XXII. CASE HISTORY OF A HEART PATIENT

About the Auther > Heart Attacks

He did well for the next two years, during which time he took his medications regularly. He continued his exercise program doing 3–10 miles daily, 6 days weekly. About 18 months later, while standing in line at the bank. He suddenly dropped to the floor. Fortunately, a trained nurse was in the line and CPR was commenced. He was resuscitated and rushed to the hospital. He was found to have complete heart block, and a permanent pacemaker was inserted. He was discharged from the hospital a few days later and resumed his daily exercises.
About one year later, while on vacation, he suddenly experienced central chest pain that was similar to his first heart attack and he was rushed to the hospital. His attack was complicated by heart failure. His heart failure was cleared by the use of digoxin, furosemide, and a vasodilator called captopril. Investigations showed that he had developed an aneurysm, a small swelling of part of the heart muscle.
He wanted to get back on an exercise program. At this stage he was not the best candidate for exercise, so he started slowly over the next few weeks by walking one to three miles. He eased into jogging a quarter mile daily, but when he tried to do a half mile, he started getting shortness of breath and pain in the chest. This pain was immediately relieved by stopping the run. Angina was present and he now agreed to have a catheter study. Coronary arterio-graphy was done, and this showed a complete block in one artery, more than 80% obstruction in two branches, and a small aneurysm of the left ventricle. He underwent coronary artery bypass surgery with three bypass grafts and repair of the aneurysm. Two weeks later he was discharged from the hospital. He slowly began an exercise program, and 10 months later he was once again jogging one to two miles daily. He completed the Terry Fox 10 km Fun Run in September 1985 and 1990. In the late 1990s he enjoyed a normal lifestyle but developed atrial fibrillation and sick sinus syndrome requiring a pacemaker. He remains active today.

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