Heart Attack while Hunting

[Guy Miner]

Dog and I left the house this morning. Temp was about 30 degrees, the skies were mostly clear and a bit of a breeze stirred the air. We set out on a hike I've done many times in the past, off and on for nearly 30 years.

Three miles and 1170' of elevation gain later we were at the turn-around point, atop "Saddle Rock" which towers above town. The local Wenatchi tribe calls it "Two Bears Fighting" and from some directions the rock formation does indeed look like a couple of bears fighting. The story is that Coyote grew tired of the bears fighting, so turned them to stone. I like the story.

I paused to take a few photos, then dog and I turned around and walked three miles downhill, back to my place. I'm feeling stronger every day!

Maverick atop Saddle Rock, with town and the Columbia River in the background:

Looking west towards the snowy Cascades:

Some sweaty, scruffy fellow wandering the hills above town this morning:

Feeling strong!

Guy

 

[sako2]

Good deal Guy. Glad your feeling a little better.

 

[JD338]

Good deal Guy.
You look fit and trim.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Looking good, Guy. Photos are top rate, as always (well, mostly, except for one ).

 

[Guy Miner]

Good deal Guy.
You look fit and trim.

JD338

Thanks JD! Am working on it.

Guy

 

[wvbuckbuster]

So glad you are able to get back to hiking and what a beautiful place to do it. Dan.

 

[KinleyWater]

I've always believed there is a connection between healing and nature. Good to see you outside and on the move.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I haven't replied to this yet I don't think... but I've been following it Guy.

I'm glad you got through this pretty well, all things considered... living a healthy active life really helps with this stuff.

A fishing buddy of mine, 33 years old, pretty overweight, but tough as a pine knot and strong as a bull (5' 10" 280 pounds of pure bred farm raised country boy, built like Eddie Hall), had one of those "widowmaker" heart attacks last year... hit him just after buying a nice new boat, he was rigging the boat when it had it... he barely made it, they picked him up and flew him to the hospital, he "died" a few times along the way as I understand it...he's still with us, not the same bull strong guy he once was, but he's still with us.

I myself am struggling with really high cholesterol, have been for a few years...it seems weird to me to be honest, I'm 50 years old, in great shape, 6 feet tall, 185 pounds, lean and strong, very active lifestyle (I'm a flatbed truck driver, I get plenty of exercise)... I've never known anything except "grunt work" my entire life... growing up on a small time tobacco farm, it's been back breaking labor for me from the start and I'm still doing it.

I don't mean to make this about me, and my struggles... just trying to drive home the point of PROPER DIET.

No amount of exercise will make up for an unhealthy diet... and YES, I know very well how hard that is to follow, my favorite foods are steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs.... it's really, REALLY hard.

 

[Guy Miner]

I haven't replied to this yet I don't think... but I've been following it Guy.

I'm glad you got through this pretty well, all things considered... living a healthy active life really helps with this stuff.

A fishing buddy of mine, 33 years old, pretty overweight, but tough as a pine knot and strong as a bull (5' 10" 280 pounds of pure bred farm raised country boy, built like Eddie Hall), had one of those "widowmaker" heart attacks last year... hit him just after buying a nice new boat, he was rigging the boat when it had it... he barely made it, they picked him up and flew him to the hospital, he "died" a few times along the way as I understand it...he's still with us, not the same bull strong guy he once was, but he's still with us.

I myself am struggling with really high cholesterol, have been for a few years...it seems weird to me to be honest, I'm 50 years old, in great shape, 6 feet tall, 185 pounds, lean and strong, very active lifestyle (I'm a flatbed truck driver, I get plenty of exercise)... I've never known anything except "grunt work" my entire life... growing up on a small time tobacco farm, it's been back breaking labor for me from the start and I'm still doing it.

I don't mean to make this about me, and my struggles... just trying to drive home the point of PROPER DIET.

No amount of exercise will make up for an unhealthy diet... and YES, I know very well how hard that is to follow, my favorite foods are steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs.... it's really, REALLY hard.

Glad that your friend made it!

Also - you remind me of a retired cop buddy of mine who was tall, lean, pretty fit, and really has to watch his cholesterol... He's never been overweight, maybe 6' tall and 180 or so, but he has to watch it, and has for a good 20 years or more.

*BTW, one of the reasons I started this thread, and shared a similar post on FB was to help people be aware of the danger. I was really glad when a tough, fit, actively serving cop buddy of mine thanked me for posting the description of my symptoms. He said that reading that helped him understand that he was having a heart attack a week or two after reading my post! That alone made me glad I'd posted it. He survived and is recovering quite nicely. I know that posting my incident helped at least one friend of mine.

Guy

 

[truck driver]

Guy, please take it slow and easy. Too much of a good thing has caused me to lose too many friends being hardheaded and over doing things after a major health event.
Mental and physical stress kills most heart attack victims.

 

[Guy Miner]

Thanks TD!

It's been five weeks. I'm down 10-12 pounds from then. Am in supervised, monitored Cardiac Rehab every Monday/Wednesday/Friday morning. They're pleased with my progress. And yes, I'm being careful, not just hiking like a madman, err, my former self...

Taking a rest day today. Noticed that my legs & arm muscles were pretty sore yesterday while I was walking the dog here in town. So, I'll give 'em a day off and hit the Cardiac Rehab program again Friday morning.

Thanks, Guy

 

[IdahoCTD]

I didn't pay attention to this thread because I figured it was a story about someone else, not you Guy. Sorry to hear about this but I'm glad you got a few pheasants on the way back to the Jeep. If it was the end there aren't many better ways to go out, hanging out with your son and dog doing the stuff you love to do. I'm glad to hear your pretty close to back to normal. Hopefully your back to 100% soon.

 

[Dlallder]

I had 3 heart stents in March 2004 and they worked great till early July 2020. Walked to the mailbox and back , about 400 yds. Dr had told me to always tote the Nitro pills , which I did have in the house. Took 2 and felt better. Long story short, Had 4 bypass surgery 4 days later. Funny thing was I had a full blown stress test in January, 2020 and Dr. said everything look good but I told him I was having some symptoms like when the stents were put in. He said If we didn't have good stress test results, he would be going in to take a look. He did take a look see about 4 months later with 4 bypasses being the result. I did not have a heart attack but was extremely close . REMEMBER YOU KNOW YOUR BODY BETTER THAN ANYONE INCLUDING A DOCTOR. iF SOMETHING DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT LET YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN KNOW.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

Glad you are on the mend, take care of yourself.

 

[diverdown]

Guy, please take it slow and easy. Too much of a good thing has caused me to lose too many friends being hardheaded and over doing things after a major health event.
Mental and physical stress kills most heart attack victims.

Overdoing things got me yelled at by my cardiologist. Two weeks after my heart attack I started going back in the pool and doing laps along with walking and other exercises. At my scheduled appointment which was three weeks after the heart attack my Doc asked me how I was feeling and I mentioned I felt good enough to start swimming. I told him my regimen and I got yelled at with the Doc saying to me "What the hell are you doing" The Doc said "When I said exercise I said start very easy and I gave you a list of what to do." Well, I backed off a bit and got started again, at much slower rate. I really was feeling good after getting four stents and figured everything was fine. I was told in no uncertain terms that it doesn't work that way. For all of us Guy, slow down a little bit!!!!!!

 

[Joec7651]

I know I’m late to the party, but I’m so glad you’re ok and mending. Take care of yourself and listen to your doctors. A lot of people wanna keep you around. God bless Guy.

 

[highoctane]

Glad you are doing better. You have truly been blessed. On another note, that pic of you is not the face that launched a 1000 ships. LOL

All joking aside, Ive had to do CPR on three different people, two of which were close friends, both did not make it.

 

[Alderman]

Last week, Tuesday, I was hunting pheasants with my adult son at the hunt club where we're members. It makes a good, easy and fun hunt for us a few times a year and really extends the "season." I thoroughly enjoy watching our dog work the birds as well.

Hadn't been feeling on top of the world for two days prior, but figured I was just being old & grumpy. Old and grumpy I may have been, but I missed some warning signs...

We hadn't gone far from the Jeep when I told my son "I don't feel real well, going to need to take it slow." He was mildly surprised since I'm in my mid 60's, he's in his 30's, and I typically out-walk him. So we slowed down. About a quarter mile into our hunt I told him "We need to get back to the Jeep."

Center of my chest felt heavy. Pain in my upper back between the shoulder blades. Short of breath. Sweating profusely. Nausea. Pain radiating up into my jaw...

We turned to head back to the Jeep, it was gradually uphill, 400 - 500 yards away. Not much of a hill. My progress slowed so much! I was just putting one foot in front of the other. My son is a certified EMT. We both knew I was in a bad way. Every time I stopped to rest I'd kneel down and almost instantly felt better each time.

Twice the dog stopped and pointed birds. My son dropped one cleanly with his 28 gauge CZ double. Such a sweet little gun! The dog pointed another, we were moving that way anyway. The bird flushed as we approached and I popped it with the 80+ year old Remington 32 over & under. Two birds now. Looking back, I smile at the thought that I shot a pheasant while I was having a heart attack. Dog retrieved. My son carried both birds.

Stopped often as no exertion meant almost no pain, and I could catch my breath. My son thinks I stopped at least four times in the last 100 yards to the Jeep. He was planning to go get the Jeep and bring it to me, but the conditions were so muddy that we were afraid the Jeep would get stuck out there and then we'd really be in trouble.

I made it to the Jeep. Got the dog, the birds and the guns into the Jeep. John took care of the birds and put them in the cooler then drove us home. Home is very close to the hospital. Then to the ER.

It's amazing how fast things move at the Emergency Room when the admitting folks are told "I think I'm having a heart attack." Yup. Quickly I was being examined and treated. Spent that night in the hospital. Surgery the next day to clear a completely blocked artery and install a stent. Leaving the other, partially blocked artery alone for now.

Another night in the hospital. Lots of tests. Found a couple of small, old blood clots in my lungs. That was kind of scary, but apparently I never even noticed them and they were likely from one of my prior incidents of blood clots in the legs. Dang.

Back home. Lots of new medications to take at least for a while. Back to the doctor's office again to check on things. I'm feeling amazingly well now, a week later. I've been urged to continue with my hiking and with using my rowing machine. No real strenuous workouts for a while though.

Yesterday I walked nearly 4 miles here in town with the dog. Only gained about 200' or so, but noticed that I climbed that elevation back to my home with no problem at all. Nice easy pace, just over 3 mph average.

Am on the way back, but ya, last week was pretty intense, particularly getting back to the Jeep. Glad my son was along. I sometimes hunt alone.

You guys take care of yourselves. Doggone disaster can strike with little warning. The doctors have recommended me for the hospital's cardiac rehab program and think that I'll be able to get back to life as usual. I suspect that they're right.

Regards, Guy

Sounds like a rough time for a while but good to hear you got it headed in the right direction. Keep on getting better.

 

[SJB358]

Glad you're on the mend and feeling better these days Major!

Now quit slacking and get that Super Grade out for some air

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Add me to the club... had a widowmaker heart attack 2 nights ago.... I'm gonna be around a while longer it looks like, but it was close.

Its been a rough couple of days... I'm feeling pretty good, just very sore, I never knew CPR left you so roughed up... no broken ribs, but they sure are sore.