I spent about half my time at my parents’ home this past summer, helping my mom care for my dad who is virtually bed-ridden due to multiple ailments. Mom has been caring for him all on her own for quite some time now and it’s definitely wearing on her. My hope was to relieve some of the stress for her by doing the meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking (all the things she HATES).
On one of my trips down there, I had planned on staying about a week, but when the time came that I was planning on heading back home, I just had a feeling that it wasn’t time for me to go. I decided to stay a couple more days and am so glad I did.
Without going into all the details that transpired, it ended up that Mom had a heart attack two days after I had originally planned on leaving. I truly believe God knew I needed to be there, otherwise Mom wouldn’t have gone to the hospital for fear of leaving my dad alone, and that’s why He laid a heavy burden on my heart to stay there.
Mom didn’t believe she was having a heart attack, simply an anxiety attack due to some disagreeable moments spent with my uncooperative sick daddy. But when she finally agreed to let me take her to the E.R., they determined she was having a heart attack and needed to have a stent placed immediately in an artery that was 99% blocked.
Her symptoms started with a ringing in her left ear, some pressure up the left side of her neck and upper chest, at the base of her throat. She never experienced pain, just pressure. She also complained about pressure in her face that she had earlier tried to blame on a sinus infection, though there was no other evidence of one.
On three separate occasions, prior to taking her to the E.R., I had convinced her to take an aspirin, just in case. I just wonder if those aspirins could have been what prevented her from having worse problems.
We’ve all seen movies where someone grabs their chest and falls to the ground in a panicked state. Just remember, that’s not a typical heart attack. Here are some of the signs and symptoms that might indicate a person is having a real heart attack:
- Symptoms might not come on immediately, but be slow to show up
- Symptoms might initially appear to be mild and then build
- A tightness or squeezing sensation in the chest might be the initial sign
- Pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest
- Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms
- Severe pain, sudden weakness, dizziness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath
- For those with angina, any changes in the frequency, duration or intensity of the attacks, or symptoms that don’t respond to nitroglycerine.
Don’t be like my mom and refuse to go the hospital if you experience any of these symptoms; and don’t be like me and let the other person refuse to go to the hospital if someone you know and love is exhibiting any of these symptoms. The best thing is to call 9-1-1 rather than to get in the car and drive to the hospital.
I’ll address some things to do now to prevent a heart attack next time.
