. With Cado's permission, I'm sharing his story with everyone.


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Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the prayers, I made it!

I experienced a massive heart attack (MI-Myocardial infarction) last Apr 24 (I had 100% blockage PCI to pLAD) while on the way to work.

I started having pains in the center of my chest, which I thought was a just a bad case of heartburn. It became worst, that I started to have shortness of breath, as well.

Fridays is when Lolits comes with me on the way to work. She suggested that we go to a hospital, I kinda ignored her because of the 'hospital' word. Even though I was experiencing a lot of discomfort, I was still adamant to go to work (hoping that the pain would subside).

Then she said the magic word, about going to a clinic, and that's the only time I agreed and diverted to the nearest possible urgent care clinic, as per advise of a friend. Unfortunately, the clinic opens up at exactly 0800, we were there around 0735, so the wait was extremely agonizing.

Needless to say, when my turn came, the nurse diagnosed right away that I was in the middle of a heart attack. They immediately called the ambulance and gave me nitroglycerin spray, ecg, blood thinning tablets and morphine for pain, then sent to the furthest hospital, but was apparently the better hospital to go to.

Arriving there we went straight to the operating room, stripped off my clothes, cleaned up, IV's put in, then they started angiogram on me. I could feel the blood coming out of my wrist where they inserted the catheter, cold feeling, burning, throbbing sensation when it went in. I was able to see my throbbing heart on screen and after 30-40 minutes they finished inserting the stent. I had 100% blockage, so I was lucky that I made it.

I'm out of the hospital now, but taking four weeks off work, but have additional blood tests to contend to and medicines (lots of blood thinners) as well as having a totally different meal altogether, no fat, low sodium, no cholesterol, no trans fat....

During my stay in the hospital, I was doing my own 'Rounds' as well, too (I got bored after day two). In one of my rounds, I did see the name Katada on one of the rooms, we were on the cardiac recovery floor, 8th. So when I checked my mails that's when I noticed that there were two of us Alumnis that were admitted, same day to boot. He's on the older side, I think 1968.

Picture this: we just finished our periodic annual exam, everything normal, ECG, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Uric. So was all the results since we've started doing this, 2000. I've also stopped smoking since 00. Saturday was my first game of tennis with a compatriot, then the attack on Friday. Maybe a plaque came off during that time.

So I guess my genes (Dad died of it at age 51, then lately my Mom had her three-stent operation in 05) played a big role in here, because there seems to be more constricted areas than just the affected area. If you have it in your genes, I'd advise you to be careful.

I thank the Lord for giving me another lease in life.

Best Regards to all,
Cado DMaX