Lianne (54) unknowingly suffered several heart attacks: “I could have dropped dead on the street”

“It was an autumn day, I was about to go to a birthday party and I felt a pulling pain in my arms. Wow, I’m suffering from rheumatic complaints again, I concluded. I also felt a cramp in my mouth and jaws and a piercing pain in my left arm. I noticed that I was getting short of breath and I was getting cold. It felt threatening. Still, I decided to go to my sister-in-law’s birthday. I wasn’t there for more than an hour and I only drank some water. ‘How quiet you are and how pale you look. Are you feeling okay?’ my sister-in-law asked. I said that I was indeed not feeling well and then left. My brother offered to take me home, but I declined the offer. That really wasn’t necessary, I would just take the tram. Once I saw myself in the mirror at home, I was shocked. I was really pale! Unbelievable that I missed all the warning signs of a heart attack. I could have dropped dead on the street.

Clogged veins

I decided to immediately crawl under the wool. Luckily my fridge was full, so I didn’t have to go out and stock up on groceries. I let my daughter, who lives in a room, know that I had the flu. I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily, but all the while I had an eerie feeling. I watched it for two days. The bad feeling wouldn’t go away, so I finally decided to call the doctor’s office. There I was put to the test. ‘We don’t trust it, ma’am. Is there someone who can take you to the hospital? Otherwise we will call an ambulance now.’ I could not believe my ears! A good friend offered to take me. I saw her startle when she saw me. My face was gray and I was visibly short of breath. Strangely enough, I was under the impression that everything would be fine. Maybe I just didn’t want to think about the fact that it could be something serious. It won’t be too bad, I thought. At the hospital I was immediately put through the medical mill. They could see from my blood values ​​that I had had several heart attacks. In addition, the arteries around my heart were three-quarters clogged. When I heard that, I broke down and cried. I felt like I had my health well under control. I took pills for high blood pressure and thought I was out of the risk zone for cardiovascular disease. Now it turned out that my cholesterol level was too high and I never realized that it was so dangerous.

Stuffy

The angioplasty was not performed under anesthesia. “We’ll keep you there,” the doctors told me. Getsiederrie, I thought, I didn’t want to consciously experience this at all. Angioplasty is not without risk. One wrong move and it can cause bleeding. I knew the risks, but I also knew this had to be done. It was really serious. In ten days I had three angioplasties and five stents placed. During the angioplasty I was able to watch on a screen, where you see, as it were, an entire system of branches. Those branches, those were my veins that I was looking at. I remember being very short of breath all that time. “Just a little while and you’ll be able to breathe again,” the surgeon said. That was indeed correct. It really felt like a miracle, the shortness of breath was so threatening and suddenly I was getting oxygen again. I am grateful that I had such a good team of doctors around me. Everyone was so committed and involved. I remember a doctor who was on night shift and could barely see out of his eyes due to fatigue. “Go to bed,” I told him when he came to check on me. “You don’t have to worry about me, it’s about you now,” was his response. I still think about it often. For these people, this is not just their job, it is their calling and that has really benefited me.

Wake up call

You don’t get clogged arteries for nothing. I smoked, albeit in moderation, enjoyed a glass of wine and hardly did any sports. I am not obese, but in the past I could easily eat a bar of chocolate in a row. Now, if I visit someone who says ‘she’ll get me some nice cake’, I explicitly ask them not to do that. Of course I still snack sometimes, but then I stick to one piece of chocolate. I completely stopped smoking and drinking, strangely enough it didn’t take any effort at all. Every day I cycle on the exercise bike for at least half an hour. I then feel better, stronger and less bloated. I have to take about twelve pills every day for the rest of my life. I had difficulty with this, also because of the side effects such as fatigue and reduced ability to concentrate. My cardiologist pulled me through that resistance. He said: ‘Every morning say: goodbye to medicine, I am very happy with you, thanks to you I can live longer.’ I do that now and it helps. I gave not only myself, but also those around me and especially my daughter a terrible fright by crawling through the eye of the needle. I especially feel guilty towards her. She’s still young, she’s studying and I don’t plan on sneaking out just yet. Yet my heart attacks have also taught me something. I always did a lot for others, but now I’m more likely to put myself first. It doesn’t benefit anyone if I don’t take good care of myself. I also live much more consciously. If the weather is nice, I now feel free to spontaneously go to the seaside with friends. I sometimes fear that something will happen. A stent can also silt up. The difference with the past is that I now immediately call a doctor if I don’t feel well. I can always come by immediately and I often call for a reason, because my blood pressure is much too high or my medication needs to be adjusted. By listening carefully to my body and acting if something is wrong, I am also reassured more quickly. Of course, for all of us, life can end just like that. But I have mine wake up call had. I am now seizing the day.”