Many of you who don’t know me have mentioned the death t-shirt I am wearing in the thumbnail picture above. Several have emailed or commented that they do not like it, don’t understand it, or have taken it out of context. The t-shirt is from www.medtees.com where you can read the story of my heart attack, subsequent ICD and why I am wearing the shirt. If you have had problems with heart disease or have an ICD (implantable cardiac defibrillator) drop a comment in and let us know how you are coping.
Yeah, been there, done that, but I didn’t get a t-shirt. I’ve got five stents and one bypass.
The first heart attack came at age 46. I got the bypass at 48 when I went to the doc one step ahead of a second attack. The attack I had when I was 52 came within a few seconds of finishing me–they shot me up with the clot buster in the nick of time. The last attack hit when I was 56.
I’m 64 now, and I have been able to manage my coronary artery disease reasonably well for the last few years through strict attention to my diet and managing stress in my life.
Dr. Helen,
I had no idea! Thank God you are still with us!! Take care!
It never bothered me. I figured the words I couldn’t read explained it all.
I’m hopeful the technologies and medication will keep you around, and writing, for a good long time.
Well, you haven’t really “done death”, you had a heart attack (whether your heart briefly stopped or not), so I don’t even really understand the T-shirt even after the explanation.
It’s kind of a joke t-hirt for those of us with ICDs. When they put the ICD in, the doctors induce an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart and the ICD restarts it. This is to make sure the ICD works. It sounds kind of scary but it is actually quite safe. Dr. Wes, an electrophysiologist (heart rhythm doc) and his wife who is a clinical psychologist design the t-shirts for people with a multitude of medical problems.
I don’t have heart disease but I have had some recent health problems. I agree it’s better to laugh about health problems than to complain, cry or give up. It’s even better to wake up every day and appreciate that I’m still here to enjoy the joke.
Humor … It is a difficult concept.
Dr. Helen,
I love the shirt! Having the ability to confront your own mortality and maintain a sense of humor is a sign of a healthy mind. Don’t listen to the naysayers.
Thanks, it’s nice to hear that.
It’s a cute shirt, don’t worry about explaining everything to people who don’t get it.
You won’t have the time to write any new postings.
I wasn’t sure that was you in the t-shirt! I had a heart attack at 47, which I think was brought on by a prolonged period of immobility after foot surgery. I got a stent as a souvenir. Fortunately, that was it so far, and that was in 2007.
I wasn’t technically dead in the no-heartbeat sense, thank goodness, though I will say, the experience redefined my ideas of what constitutes a 10 on that 1-10 pain scale thing.
As several have said, glad you’re still here.
(I figured you were moonlighting with snorg-tees
Dr. Helen,
Great tee shirt. It’s good to be able to laugh at things like this, and in your case the tee may help raise awareness about heart attacks and ICD’s. Plus, I agree with Elena above, a good sense of humor is a sign of health and sanity. I really enjoy your essays, keep ‘em coming!
Been there, done all that and more except getting the tee-shirt. Right side “silent heart attack” on my 30th birthday while climbing through a mountain pass at 11,500 ft and pretty much ignored (altitude sickness, right?) until the bypass surgeon sees the back side of the heart when I’m 48. 5 days post-op I get an ICD bonus prize and promptly grind through a year of depression. Yea Paxil! ICD fails deader than a door nail at the end of the first year (Thanks for nothing, Guidant) and replacement points out that MORE POWER was needed for a heart kick-start, anyway, so not a total waste. Besides, the Paxil has kicked in by then, so things started looking up. A few years later, acted stupid and self inflicted a 2 zap reality check. Note to self: don’t do that. A few years later yet, stressed myself right into VF and syncope. That’s EXACTLY why I was implanted 5 years before and 15 seconds and 2 zaps later I was back on my feet wondering what had happened. So, thanks Guidant, and thanks for the electro-physiologist’s study on me that made the case for an ICD implant. 5 years and with yet another implanted ICD (#4) further down the road and all is quite on the electrical storm front except for yet another self inflicted 3 zap reality check. But my oldest just turned 21, his brother is 16 months behind him and both are away at college, so really, life is very, very good.
Dr. Smith, when was the photo taken? Are you doing better now? How hard was your recovery?
Please keep us posted as to your progress.
John
Mr. Briggs,
The photo was taken several years ago after I had the ICD. I am now fine and able to exercise, walk a couple of miles and even swim. My recovery did take a long time, about five years but once I got the ICD, I got better quickly–within six months. I was having heart rhythm problems after my heart attack for years but once that was corrected, I haven’t had any real problems since. Thanks for asking.
My experience with the ICD has been a mixed bag. First implanted in 2005, I’ve had to have defective leads replaced surgically twice. On the plus side, I have as yet experienced no shocks, though the routine defects cause me to wonder if the device will actually work should I need it to.
One worry is that should my time be up, the device will vainly and painfully shock me multiple times, making my final moments much more miserable. For some reason, the magnet that switches the device off is not issued to the patient himself.
I bought one of those shirts for a friend who had a quintuple bypass – not sure if it was preceded by an actual heart attack or not – and he thought it was hysterically funny. His wife, not so much.
Helen,
I don’t have an ICD, but I did have atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. In an attempt to surgically correct it, my doctor’s killed me. I was only gone about 18 seconds, but like yourself, I’ve been there and done that.
Changes your perspective, eh?
Bill
My uncle is recovering at my house after his latest troubles. His pacemaker restarted his heart 20 times over the course of a day before he managed to get to the phone and call for help (the 911 device I got him was sitting on the bathroom counter, sigh). He’s gone into cardiac arrest 28 times so far. We got him a shirt with Thumper, the rabbit from Bambi.
Once people know you have a heart condition, the t-shirt speaks for itself.
Yep, had one of those MI things myself, but not as young as you – 59. Just like you though, I didn’t have a history of heart disease in my family, was in good shape, or so I thought, exercised regularly. I competed in aerobatics and I’m a flight instructor, so I had to have yearly exams. Oh, did I mention my one risk factor was that I was a smoker? Guess that’s what did me in.
I never realized smoking was a prime cause of heart disease. Sure, I figured I would die from Lung Cancer, but not a heart attack. Smoking is a primary cause of coronary heart disease, even more than cancer. They explained to me in the hospital that just within the last 10 years they found that within 15 seconds of lighting up, it cause micro-lesions in your coronary arteries, and your body rushes in to fix that with lipids and eventually you can get a blockage.
For me, it started with several days of pain in my left arm and also in my neck. It was a strange kind of pain, came and went, but I shook it off as just a pulled muscle. A few days before that, I also had an upset stomach on and off – another key symptom. Then one night, the pain in my arm migrated to my chest and wouldn’t go away and I figured I should go in. At first, they told me it was probably just indigestion, but they did the blood test and found that elevated enzyme that is a key indicator. Then it all got very busy and they had me in the cath lab within a couple hours and found a 100% blockage in my right coronary artery. A stent fixed it all up though, so far.
They were funny in the hospital and kept congratulating me on quitting smoking. I did – would have been better to used patches or something though.
When I decided to go in, my wife wanted to call an ambulance, but being a stupid guy, I declined and she drove me. It was later explained to me how really stupid that was because if they take you in an ambulance and you present with chest pains, it can shave lots of time off from getting the attention you need that can make the difference. Next time, I’ll call the ambulance.
The other thing I would like to mention to people is that heart problems can present themselves in many different ways – pain in an arm, in the back, in the legs, in the neck, upset stomach… everyone is different. If you have a pain that seems strange in any way, maybe it comes and goes, maybe it’s just slightly different feeling than anything you have had before – Don’t be an idiot and get it checked out.
Helen, glad to hear you are doing better and I love the T-shirt, wish I got one.
No one ever wants to call 911. Just to add to what you said about shaving time off from getting the attention that you need: With all things cardiac time is muscle. The medics can dilate your blood vessels to reduce the workload on your heart resulting in less need for oxygen and less damage. If necessary they can externally pace your heart and give all sorts of medications to deal with different funky little rhythms. In some areas we can even transmit the ECG which often allows us to bypass the ER and go straight up to the cardiac cath lab and that’s resulted in excellent improvement in patient outcome. I’m glad you both did so well!
Very glad you’re still with us!
I need to buy one of these.
Though the Death wasn’t from a heart attack, or controlled, either. I got mine from brain-swelling meningitis when I was younger.
Scared the bejeezus out of my mom, let me tell you.
(Glad to hear you’re better.)
Helen,
Love the shirt. I had my encounter with ICDs at 50. The doctors diagnosed me with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and was offered the tantalizing choice between taking rat poison for the rest of my life or taking rat poison plus an ICD. Then pretty much at the last minute the cardiologist decided I was a candidate for surgery to repair the pumping problem (plus getting the ICD), and so I had a myectomy. I was extremely lucky that surgery was available, and even luckier because I did well enough to avoid the ICD for now. There’s one in my future, though. For now, I’m kind of in the same position you are – able to exercise, walk a few miles, shovel a little snow (good thing the doc doesn’t know that).
People are pretty nervy and rude today. I hope they don’t bother you too much.
I understood the T-shirt, but I didn’t know you had written about it in so much detail until today. Wow!
(The link at MedTees to your blog points to the old one.)
I still hope to pass through your part of Tennessee someday, and have coffee with you and your husband.
Just had my first heart attack at age 59. I’d love to find an appropriate t-shirt.
Sorry to hear that. I hope that you recover fully.
A friend of a friend of mine said that his ICD kept him from working with computers, and stated that if his ICD went off it would short out his keyboard. And I see you regularly using a computer here. Do you use a copper grounding wire for jewelry, or was this guy’s story baloney?
I was never told not to work with computers. The only restriction was mainly not to get an MRI (though they are working on a new machine that will allow a person with an ICD to get one). Car batteries can also be a problem so I was told not to work standing over my car engine. But as for computers? I don’t think there is a problem.