Heart attack and WLS

Hi Guys, I haven't been on the boards  for a while. First of all I've been going through a divorce for the last 10 months and about a week ago I woke up in the middle of the night with uncontrollable shaking. I went to the bathroom and finally got back to sleep (hard to do when you're shaking so much). I woke up the next morning feeling achy  all over and light headed, like I had a touch of the flu.  Only because of the shaking I called my DR. He told me to come right in because I'm diabetic.  When I got to his office he told me he didn't like the way I looked. My skin was cold and clamy and I had a fever. He told me to go right to the hospital for further testing and he would meet me there. They ran all kinds of tests and everything was good except when you're diabetic they do additional blood work which tests for specific enzymes that tell if you had muscle damage or a heart attack. When they told me mine were positive I couldn't believe it. Here I was  down 100 lbs and eating right, this couldn't be happening to me!  They waited 8 hours and did the test again and it still came back positive. They sent me for an angiogram and it came back with no blockages.  So they still don't know what caused it, but I have to go for more blood work and they will try to find the source.   I know the stress from the divorce doesn't help. I know I've been told if I didn't lose the weight it could have been worse. Could be , I'll never know. Anybody else jave a similar problem after WLS?   Dan

Dan,

Sorry, don't know anything about it, just wanted to say I'm glad that you probably caught it before it became a big one. Sorry to hear about the divorce stress. Looks like they'll have you on the exercise machines before long.

Get Well,

Dave

Dan, Sorry for your troubles, Matters of the Heart. (literal and figurative) Hope the damage was minimal, And that they have the “fix” for you soon. The most common 1^st symptom of heart problem Is unexpected Death. Yep, that’s the “Leading Symptom.” (That’s what my doc told me, when he told me how lucky I was to have pain first To signal an oncoming problem.) Glad you past the “most common symptom” and are in the cardiologists care now. Hope the stress from the other issues fades with each day toward resolution. Best Wishes- Dx [edited to add...No common Heart issues resulting from WLS and accompanying loss that I'm aware of.]

I am rather new to the board....  But, I am so sorry about what has been happening to you. Thoughts are with you.... Keep us all updated... 

It sounds like you could have suffered some attack of "silent ischemia", possibly caused by a coronary artery(s) spasming closed, such as from overwhelming stress .    It is also possible you had a very small clot (infarction) that passed through an artery and eventually dissolved .. As a diabetic, if you suffer from central neuropathy it's possilbe you wouldn't have even felt any angina type pain from it while even awake ..    Do you also have high b.p., btw?       The no blockages is a good thing though, by comparison ..  And u're right, the additional strain on your heart at the time from additional weight could have meant worse damage ..   did your EKG show any actual muscle damage or was it normal? 

Many people who have health problems after WLS forget that fhe years of being morbidly obese had a cumulative effect on our bodies.  Your heart was probably damaged from the long term effects of morbid obesity, the stress of your divorce, and probably from some unknown genetic factors.  I hope you get better soon.  I'm also glad that you didn't ignore your symptons.  Most post WLS people want to stay healthy as opposed to a lot of pre-ops who have given up hope of healthy lives.

I don't think this has much to do with having had WLS. My never-obese, non-diabetic SO had a very similar experience 2 years ago.  He was under a lot of stress at work (his job was in jeopardy), and after a particularly trying Friday, woke up on the weekend with chest pains.  When he got to the ER, his blood tests were positive for a heart attack, though it appeared to have been mild, and didn't cause any permanent damage.  They proceeded to perform an angiogram, and found two severely (but not completely****luded arteries, including the left anterior descending coronary artery, aka the "Widow Maker".  They inserted two stents, and he's been fine ever since on a regimen of aspirin and Plavix.  We both came to the conclusion that this "heart attack" was about the best heart attack he could have had, since it didn't affect his long-term health and led to their finding two blockages that needed attention right away.  (Plus, it put a stop to talk of his job being cut for a few years longer, heh heh!) My inclination is to agree with AttyDallas: silent ischemia and/or a clot or plaque that didn't permanetly block up an artery.  By the way, diabetics often don't present with classical symptoms of a MI, and this is consistent with your experience! /Steve

Have they done an Echo cardiogram or did they say how the heart was pumping when they took the picture of your ventricle (that picture that usually makes you feel warm all over, like a hot flash).  How the heart muscle is pumping is what is really important, because it will indicate if any observable damage has occurred to the heart.

I hope everything goes well for you.  Don't let this go, keep your follow-ups with the Docs and make sure you understand everything they have to tell you about your condition.

Jim 

I feel ya, dude. I woke up a few days more than a year ago with chest pains, and numb forearms. The ER tests read "heart attack" due to the presence of troponin in the blood (granted, it was only 2 on a scale where that is nominal). I was 100 pounds down, and running 3+ miles a day for the past three or four months.

Now, a year later the final (maybe..we hope) diagnosis is that it was onset via a strep infection that had migrated from my throat to my pericardium. Who knew?!?!?

But you're alive, and kicking. And that's what's great!

That's the same thing they found with me.  No one said anything about any level being normal. They found a 1.3 and a .6 on both my blood tests and according to my Dr.'s that's still NG. I asked my cardiologist if that definitely means I had heart damage or a heart attack and he tells me that depends on who you speak to, different Dr's have different thoughts on that. I'm like WTF. I would like a little clearer diagnosis. Heart attack yes or no? So they're sending me for more blood work and hopefully a clearer diagnosis. But you're right we're both still here, that's what counts. A lot of people don't get that second chance! Dan