Thought I was having a heart attack

[quickfix]

First thing I do when developing "symptoms" is take a couple Tums (antacids chewables). The relief is instantaneous and thus tells me what I need to know.
If at some point it should decide to not be instantaneous I'll call 911. Simple as that.
Lucky so far with just indigestion.
I suffer from acid reflux, so calling 911 any time I'm hurting would be a weekly thing.

I've Tums in my gig bag, in the Jeep, in the Mustang, in the garage, in the upstairs bathroom, and in the kitchen. My wife carries a few in a pillbox in her purse. I carry a few in a pillbox in my jacket.
They're everywhere.

 

[Ostie]

I’ve tried Prilosec, Zantac, etc but finally found good old Pepcid works the best for me. If one doesn’t work, keep trying the others til you find one that does.

I have a cardiac scary story that’s way too long for here. Short story, I’m ok, but I have arrhythmia and occasional a-fib. More of a nuisance than anything.

 

[SgtHulka]

Jesus...bye guys.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Getting older sucks, but it beats the alternative.

 

[rickster4003]

I had a heart attack and the pain started low and just increased non stop. Wasn't sure what it was at first since the pain was towards my stomach. Went on all night. Early in the morning pain went into my arms, knew it was time for the ambulance. I think if you were having one and went all week they would be calling the coroner instead. The heart doesn't screw around when there is a plugged artery, it says fix me soon or your done.

 

[elkhart bill]

first off, don't listen to anyone who says the pain is here or there. heart attack pain can feel like indigestion, back pain, down the arm, in the jaw any number of places as well as the chest. as a veteran of numerous minor attacks and a couple of widowmakers I can tell you that if you're not sure , find out. one of the scariest places to be is in the er wondering if you're going to live through the day. rather to feel a little foolish for heartburn than wake up dead. just sayin

 

[hbarcat]

One day in 2013, I experienced some discomfort in my chest and tried to ignore it, hoping it was something I ate and would go away. I was about to leave for a weekend fishing trip with my brother and didn't want to spoil our vacation by going to the ER for a false alarm.

My brother, who is significantly wiser than me, said I looked terrible and insisted I go to the hospital.

It happened that I had a torn aorta, and going in to the ER instead of driving out to the woods saved my life. That condition is 100% fatal within hours without surgery to replace the aorta with a plastic one.

I wish I'd gotten away with them telling me that I only had indigestion and then charged me $200. But I'm immensely grateful that I listened to advice and got checked by medical professionals instead of ignoring the warning signs and hoping everything would miraculously be okay.

 

[zontar]

For a little over a week, I've been having chest pain on and off that has steadily gotten worse. I've been working a lot and fueling it with a tons of coffee. two pots a day. I thought that might be causing it so I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey. After three days with zero coffee, the pain didn't go away so I started to get worried. My hypochondria kicked in and I thought maybe it was a heart attack, hypertension, lung cancer, or something else.

I figured at my age, 50, I probably shouldn't take any chances so I went to the urgent care clinic and they rushed me in. I got an AKG, chest x-rays, blood tests, blood pressure check, blood oxygen levels, colesterol, the whole nine yards. It all came back that I'm above average healthy for my age.

Finally the doctor comes in and says "often times, excessive coffee drinking can cause heartburn in the esophagus behind the sternum." He gave me three Tums and in 5 minutes the pain was all gone.

So I just spent $200 on heartburn.

Sometimes I'm a real dip****.

Better than spending nothing on a heart attack--but you do learn from those experiences--and I'd rather have a false alarm than the real thing.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Good news, kinda. Back in the 80’s when I was a coder we would drink 3-5 pots of coffee a day. Same problem, same fix!