So what you say ? I had a cardiac "incident" back in May and had a Stent placement for one blocked artery. My symptoms were in the GI area. No radiating chest or arm pain. Just felt like food poisoning. Got home from a 45 mile bike ride 2 hrs earlier and had a slim-jim afterward (which I NEVER eat, but was starving). Told the bride "we need to get this checked out" while it's going on. I just didn't "feel" right. I live a mile from one of the top 50 cardiac centers in the country (Western Philly 'burbs). My wife is driving, make the left at the light to turn toward the hospital. My arms went numb. Both of them. Oh $hit. Go through the Light !! "What?" Go through the light !!! Almost run over the security guard and some union protesters blocking the drive. Get into the ER, flat on my back, ER Doc throws four baby aspirin in my mouth and says chew and swallow, you're having a heart attack. 34+/- minutes from symptoms to stent placement (and instant relief, I might add ). Went in on a Friday and was out on Monday.

I'm in my early 40's, non smoker (never have), good BP and Cholesteral/blood sugar numbers and bike 100 + miles a week. I had gotten done the 300 mile Police Unity tour the week before to DC, where I was literally pushing people up hills that weren't prepared for the ride themselves. You can't fight heredity, friends. If you are over 40 with ANY family history get Stress tested ! No medical is better than the alternative . The FAA looks more favorably on just a stent placement if you need one than a heart attack, then stent like I had. 4 weeks later I was back riding my bike, and they kicked me out of cardiac rehab since they were doing less for me than I was doing for myself. Not quite 7 mos. later I was able to prove through a nuclear stress test that I have no damage and now have even better numbers for blood work. Don't have a class 1 medical now, it's a Special issuance class 3, but it gets me flying again and I'll be able to upgrade later. Doc was able to get a verbal OK for issuance over the phone from the FAA in Oklahoma since my numbers were so good. Yea, could fly light sport, since technically I never failed a medical, but you just can't rent them around here and I'm not in a purchasing position. For me it was get my medical renewed or stick with cycling only.

Oh, and one other thing, just because you may have had an EKG for your flight physical, it doesn't mean they would have found anything. You need a STRESS TEST to be sure ! Not all FAA Docs are Cardiac guys. Problems aren't always obvious. Not looking for an argument on this point (fact), just telling you like it is.

My first time back at the controls will be Tuesday afternoon if the weather holds. Merry Christmas to Me ! And Merry Christmas to you all ! Stay safe and get checked !!!

Good one. And congratulations.

Holy cow!! Glad you're back in the game (and still with us!)

Holy Molely, that probably was the last thing on your mind considering how good of shape your in. I'm sure your family is going to have a Merrier Christmas knowing your still with them this year. Besides, getting back in the sky is the best therapy around.

Merry Christmas indeed!!!!

Nice to be vertical for sure and flying to boot. A good reminder to us all to keep a packet of aspirin in our wallets. I used to do this but either lost it or used it sometime in the past. On my shopping list.

Thanks for sharing your story, and glad your okay.

Congrats for heading into the ER early!

Sat for a medical in 1995 and wondered why the AME was asking sooo many questions in addition to what he usually did.
He was almost depressed and very very careful in recording and putting on paper every answer I gave.

After I had finished, I asked him why he was so "anal" about stuff, with his customer being young and fit and all...
He stated that the day earlier, a Class I medical holder (51) had passed his medical with flying colors but was later found on the medical offices entry, dead as a rock. He had a major and fatal heart attack on his way out of the AME's office...

my Grandpa walked 4 miles a day and while on the walk one day had a heart-attack which required a triple bypass. then had another one while work in the ER at 72.. genes not lifestyle are a big problem

Congratulations on the smart run to the ER!!
(most of us have this thing called 'denial' going...)
... And on the ability to keep flying!

Just one more reminder that heredity/genes trump ALL else....
Only from head to toe!

I wish I had done a LOT better-but I sure coulda done worse!
lc


His advice is WORDS OF WISDOM, fellas!


Clarification: BAD behavior/environment can ultimately over ride good genes-short term and long term.
Bad genes typically over ride (trump) the best of behaviors/environment.....
Clear as mud?

My brother was able to make it to the emergency room exam table and get strapped up to the cardiac machine before having a widow maker grade heart attack. He even has a printout of it to show but because of getting there in time for effective treatment, and like you is here to tell about it with little or no apparent damage. He was 15 minutes away from the hospital at the school where he teaches. I on the other hand am 50 miles from the nearest treatment center and as a farmer spend most of my working day alone. My weapons of deterrence are a cell phone and taking a baby aspirin every morning and I didn't wait for a doctor to tell me either. Glad for you on the medical and the gift you are lucky enough to continue giving to yourself and family. Merry Christmas to you.

Since we're talking about potential killers, here's my own story--different organ, same advice.

When I was mucho younger, I had fairly regular prostatitis attacks--inflammation of the prostate, treatable with sulfa drugs. The pain involved was a lower back pain that would lay me low for several days until the treatment kicked in. Eventually I became allergic to the sulfa drugs and had to be switched to something else. But except for the periodic episodes, none of this was horrible, just annoying--usually happened just when things were going well, like in the first couple days of a vacation.

Around age 40 or so, my doc suggested that I should start having PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood tests every 5 years, so I did. Nothing unusual. Then at about age 55 or so, my doc suggested that I should start having PSAs each year. Again, nothing unusual, until about 4 1/2 years ago, when there was a slight rise in the PSA numbers. So we did another one in 3 months, and it was up some more, but again not all that much.

My doc gave me the option of waiting another 3 months or see a urologist. I opted to see the urologist. He did a thorough digital check (all you guys know what that's like) and found nothing unusual, but the continuing rise in the PSA numbers caused him to have some concern, so he suggested a biopsy. Now that makes a digital check seem pretty benign! Fortunately there's some pre-numbing that is done, because otherwise it sounds for all the world as if there's a power stapler being used "up there"! He took 9 samples, advised me that he didn't expect anything, but we'd talk in a week.

A week later, I went into his office, and he announced, "You have cancer."

To make a long story short, of the various treatments which are available, the best for me (not necessarily for others) was intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). It involves using an Xray machine which is very tightly focused, which at low rates of intensity, shoots Xrays from a dozen different angles to the same spot, thus killing the tumors without endangering surrounding tissues. It's 100% painless, takes only about 12 minutes once a day for 43 days of treatment (skipping weekends to give the body a chance to recover a bit).

At first, I saw no side effects, but within about 10 days, I began to suffer severe fatigue, which would come on with almost no warning. Before I began to experience that fatigue, I couldn't understand why the FAA said I could not fly, and I actually wrote a couple pretty scathing letters to the FAA--I have since apologized, incidentally, FWIW, because they are correct. I can imagine easily a scenario in which the fatigue could come on so quickly that it would be impossible to get on the ground fast enough to make a safe landing.

Once the treatments were over in January 2009, I applied for a Special Issuance Class II. I had a number of hoops to jump through, because in addition to the cancer, I have a number of other health issues. But by May the SA came through, and it's been renewed each year since, through the cooperation of my various docs. I have no flight restrictions, other than the requirement to have the annual exams and jump through the same hoops each time. My PSA checks each 6 months show continuing decline. In medical terminology, I'm "in remission." In my terminology, I'm cured.

But it's not something to ignore. If you're starting to have pee problems of any kind, don't think it's just advancing age. It could be something much more serious, so you need to get it checked--because no man is immune.

Cary

dirtstrip wrote:My brother was able to make it to the emergency room exam table and get strapped up to the cardiac machine before having a widow maker grade heart attack. He even has a printout of it to show but because of getting there in time for effective treatment, and like you is here to tell about it with little or no apparent damage. He was 15 minutes away from the hospital at the school where he teaches. I on the other hand am 50 miles from the nearest treatment center and as a farmer spend most of my working day alone. My weapons of deterrence are a cell phone and taking a baby aspirin every morning and I didn't wait for a doctor to tell me either. Glad for you on the medical and the gift you are lucky enough to continue giving to yourself and family. Merry Christmas to you.

Dirtstrip......if you have not had a cardio workup, may I suggest that you add that to your weapons of deterrence? Your brother's experience may have been the result of his lifestyle, but it also may have been hereditary. As those in the profession say........"a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

I am with you on the daily aspirin, had a cardio workup and plan to have one about every other year. I get a PSA yearly as well so hopefully I will be a step ahead of that as well. Colon cancer is also a big killer of males, had my first one done a couple of years ago, so should be good for another 5 or 10 years there. We can't prevent everything, but maybe we can catch things early enough where they don't become bigger problems.

Merry Christmas to you, as well!!!

Thanks for good advice, I had the full screening for heart problems two years ago, and might be due again. I also had a medical waiver granted this time around but for other reasons.

Here, here. Good stuff.

While I didn't quite have the widowmaker version, 'twas bad enough ! Like I said, when you don't feel right, you just know. I've been in emergency services for 25 years and have seen enough that when I had these symptoms it was time to go. I knew there was no time to wait for an ambulance. No question in my mind. Thanks for the Kudos guys. Wind shear at 2k' kept me from flying today, but got the ground portion of my BFR done (Now called a flight review). Will be flying on thursday.

I got to finish my flight review last Thursday. Like riding a bike (which incidentally..I do @ 100 miles a week and probably saved me from any eschemia/damage with which I'd never have gotten another medical). Got all of my endorsements renewed and signed off. Good to go. Was awesome to get back in the saddle. Haven't gotten my SODA letter from the FAA to see what my medical re-cert requirements will be, but I know it's a yearly medical for now. Possibly every other is a stress test version. I'm OK with that as I'm still kicking ass and taking names. Not quite ready for light sport so I plan to continue on with my Bearhawk Patrol Project so I can go fly with those Ohio boys at some point. I also don't fly for a living, so if it comes down to it I'll get into an S-7 or Highlander-ish plane. Gotta look forward, not back.

Merry Christmas everyone !

It is so random what he FAA gets excited about medically. Now personally, I had been going to the Urologist for a random hit PSA that was a result of my AME doing one "just in case." I foolishly agreed with him and said go for it. Now my urologist asked why I had gotten a PSA in the fist place. I explained about the AME.."Your AME is a F*cking idiot," declared the Urologist. I thought it would be a good idea as well.."Then your a f*cking idiot," he countered. He went on, "your too young, if it was positive, you'll be dead within the year." Now you will have to deal with this and your insurance company till the end of time.

He did all the unpleasant tests and such, but pointed out, since I ride an average of 300-400 miles per month, it is influencing the PSA, since biking can irritate the prostate. He also explained, he has never done an autopsy on a male of 50 who didn't have some form prostate cancer. As you age it is a race to the death, it is either cancer of some form, or one organ failure or another. Prostate cancer in older males grows so slowly, in most cases, undetected, other causes win the race. Some people cheat and substitute trauma for their form of death.

Well time passes. I do travel to some strange places and go native for extended lengths of time. I've had (still have) malaria and nearly every single intestinal actor the the Screen Actors Guild recognizes (they, being the experts on colon products). I mentioned to my Urologist, since occasionally I get pain from down there, could it be one of the other systems in that general area. So I was was referred to a specialist who shoved cameras into dark places. Well my discomfort was my colon, it had weaknesses on the walls from microfauna trying to claw their way out. I tend to carry a whole assortment of antibiotics. Lucky thing too. As I was returning from a trip, I was feeling poorer and poorer. So I started to gulp my neutron bomb tablets. I still felt like poo, but I was able to make it home, long enough to drop my bags and go to the emergency room.

Six weeks later…I am now a pilot who is somewhat less full of sh*t. My plumbing got shortened, I have a really unattractive scar, but I lived. My colon had perforated and all that was keeping me from septic shock was a massive dose of Cipro. So when I went for my renewal of my medical, all I had to do was get the medical report from the surgeon who did the crap reduction surgery and that was it! I walked out of the office with my medical, after they faxed the report. Go figure.

So I still ride 300-400 miles per month (on rollers during snow season, BTW, notice a trend in riding on this forum?) and am no worse for wear. My good buddy had a stress test on his medical, they noticed an irregularity. He went to a cardiologist, they found he was a number of heartbeats from full cardiac meltdown. Into the hospital, stent inserted and he is now fine. However, since he is such a health nut, they have not given his medical back as his blood pressure is too low!

Lol Dogpilot. While not exaclty uplifting toward the middle of your post, it is chock full of good and valid info . We'll have to hang out over a few beers sometime after this Bearhawk flies, unless you are coming east sometime soon. In that case, bring your bike! BTW- Kurt Kinetic for me if it's crappy out. You probably have some great stories. Being Irish (both sides) I'm in no danger of having blood pressure that is too low. It's completely normal though. My resting hr is 60. Yet I still had a blockage that caused the M.I. I will say that there was a period of time for a few years (post divorce) that I wasn't exactly taking care of things like I should have. I have guys I ride with that are even lower than 60 BPM. Ironically, they might not pass an FAA physical for the simple reason that the FAA standards are quite antiquated. FAA standard male is something in the neighborhood of 170 lbs from what I remember ? Yea right, what about the adult sized FAA male ? The lesson in all this guys is keep an eye on things and know where you're at physically before you go to the examiner. And don't use your FAA guy for your regular Doc, unless you REALLY trust him/her. I got lucky and was reccommended to a straight shooter.

I do agree about using different doctors, AME far from the regular doc. There is a saying those that can't do, teach. Those that can't heal, are AME's.

Now there was a plus side to the 6 weeks in the hospital. Demerol is pretty much the only painkiller that works on me. So the nurse said, "Dr. Lundstrom said this surgery was really painful, so you can have as much painkiller as you need. How much would you like?" "Take me back to the 60's," I replied. When I was getting ready to be discharged, the night nurses came in to bade me farewell. They where going to miss me. Everybody on the ward I was stored in, was dying and depressing, however, they said, "when your stoned, your a hoot!" "We looked forward to checking on you." I was legally stoned a lot there.