Chest Pains

Last Monday, I went for a walk down the road with my husband and youngest children. I didn’t get very far at all when I was hit with severe chest pains which took my breath away and radiated up the left side of my neck. We strolled back home where I waited for the pains to pass. When 30 minutes went by with no relief, I told my husband to drive me to the hospital; leaving my girls with DQ.

Upon arrival at the hospital, I was immediately taken back to a trauma room, hooked up to machines, stuck with needles, blah blah blah. About 3 hours later, the docs chose to admit me for observation. Fortunately, all test results were negative (or normal). 2 EKG’s, blood tests for enzymes, monitors, and a treadmill test all showed that whatever I was dealing with was not cardio related. It DID show, however, that I’m very much out of shape. Anyway, if there’s a blockage, we won’t know until an angiogram is done but that won’t be until later…..like much later, when we have medical insurance and can afford such an exam or when it’s absolutely necessary.

I was discharged from the hospital the next day. I went home and proceeded to take 600 mg ibuprofen twice a day along with hugging a hot water bottle at bedtime. After 2 days, there was some relief which led me to conclude that this entire incident and pain was due to a pulled muscle. However, the question remains….how does one pull a chest muscle while walking?

On Thursday, I went shoe shopping with DQ and met a young man who was also purchasing shoes for himself. When I say “young”, he certainly looked to be younger than me. He was in the store with a small packet of papers stapled together at the top. He kept referring to the list while he looked for shoes. I saw him again in the grocery store with his wife, looking at the list and comparing labels on the foods they were putting in his cart. I got curious and approached him, jokingly asking him, “Are you having a lifestyle change?”. His wife responded that he’d had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago, and they were trying to follow doc’s orders by changing the way they ate. During our conversation, it was revealed that this young man is only 29 years old!!!

I learned many things through this experience. I learned that the fast food industry is killing us. I learned that soft drinks leach calcium from your bones, thus requiring those with bone density issues to take calcium supplements. I learned that the only groceries you REALLY need are located on the outside walls of the grocery store….the produce, meat, and dairy. Everything else in the middle aisles are processed junk that our bodies don’t need.

My first lifestyle change resulting from this experience is that I’m boycotting fast food. I’m also joining a gym in order to get some more activity. The fact that this experience began while walking out on the road frightened me into exercising in a more populated area….just in case. Oh, and I’m boycotting soft drinks too….but not just for my health. My other reason is here.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for sticking around to the end. I look forward to reading your comments and suggestions for healthier living.