The Luckiest Break I Got After My Heart Attack

Part of the post heart attack anxiety series

Everyone wants to talk to you about diet and exercise after a heart attack. Nobody really tells you the relationship that ends up mattering most is the one with your cardiologist.

I got lucky. Twice, actually. My first cardiologist who was in Georgia, where I lived when I had my heart attack, explained what was actually happening instead of just naming itHe asked how I was sleeping, whether I was scared to go for a walk yet, stuff that had nothing to do with a lab result. He was also the one who checked the hospital report for my blood viscosity level and told me that if I had not been taking aspirin due to a knee surgery I had a few months prior, I might not have survived the blockage.  

When we moved, I had to start completely over, and honestly I figured I'd gotten my one good doctor and used it up. Somehow I found another one who's just as thorough and just as willing to sit with my questions instead of glancing at the clock. She’s what’s called an interventional cardiologist (as in she LOVES to put stents in because apparently she’s very good at it. I’m determined not to give her that chance. I digress.)

That's not everyone's story though. I've talked to people who saw someone competent but rushed. Correct information, zero curiosity about how they were actually doing, out the door in ten minutes with a first or life-long prescription refill in hand.

Because of this, a lot of people feel like meds just get handed to them. Take this. Don't ask questions. And if you push back or say you're hesitant, you get a lecture instead of a conversation.

That's not what this should feel like. You should be able to say you're not sure about something and have that go somewhere real. Both of my cardiologists could handle that. I'd push back, they'd explain their thinking, and we'd actually land somewhere together instead of me just nodding along because arguing with a doctor feels weird.

If you don't feel right with the one you've got, keep looking. That's really the whole point of this post. I'm not a doctor and I'm not handing you a checklist. I just know that for me, twice, the gap between a doctor who felt like a name on a prescription pad and one who felt like an actual partner was enormous.

And switching isn't being difficult. This is the person you'll be talking to about your medications and your fears and whatever setback shows up next, for years. The person you confide in about a twinge or seemingly unrelated symptom, and they don’t fob you off, but take you seriously.  Honestly, it might be the most important relationship you have outside your immediate family. If it doesn't feel right, go find the one that does. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t add here, if you think you might be having a heart attack, please call 911 BEFORE you try and call your doctor’s office.  The EMT’s will arrive with everything you need in case you actually are having a heart attack. Things that will allow you to retain as much heart muscle as possible for long term recovery.  And they would much rather arrive in time to help you and it be a false alarm, than arrive too late. And so would you.

Because you only get one heart. ‘Til next time, Stephen