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I think most of us have heard a story about that guy who was the picture of health, and then he keeled over from a heart attack. It’s a true story. I’m That Guy.
As I was getting prepared to be discharged from the hospital this week (here’s some background) the early-20-something student nurse who was taking my vitals one last time asked me, “Do you know how you got here?” I thought it was one of those trick questions they use to tell if you’re alert and coherent. Like repeatedly asking you your name and birthdate.
I looked at her and said, “I had a heart attack, and three stents were installed.”
She replied, “That’s not what I meant. I’ve read your charts. You shouldn’t be here. What I want to know is what I could do differently, so my husband and I don’t have the same thing happen when we’re your age.”
That’s a terrific question. Because she’s right. On paper, I look great.
I’m 60 years old, which is the new 50 and not particularly old at all anymore. I have no family history of coronary artery disease. I’ve never smoked, never had even a single drink of alcohol and never done any illegal drugs. Hell, I’ve hardly even done any legal ones. At most, I take an ibuprofen a couple of times a year.
I haven’t had caffeine in twenty years and stopped eating sugar just about the same time. I limit my carbs, I don’t eat preprocessed foods or fast foods and I can’t remember the last time my wife and I ate out at a restaurant. I even drink 2% milk with most of my meals for crying out loud.
I’m not overweight, don’t stress over anything and I’m not a diabetic. I have absolutely no other health issues. My blood pressure has always been good, and I’ve never, ever had any trouble breathing.
I exercised regularly. I took two-mile walks with the dog six days a week and a 25+ mile bike ride on the 7th. My resting pulse rate is 48 beats a minute.
I’m in better shape than some men half my age.
She’s right. It shouldn’t have happened to me. But it did. I was the picture of health. Until I wasn’t. Until I found myself lying next to my bike on the side of the road waiting for help to arrive. Even then my pulse wasn’t racing, and I still had no difficulty breathing. And I also didn’t recognize what was happening for the real danger that it was.
My cardiologist (sure, now I have a cardiologist) said my heart attack would have been much, much worse had I not been in such good shape. It’s ironic that the thing that kept me alive was the same thing hiding my symptoms and allowing me to let the disease progress so far.
So, what could I have done differently to not end up lying in that hospital bed?
That’s easy. When I noticed my body’s equivalent of the “Check Engine” light, I should have immediately gone in for maintenance. But that still wouldn’t have been enough. Because I did go in for maintenance. To continue with the analogy, when my doctor/mechanic told me she couldn’t find a problem, I should have found a different doctor.
I didn’t push. I knew there was a problem. My body was telling me so. But I allowed my doctor/mechanic to convince me that there wasn’t. It was easy for her to do so, because that’s what I wanted to believe. So, I ignored the “Check Engine” light and kept driving. Until my engine stopped working.
Nobody is going to do everything right all the time. That’s impossible. But you can do regular maintenance, so your body’s “Check Engine” light never illuminates.
I might have ultimately ended in the same place, there’s no way of really knowing. But it’s also possible that the problem would have been caught sooner, well before I ended up lying on the side of the road. If I had just followed up with the suggested maintenance.
I know you’re not looking for it, but here’s some advice from “That Guy”. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Don’t ignore the signals that there might be a problem. Don’t tough it out. If your body says something is wrong, trust it. And do something about it.
Because it did happen to me. And it can happen to you. But unless you’ve been living healthy-ish for the last 20 years like I have, your outcome might not be as happy as mine.
If you’re someone who is thinking that your symptoms will probably go away on their own, stop thinking that. You’re fooling yourself. And, if someone you care about is stubbornly refusing to go see a doctor. Have them read this.
If they won’t listen to you, maybe they’ll listen to “That Guy”.
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