Heart Attack: RV Trips Don’t Always Go As Planned

Above, yours truly being loaded onto an air ambulance helicopter. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky

The following article in RV Travel I definitely can relate to.

Eight years ago this coming July I experienced a heart attack while at a car show and rally in Wells, Nevada. We were in a restaurant in town having lunch when it struck. Thankfully, a friend I was with, along with the restaurant's staff, jumped into action and got the paramedics there within minutes. 

I ended up being flown to Twin Falls, Idaho to have two stents placed in a coronary artery. I am now on medication and am currently doing fine. Along with the meds I take daily, I also shed pounds. 

RV Travel posted the following article by Gail Marsh two years ago, but it is well worth a review. It is on having a heart attack while on an RV trip (as I was when I had mine). 

It begins with:

I’ve learned so much over the past couple of weeks. We were only four hours into our long trek to Florida when my worst nightmare unexpectedly became a reality. While parked at the fueling lanes at a Love’s Truck Stop, my husband, Keith, began to experience pain in his left arm. The pain quickly escalated and persisted, so we called 911. After a quick trip to the local emergency room, where they determined he had a heart attack, Keith was transferred to a larger hospital nearby, where doctors inserted a stent into his heart. Thankfully, he’s doing very well, and the doctors expect a full and speedy recovery. Experiencing a heart attack while RVing on the road taught me several things. Here’s what I learned.

To read the full article, go here. 

New Injection Could Help Reverse Damage

Above, yours truly in a Twin Falls, Idaho hospital after two stents were installed.

Eight years ago, when I had my heart attack (or something very close to it) in Wells, Nevada. It was due to fast action by a friend that got paramedics to me that prevented any heart muscle damage. All I needed were two stents to remedy a coronary artery blockage in Twin Falls, Idaho.

I recovered so well that I was able to go on a cruise to Cuba and do some river rafting in Jackson, Wyoming the following year. I also shed some weight as well.

Above, river rafting the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming in 2019. Photo by Floatographs

My Lexiscan (and other exams) last summer showed no new blockages. Whew!

Meantime, Fox News posted a story on a new therapy that may repair cardiac muscle damage following a heart attack. I was sent the article by my "honorary sister" Diane.

The article starts with:

Scientists have developed a new therapy designed to repair cardiac damage after a heart attack.

The study, led by researchers at Columbia University and published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, explored a two-step strategy that uses skeletal muscle to produce a healing molecule that activates when it reaches an injured heart.

Unlike many organs, the adult human heart has a limited ability to repair itself after a heart attack, the researchers noted.

 To read more, go here.

Test Results Received

I finally got me results from the Lexiscan that I took last week. It looks like everyone will be stuck with me for the next few years.

FINAL IMPRESSION:  Negative study for ischemia by EKG and nuclear imaging. 

They also said there were no wall abnormalities. Meaning, no developing blockages.

A friend, who missed his appointment for his Lexiscan last week, did his yesterday. He will likely get his results next week. 

Stress Testing

A friend is heading to the hospital for a cardiac stress test. This is all new to him and he's a bit uneasy.

I told him not to worry about it as it is only a test. I am doing a stress test in Albuquerque next week (a lexiscan) so I know what he's facing. 

It is better to find out what one's heart and artery condition is in during a test than to find out during a heart attack or any other cardiac episode. 

I have to go to Albuquerque for mine. So I'll be camping in the motorhome the night before. I may also stay the night after the test, depending upon how I am feeling. 

The worst part is no food, especially anything with caffeine, for 12 hours before the test. I will probably pig out 15 hours before so I won't be as hungry during the 12 hours before and during. Being a little underweight does have its advantages.

I'll have to take my regular meds with water only. 

Cardiac Tests

Above, a jackalope on display at the Bluewater Outpost. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, I had to drive to Grants to have an echocardiogram done.

What's an echocardiogram? 

Basically:

 An echocardiogram, commonly referred to as an echo, is a non-invasive imaging test that uses ultrasound technology to create detailed pictures of the heart. It provides valuable information about the heart's structure, function, and blood flow. 

It didn't take long and since I got there early and another patient cancelled, I was out by my appointment time. 

It was just as well, with a storm approaching, I figured I would head back home before it hit. I intended to have dinner at Rosie's Cafe, but it was closed (they close at 2:00 PM). So I got on the road and stopped at Bowlin's Bluewater Outpost to get a burger at the Dairy Queen there. 

That didn't take too long and I was back on the road and home by 3:30. 

Two weeks from now, I have to go into Albuquerque and have a lexiscan done. 

What's a lexiscan?

This is it in a nutshell:

Lexiscan is a medication used in cardiac nuclear stress tests to simulate the effects of exercise on the heart. It is administered intravenously to dilate the coronary arteries and increase blood flow to the heart. This allows doctors to assess the heart's function and detect any potential blockages or abnormalities. 

Since it is a morning appointment, I will go into Albuquerque the day before and stay at an RV park and stay there for a night after the procedure.. I can't have anything with caffeine 12 hours before and can't eat during that time. Lovely.

Shoveling Snow and Heart Attacks

Above, yours truly with the snow shovel last November.

This is the season for snow shoveling. As such, people with a history of heart problems should get someone else to do it, according to an article in HealthDay.

This also includes people who have had an angioplasty and bypass surgery.

I had an angioplasty back in July 2018 to have two stents installed. I shoveled snow several times this past month, most recently as yesterday. I try to confine my snow shoveling to just the walkways.

The article starts with:

MONDAY, Jan. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Snowstorms are blanketing the United States, prompting countless Americans to pick up snow shovels and clear walkways and driveways.

Shoveling snow is more than a chore, however -- it can be a health hazard.

The exertion of shoveling snow increases a person’s risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, warns the American Heart Association.

Snow shoveling has a prominent place among physical activities that place extra stress on the heart, especially for folks who aren’t used to regular exercise, the AHA says.

"Shoveling a little snow off your sidewalk may not seem like hard work. However, the strain of heavy snow shoveling may be as or even more demanding on the heart than taking a treadmill stress test, according to research we’ve conducted,” said Barry Franklin, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Corewell Health East William Beaumont University Hospital, in Royal Oak, Mich.

Shoveling snow is mostly arm work, which is more taxing and demanding on the heart than leg work, Franklin explained.

 On people with a history of bypass surgery or angioplasty, the article states:

Snow removal is especially concerning for people who already have heart risks, such as couch potatoes, the obese, smokers, diabetics and survivors of previous heart attacks or strokes, Franklin said.

“People with these characteristics and those who have had bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty simply should not be shoveling snow in any conditions,” Franklin said.

“We often see events in people who are usually sedentary, they work at a computer all day or get little or no exercise,” he added. “Then once or twice a year they go out and try to shovel the driveway after a heavy snowfall and that unexpected exertion can unfortunately lead to tragedy.”

Franklin recommends that people with risk factors for heart disease get someone else to handle snow removal for them.

To read the full article, go here. 

Lisa Marie's Cardiac Episode

Hearing the news of the cardiac episode of Lisa Marie Presley made me think back on my own episode four and a half years ago in Wells, Nevada.

I didn't go into cardiac arrest, but my pulse rate was down to 24. Bad enough, I'd say.

Thankfully, I was lucky it happened where and when it did. I was immediately treated by paramedics and flown by helicopter to Twin Falls, Idaho and had two stents put into a coronary artery the medical team found to be partially blocked.

Above, Lisa Marie Presley in 2006.

The latest news on Lisa Marie Presley comes from People magazine's website:

Priscilla Presley is asking that fans keep her daughter Lisa Marie Presley in their prayers after she was rushed to the hospital Thursday.

"My beloved daughter Lisa Marie was rushed to the hospital. She is now receiving the best care. Please keep her and our family in your prayers," Priscilla, 77, said in a statement to PEOPLE.

She continued, "We feel the prayers from around the world and ask for privacy at this time."

EMTs responded to the singer's home in Calabasas, California on Thursday for a possible cardiac arrest, just two days after Presley attended the 2023 Golden Globes with mom Priscilla and Elvis star Austin Butler, PEOPLE confirmed.

After having "been there, done that" myself, my thoughts and prayers that Lisa Marie makes a full recovery as I did. She was lucky to have been at a place where there were people to take action when it occurred. That makes a big difference.

To read more, go here. 

UPDATE (1613 hrs.):

TMZ reported:

Lisa Marie Presley is in the Intensive Care Unit, on life support with a temporary pacemaker after suffering cardiac arrest ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

Our sources say Lisa Marie is in an induced coma and in critical condition.

COVID-19 Increases Risk of Heart Problems

Those of us with a history of heart problems, such as I with two arterial stents put in back in 2018, should be very cautious against catching COVID-19, at least according to findings by a new study.

That is why I got vaccinated back last February (wow, it's been a year already) and then got a booster last October. I decided to not take any chances and got vaccinated, not from any government order.

The Epoch Times reported:

New research has shed further light on how COVID-19 and vaccines affect the human body, with one study claiming an increased risk of heart problems after contracting the illness and another report suggesting that vaccines generate no additional side effects among those affected by cancer.

Even if some time has passed since a person recovered from COVID-19, they are still vulnerable to heart problems, according to a study of 153,760 U.S. veterans, published in Nature Medicine magazine. These individuals were infected with the novel coronavirus before the vaccines were available.

The study compared the rate of cardiovascular problems in this group against 5.66 million veterans who did not catch the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus and 5.86 million veterans whose health data were collected in 2017.

“Beyond the first 30 [days] after infection, individuals with COVID-19 are at increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease spanning several categories, including cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure, and thromboembolic disease,” an abstract of the study stated.

To read more, go here.