tired and worried

Hi, everyone. i was just diagnosed with severe emphysema, and was told i have also suffered a silent heart attack, left damage on the tip of my heart. have had a pacemaker for 23 years, on my 4th battery. i am 65 years old and just wonder how much time i might have left.
thanks for any reply i might recieve, nelson

6 Comments

My mom

by Angelie - 2009-07-09 01:07:30

My mom was diagnosed in January with small bowel cancer with mets in her liver, and lymph nodes. She also has severe COPD.

From what they told her in January, she's supposed to die in 3 months, but yet I've never seen anyone so full of life, and she doesn't strike me as someone that's dying at all.

some of what goes on with our bodies we have no control over, but the one thing that we do have control over is our attitude.......
Cling to it......a positive one will do you wonders.

Angelie

Dont spend your time worrying!!

by Hot Heart - 2009-07-09 03:07:39

Many years ago my priest was given 15 months to live he had similar issues, heart and lungs, and went on into his 90's

Ive a good friend who is about 15 years older than me, so now about 70. She married at 18 because her boyfriend had emphysemia, severe asthma and a heart condition, they said he wouldnt last a year. They got married, had 2 kids, have 3 grandchildren and a great granchild on the way, and he's still working. He is equally as fit at the average 70 year old if not fitter.

Live your life sweetheart, dont think about the end, it will come to us all, but as we dont know when the best thing is to leave that to fate and enjoy every day to the best of our ability.

Sing, laugh and dance, wear all your best clothes and be happy!

HH xx

How Long Will You Live

by SMITTY - 2009-07-09 12:07:03

Hello Nelson,

My thoughts on asking or wondering how much time I have left is about like asking how long is a piece of string. You just have to have a little more information to know the length of that string. Please believe me, I'm not trying to give you a smart s** answer, it is just a question no one can answer.

I can tell you a little about my heart experiences for whatever they may be worth. I had a not so silent heart attack in 1982, followed by bypass surgery and I had considerable damage to the tip of my heart, By the way that area of the heart is known the apex, I have learned.

In 1985 I was told I had about 2 years left. I decided I didn't like that doctor's outlook for my future, so I changed doctors. About 1989 I was diagnosed with emphysema, but I ignored that and haven't heard much about in several years. 1991 I was told that at the rate my heart disease was progressing I probably had no more than 5 years left.

Then in 2000, the year I got my pacemaker, I was told due to the severity of my congestive heart failure I had at most 3 to 6 months left. Then last year I had a doctor to tell me that if I didn't have my affairs in order I should take care of that. He didn't predict time remaining, which is just as well because I think only God knows how much longer I'll be here.

I'm now 80 years old and I know I'll die someday, maybe before this day is over or tomorrow, or whenever, but I'm not wasting my valuable time worrying about it.

So, if you don't mind my giving you some advice don't be concerned with when you may die. Sure it will happen some day but in the meantime live life to the fullest. That way when your departure time arrives, you can say you enjoyed the time you were on earth.

My best to you and your family,

Smitty

Silent Heart Attacks

by SMITTY - 2009-07-10 12:07:12

Frank,

I guess the "silent" part comes from the fact that people don't feel pain normally associated with a heart attack. Like I've said, I've had a couple and mine definitely were not the silent type. Although I have to say, with the first one, which was the most painful, I didn't know it was a heart attack. I kept trying to tell myself it was nothing more than a very bad case of heart burn.

In fact I probably would not be here today had it not been for my wife saying you let me take you to the hospital or I call 911 and turn you over to them. When I got to the hospital the doctors and nurses got a lot more excited about my problem than I was. I just hurt like hell.

That is the reason I now tell anyone that if you have chest pain above the belt and below the ears and you don't know the cause, let a doctor identify your problem.

Below is an article from the CCN Health Reporter on this subject.

Smitty

From CNN News:

Although many people think of a heart attack as a painful, sometimes fatal event, there are some heart attacks that go entirely unnoticed.
Some people may have had heart attacks without knowing it, studies show.

Undiagnosed, or "silent," heart attacks affect nearly 200,000 people in the United States annually. As many as 40 to 60 percent of all heart attacks are unrecognized, studies show.
By definition, a heart attack usually happens when a clot gets in the way of blood flow from a coronary artery to the heart. This may cause symptoms such as severe chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting and nausea. Anyone who believes that he or she is having a heart attack should seek emergency medical attention.

But sometimes a heart attack is not painful, or the person experiencing it does not recognize the symptoms as heart-related, so he or she does not go to a hospital for treatment.

Cardiologists have only recently become attuned to the prevalence of these silent heart attacks, and research on treatment is limited. The risk factors for silent heart attacks are the same as for regular heart attacks, experts say, and include smoking, diabetes, stress and family history.

The real question

by ElectricFrank - 2009-07-10 12:07:55

The real question it seems is not how much time we have left, but rather how much quality time. Only you can define that. One thing I would suggest is that you put your wishes in writing as far as life support is concerned. This can range from wanting to be kept alive no matter what to letting nature take its course (or if you live in Oregon, Washington, or Montana you can choose to speed up the process). I fully support anyone's decision in this area. It is our life.

I've found that coming to grips with it is very freeing and allows me to enjoy activities that take me far from medical help.

By the way the so called silent heart attack has little meaning. The presence of damage to the left tip of your heart could have come from a number of causes. It really can't be determined other than biopsy (or autopsy). It could have happened years ago in which case it doesn't mean much as far as your life span.

The severe emphysema is more of an issue, but it is most likely to progress slowly. Keeping active is the best way to slow its progress.

I hope this helps. I'm not trying to be negative or morbid, but it sounds like you were asking for some straight answers. There have already been some helpful supportive posts and I also wish you the best.

One last comment that always gets me about doctors diagnosis. How do you "suffer" a silent heart attack?
frank

Heart Attack Pain

by ElectricFrank - 2009-07-11 12:07:59

Smitty,
I basically agree with you. The problem is that a serious heart attack (I guess they all are) may be associated with severe pain or chest pressure, or may have none at all. But, the flip side is just as likely. Severe chest pain or pressure can be the sign of a heart attack, GERD, muscle spasm, plus several more that I can't recall right now. It would seem that a trip to emergency to check it out would be the prudent thing to do. The problem is that if we followed the advice of the docs and go to emergency whenever we have chest pain, we could be making a lot of trips. They are not only expensive, but also expose us to hospital infections and unnecessary procedures such as caths. These carry their own risks.

I remember a study a few years ago that really upset the cardiologist. It compared both morbidity and mortality of people living in remote rural areas who later reported chest pain to urban dwellers who were quicker to head for emergency. There was no significant difference in the groups. This was strange because many studies have shown the benefit of prompt treatment of heart attack. The only explanation was that a large number of non cardiac pains were eventually reported by both groups.

frank

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