Angina

The first hint I had that I may have any sort of health problem came, surprise, when I was running.

I came across a rare evening where I had nothing going on and decided to go for a run. I went about 100 yards and found that I was having problems breathing and pain in my chest. I cut the run short and chalked the problem up to not giving myself enough time after dinner before running.

I tried running a few more times, but kept having the same issue. I was thinking that I had some sort of lung infection and wasn't too worried about it. After two weeks, I finally went to the doctor.

After several visits to our family doctor, several tests and finally a couple of trips to a cardiologist, I found out that the pain I was having was angina. According to the American Heart Association, angina is an "uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest. The discomfort also may be felt in the neck, jaw, shoulder, back or arm." This discomfort is caused by the heart not getting as much blood as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart's arteries are narrowed or blocked.

In my case, the main problem lay in my right coronary artery. It was 95% blocked. I also had blockage of about 40% on my left side, but the right was the major concern. A stent was put in to reduce the blockage in that artery. The other areas will be monitored and may require either stents or by-pass surgery in the future.

My situation frustrated my cardialogist. I don't have any of the normal factors for this type of condition (smoking, weight issues, diabetes, age). The culprit is heredity - I have high cholesterol (300+ range). I have taken medication for it with some positive results, but have not been as intentional in keeping the prescriptions filled as I should have been. Part of my problem is that I felt invincible. I mean, I'm in my early 40's. I'm still young (those of you who don't agree will find yourself saying the same thing when you get here). Anyway, I am and will be much more intentional about keeping on the medications.

I also need to be more intentional about what my body is telling me. Since the stent was put in, I have not had the pains when climbing the stairs, but I still notice it when I get stressed or try to run harder than I should. I am working on reigning myself in, not only when running but with life in general.

It is hard to hold yourself back when you are used to going at 100 MPH all the time and doing everything. But that is what I have to do now.

I did run today. Too fast.

-- Maddog