During the past few days, I learned that I was missing vital information concerning the care and maintenance of my body. As a result, I am blogging from the Cardiac Care Unit of the Roanoke Memorial Hospital instead of working at home.<\/p>\n
I now know that shortness of breath and a feeling of great pressure in my upper chest and neck area was a sign that I was experiencing a heart attack early this week. <\/p>\n
I did not have a clue at the time and I continued working at my regular pace for the next few days. When the pain returned, I realized that I had a problem. I Googled "chest pain" and learned that "Angina Pectoris" is the body's way of telling you that the heart muscle is not getting enough oxygen.<\/p>\n
When I went to my family physician, she routed me immediately to ER at Radford Hospital. After a short round of tests, they sent me on to a Roanoke Hospital which is equipped to perform heart operations.<\/p>\n
Since my condition was stable by then, they put me in the Cardiac Care unit for testing and observation. In the last two days I have learned how close to the edge I have been living, even though I have always been careful to eat natural foods and what I thought was a balanced diet.<\/p>\n
I had been monitoring my health by my physical strength and the general lack of aches and pains. I am now aware that this approach can be a trap. I had shoveled 5 tons of gravel with no discomfort just days before my first heart attack, so I had no physical warning of the impending disaster.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow I am scheduled to discover what blockage exists and to hopefully find a resolution of the problem.<\/p>\n
I have already resolved to develop a healthier lifestyle. It is my big New Year's resolution for 2009.<\/p>\n
If you are experiencing any chest pains, you might want to make sure they are not serious. They can be permanently damaging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During the past few days, I learned that I was missing vital information concerning the care and maintenance of my body. As a result, I am blogging from the Cardiac Care Unit of the Roanoke Memorial Hospital instead of working … Continue reading