DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Advice on dealing with a Heart Attack

Well the last week or so has been a nightmare!

On Sunday I took my 64 year old Dad to Accident and Emergency, he was feeling unwell and had an 'ache' in his chest. About 30 minutes later my Mum called to say that Dad had suffered a 'substantial heart attack' The next few days were a nightmare!

He actually had the heart attack at 2pm on Sunday and was being treated by 3.30pm. We have been advised that getting him to hospital so quickly was crucial and since then he has been getting better. Yesterday he had an angiogram and it transpires that 2 of the 3 arteries to the front of the heart were bolocked. They performed angioplasty on one of the arteries and he has to go back in 4 months time to have the other blocked artery treated.

I am now waiting on a call to go and bring him home from the hospital. I know a number of board members have experience in this area and I was hoping for some advice that I can pass on. Obviously the first advice is to stop smoking! but any advice on exercise and diet would be greatly appreciated.

not really any advice from me my friend but you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

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but any advice on exercise and diet would be greatly appreciated.

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That advice is going to have to come from his doctor....NOT anybody on this board! It's different for different patients. When you go to pick him up from the hospital, make sure you have that conversation with his doctor....and don't leave until you completely understand his recommendations.

Good luck and best wishes.

Your number one priority will be to keep his spirits high! My friends father thought that after his heart attack and by-pass he was not as good a man as he was. He layed around waiting to die...and did just that!

There's no reason why most folks can't have as good if not better life than pre heart attack days! Make him follow doctors advice and keep him as active as they recommend and keep him laughing and positive!

Very well said and the pure truth. Older men will also be fearful of intimacy with their wife but unless the doc says no...you need to go...but slowly.

Safe regular exercise with a balanced regular low fat diet will most likely be prescribed...aspirin 81mg...and sunshine.

Worked for me in my 50s when I had heart trouble

No real advice from me, but my father in law has had 2 heart attacks. In November he had a pacemaker put in, and it has been "activated" once already.

The good news is, he still works full time - has a wrecker business and repairs semis - kind of physical work.

He's working on his diet as well. What I'm saying is "it doesn't have to lay a person up for good. You can still have a productive, healthy life."

Best of luck to your dad!

First off, my prayers are with your father.. Best of luck on a speedy recovery.

As for advice,,, first and foremost,, do what the doc tells him to do..

I'm a guy that for 25 years or so, smoked 3-4 packs of cigs a day.... insane I know.. But I quit a little over a year ago and feel great now.. Kinda tough at first, but well worth it in the end..

Do what the Docs say to do.... best advice anyone can give you...

Best wishes to your father and your family.


Like christy said, listen only to what the doctors say, they are the ones that will be familiar with his situation.



Hey, could I get ya to drive about 2 hours south to West Bexington and slap a few people for me?
I ordered some pepper seeds from a farm there in Dorset and they haven't arrived yet

Sorry to hear that ." P ".....Hope all goes well for you and your family....

Fiber helps pull fat out of the blood system.....And a simple stroll around is exercise......But Most important is listen to the Doc..

I don't know about listening to the DR. My grandfather had a stroke and was told he would never walk again. He threw away all his meds, checked himself out of the hospital and was walking again within 60 days. They also told him he had to take it easy after he had a major heart attack (he was told he only had 10 percent of his heart muscle working.) and that stubburn SOB worked for another 10 years, and he outworked everybody else.

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I don't know about listening to the DR.

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I don't know about listening to GM.

Good point

Englishdawg,
I felt like I needed to register to reply to you.. Not because I can give good advice, but because I've been there where your dad is now, and I also understand where you are. In 2005 I was at a job site about 3 hour away from my house, and all of a sudden I felt 'wiped out'. I had a heart problem. Found out later they called it the widow makers disease. They usually find out there was a problem when they do the autopsy Now, I could write pages on things that has happened since then (and feel free to ask me anything).

The doctors here in Lexington told me this was over their heads.. and they told me to go to the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic. I went to the Cleveland Clinic thank God.. and met some of the greatest people in the world.

My sister is a doctor. She's a darn good one too. But she doesn't know what goes on in a person's head in that type of situation. Noone understands what a person goes through when faced with a life or death situation but that particular person. There are so many phases of emotions someone in that situation goes through. It's not a simple 4 step, 4 week emotional roller coaster ride.. It's more like 4 years.

I could talk for hours about this.. but here's my advice.. First, and foremost.. get some councilling for your dad. He might resist it.. But I really wish it was mandatory for people going through these type of experiences. Second, get your family some councilling too. It's not a weakness needing this. A good buddy of mine made a good point to me on this. I told him that I was tired of my family worrying about me and such.. and he said, you know what the difference is between you and your family? I said, yea, I get to listen to them worrying about me all the time and they get to talk about it... He said, 'Nope, they get to see you going through a difficult time, and they are helpless watching you. It's as bad on them as it is you.'

On the physical side of things.. He needs to quit smoking for sure, just like I need to quit dipping. The major thing is, in my opinion, if you lose the will to live, you won't. And that is why dealing with the mental part of such an experience is so so so important.

Cant give any advice Sorry to hear this, My prayers are with you and your family.

Thank your for the responses and thank you for the PM's as well

Dad is now home and doing well ... he has a long road ahead (hopefully!) and it has started with him quitting the smokes!

Condorian, thank you for saying what is most important. Helping everyone involved understand and deal with the situation. I went through 8 years of horror watching a person I had loved sink lower and lower into a depression and was unable to do anything because he wouldn't admit to having a problem after having a near fatal heart attack at the age of 39. It is very difficult on the spouse and family of a heart attack victim.

Again, thank you for some very good advice for English and his family.