I suppose it would be an idea to explain what has happened over the last year, since the heart attack, it started 6th march 2010 when i woke at 2am sweating head to toe being sick tightness in chest and passing out as daft as it seems i did nothing until 4 days later, i knew something was really wrong when i couldn’t get up the stairs without being out of breath i do smoke and was over weight but wasn’t that unfit. I checked up on the net and it dawned on me what had happened, after a visit and ecg at the doctors i went straight to the hospital where they confirmed i had had a heart attack, i remember being told as clear as day by the doctor and broke down and cried i think a part of me was hoping it wasn’t going to be serious. I was kept in hospital nearly a week the nurses were fantastic and i was well looked after having various tests done, all the time i was in there they told me i was going to have an angiogram which i was looking forward to because not only would they find the cause and do something about it i met people on the ward who had it done and said they felt a lot better in themselves. On the last night in the hospital a doctor came to see me and said i was going home the next day without the
angiogram being done and they was just going to monitor me, this really did upset me as i was told i was having the opp and had built myself up mentally for it.
After leaving hospital i did a treadmill test and took advantage of there rehab classes doing basic exercises under supervision these were great and i learned a lot from the rehab the people running and helping out at rehab were fantastic and i couldn’t knock them at all, i would recommend the rehab to anyone with heart problems. After doing the basic rehab classes i went on to do a more advanced rehab involving exercise machines but still being monitored. Eventually i was allowed to return to work and do my normal duties i was encouraged to exercise and walk as much as i could, during the time i left hospital and dec 2010 i had lost a total of 7 stone due to exercising and eating well ie changing my diet, i was on top of the world and for once in my life felt great i actually felt like the heart attack had done me a favour because it had turned my life around and for as long as i remember i was the correct weight.
Even though i was doing well and felt good about myself i still had a few issues one is i kept missing a breath another was i still got chest pains which i still have at this moment in time. The third issue was because i had lost so much weight in such a short time i had loose skin but that didn’t seem to bother the people i spoke to that was the second time i felt let down after all i had done, it was like i was left alone to deal with it.
Regarding the first two issues the missed breath and the pains i had several tests done but nothing was found to be the cause, so a few days before Christmas i went to a private doctor, within a couple of weeks into the new year he had identified two of my main artery’s were blocked of which one he fitted a
stent while doing the angiogram and the second smaller artery will hopefully be unblocked in march. After finding this out about having the two artery’s blocked i went into shock and after 5 years of hardly drinking i started to drink nearly every day it put me in a very bad way and was a total shock after all i had done over the last 10 months it felt like i had gone back to day one of finding out about the heart attack. I now have to rest again and take time off work and have been told i cant do full on exercise until much later in the year it really has done my head in. I really want to know why i didn’t have the opp when i was in hospital after the attack this could have been sorted out a year ago i've gone though all the tests and rehab and changing medication and time off work to find i have to go through it all again and it really gets me this could have been avoided if i had not been released without having the angiogram done. I really cant stress how much this has effected me not only mentally I’ve turned to drink smoke more and I’m putting weight on quickly due to over eating and the fact i cant exercise again until later in the year, because what i feel was a very bad decision, also bare in mind this doesn’t and hasn’t just effected me and my work it has effected my family and friends to. What if i didn’t go private i would have never known any of this and all the time i've been pushing myself to get fit, digging in the garden and keeping busy at home how do i know if i've not caused any more damage to my heart by pushing myself, like i said the nurses and rehab have been great i would just love to meet the doctor that released me to find out why i have been treated differently, i've been with my present employer for 25 years this year and always paid national insurance so why should i not get the same care as others and how many other people out there have they done this to.
