The Student Room Group

Heart attacks, just a bit of info wanted

Just wanted to post in the hope someone with a bit of knowledge might reply..

Basically, my dad had a heart attack on Saturday. He didn't know he'd had one, was just getting chest pains so went to the Dr.... Anyway. They're keeping him in hospital till he can get a bed in a different hospital so he can have the right tests.

My mum doesn't want me coming home from uni, because she said its more important I stay here. Yet he's been in hospital for 3 nights, it'll be his 4th tonight. That strikes me as being kinda serious??

What's likely to happen to him now? The consequences of this? Is it likely he'll have another, more severe one?? I feel incredibly ignorant on the subject, and my mums not being too helpful. She doesn't like to tell me too much incase I worry. It was a HUGE shock when I heard, because this kind of thing happens on TV and people die. And I can't lose my dad right now.
Reply 1
I really don't think we can answer your questions, I'm quite sure it depends entirely on the specifics of your dad's medical condition. If your mom won't tell you anything, perhaps try and visit home when you next get the chance, but try not to miss anything important like exams. To be honest, if he could barely feel it then it sounds quite minor and I shouldn't think his life is in immediate danger. Plus, hospital is the safest place for him to be right now, so try and relax and just find out as much as you can from your mom - have you asked her straight out what the doctors have told her?
Reply 2
She tells me... But... She avoids anything that will worry me. I'm 4-5 hours from home, I work weekends, and I have exams in a couple of weeks. I can only go home if I NEED too, so she's told me if he does take a turn for the worse, she'll call, and have me home asap. She never tells me the worse possibilities. And I also don't think she can face saying them out loud herself right now. So I'd like to know what is possible... He smokes about 5ish a day (secretly anyway, so making sure he's stopped might be hard) and is a few stone overweight. Probably the cause so I've been told. I was just wondering, generally speaking, what happens to heart attack patients... Will things be normal soon??
Reply 3
Not sure what you mean by normal...:s-smilie: Because it sounds like the problem is that your dad leads an unhealthy lifestyle and this has been building up for a while, the doctors will reccommend that he stops smoking and loses weight. If he does that, the risk of further attacks will decrease.
to be honest i think it's one of those things that can go either way and it could get worse or he could make practically a full recovery, albeit weaker than it was before. The doctors should be able to assess that properly when they do all their tests, but i think a significant majority make a pretty good recovery, esp if it's relatively minor. I sort of know how you feel because the a similar thing happened to my grandpa pretty recently and i actually found out off my uncle (who i rarely speak to), not my mum, who was with him and didn't want me to worry. i was pretty pissed off with her really...

Maybe you could speak to your dad on the phone and that would alay some of your worries until you can visit?
Reply 5
The heart attack (myo cardial infarction) was probably only a mild one, as has already been said due to the fact he didnt experience serious pains or collapse. But this is still quite serious, your dad will be in the high risk catogary and needs to re assess his lifestyle asap. Keeping your dad in hospital untill the neccecary tests can be performed is a very wise option, these tests will probably assess the damage to the heart as well as doing some fitness tests.
Depending on the seriousness of the damage your dad may need an operation such as a stent placed in one of the arteries or a bypass (very unlikley, only in the worst scenario). He will most probably be given medication and be kept under the care of a consultant to monitor his risk factors.

If your mum will not tell you everything try phoning the hospital and explaining the situation, they will give you SOME information over the phone and then you can make a better judgement for yourself if you need to get back home. In the mean time plan to come home in a few weeks, im sure your employers will understand given on the situation.
piiiink
Just wanted to post in the hope someone with a bit of knowledge might reply..

Basically, my dad had a heart attack on Saturday. He didn't know he'd had one, was just getting chest pains so went to the Dr.... Anyway. They're keeping him in hospital till he can get a bed in a different hospital so he can have the right tests.

My mum doesn't want me coming home from uni, because she said its more important I stay here. Yet he's been in hospital for 3 nights, it'll be his 4th tonight. That strikes me as being kinda serious??

What's likely to happen to him now? The consequences of this? Is it likely he'll have another, more severe one?? I feel incredibly ignorant on the subject, and my mums not being too helpful. She doesn't like to tell me too much incase I worry. It was a HUGE shock when I heard, because this kind of thing happens on TV and people die. And I can't lose my dad right now.


my dad had the same thing, he didnt have a heartattack but he went into hospital for some heart related thing for like half a week and had a tiny operations and on medication and stuff, my mum kept telling me it's fine and stuff i think the best thing you can right now is listen to your parents as you going agianst their wishes will only add to stress. im sure that if he was really bad and didnt have much time left sort of thing your mum will let know so you wont miss out any time with him.

but yeh basically i would do as they say to keep the pressure off.
i hope it works out with your dad and that he's fine. i felt the same way when my dad went into hospital i was devastated.
Reply 8
The info already given is good. Basically a heart attack occurs when blood cannot reach the heart. As blood carries oxygen, the heart muscles become ischaemic (literally "without blood"), anaerobic respiration must occur, producing lactic acid which is essentially a poison, and some cells within this muscle die, causing the constricting feeling in the chest. This normally occurs due to a blockage in an important blood vessel - plaques build up on the surface of the veins and arteries, and they originally get there due to high blood pressure damaging the delicate surface of the vessel, causing physiological changes which lead to the surface becoming hardened - this is called atherosclerosis, literally meaning "hardening of the arteries". Anything which will cause the blood pressure to rise can trigger a heart attack if the blockage is significant enough - this may be cholesterol from smoking and unhealthy diet narrowing the space within the vessel for the blood to pass through, or an unusual amount of stress causing the heart to beat faster so that a bigger volume of blood is trying to pass through the vessel. If your dad is still alive and kicking then chances are the heart attack was fairly minor. By keeping him in hospital you can be assured that he will be under constant surveillance and will be given anticoagulants - blood-thinning drugs - and kept nice and calm so that his blood pressure does not rise dangerously again. He will also have access to fresh oxygen and his diet will be carefully controlled so that he is not eating too much cholesterol or salt. So the fact that he is staying in hospital should give you peace of mind, not cause for concern, as his condition can be controlled and if anything does go wrong he will get immediate help. In terms of reoccurrence, he will be strongly advised to re-evaluate his lifestyle: to take more exercise, eat a healthier diet, lose weight, ingest less salt and quit smoking. He will probably also be provided with medication to reduce the clotting mechanism in his blood and lower his cholesterol levels. I hope this information puts your mind at rest a little. Although a heart attack sounds really scary, they are not always fatal by any means and if he has survived this one easily then chances are he will never have another one as it will give him the wake up call he needs to change his attitude to his body. In terms of your mum, I expect she feels exactly the same as you so maybe get her to read up on the subject so she feels more informed and less out of control. Be there for each other and I'm sure your dad will be home in no time, then you can both concentrate on getting him properly well again.
Reply 9
red_Rose
The heart attack (myo cardial infarction) was probably only a mild one, as has already been said due to the fact he didnt experience serious pains or collapse. But this is still quite serious, your dad will be in the high risk catogary and needs to re assess his lifestyle asap. Keeping your dad in hospital untill the neccecary tests can be performed is a very wise option, these tests will probably assess the damage to the heart as well as doing some fitness tests.
Depending on the seriousness of the damage your dad may need an operation such as a stent placed in one of the arteries or a bypass (very unlikley, only in the worst scenario). He will most probably be given medication and be kept under the care of a consultant to monitor his risk factors.

If your mum will not tell you everything try phoning the hospital and explaining the situation, they will give you SOME information over the phone and then you can make a better judgement for yourself if you need to get back home. In the mean time plan to come home in a few weeks, im sure your employers will understand given on the situation.


Sorry to bring this up now... But you said bypass wouldb only be the worst scenario. He has to have bypass surgery. They all want me to stay here for my exams, mum actually doesn't seem to know much at all, and has said I should come home when they finish(Next wednesday). So I was wondering if someone could tell me what's actually involved in bypass surgery? What are the risks of it?
Reply 10
When someone has to have a bypass it means that one of the main arteries supplying the heart with blood is so "clogged" that it can't be dilated by a balloon anymore.
To explain very simply:
A vein, for instance from your leg or the a. mammaria, a blood vessel in the chest are taken out, then the defect part of the artery or arteries (there can be more than 1 bypass) is cut out and the "spare vessel" sewn in instead.
Look at the little slide show:
http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/p/440/e/f/19132.jpg&imgrefurl=http://adam.about.com/surgery/100190.htm&h=320&w=400&sz=18&hl=de&start=6&tbnid=qQTHsFunMdcHxM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbypass%2Bsurgery%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DX


Afterthought:
what has been said about your father being safe in the hospital is correct. There can be complications after a heart attack (rhythm problems or a second infarctation) so close monitoring is important. If a complication occurred a doctor would be at hand to handle it.
Why not phone your father and talk to him? If you can afford to loose a day or two it might be a good idea to visit, it might put your mind at rest. When will the operation be? Relatives often don't know a lot, they just don't ask or sometimes don't quite understand, but don't want to ask further questions. She will be stressed too. By the way: how old is your father and does he have any other illnesses?
Reply 11
im not sure but i think like stress can cause it because of high blood pressure etc causing a minor heart attack.
Reply 12
piiiink
Sorry to bring this up now... But you said bypass wouldb only be the worst scenario. He has to have bypass surgery. They all want me to stay here for my exams, mum actually doesn't seem to know much at all, and has said I should come home when they finish(Next wednesday). So I was wondering if someone could tell me what's actually involved in bypass surgery? What are the risks of it?


From my limited knowledge of bypass surgery itself there are the normal risks of anaesthetic but the heart also needs to be stopped and the patient placed onto a bypass machine requiring blood thining drugs to be taken, also there is a small possibility the heart cannot be restarted.

Most patients will make a good recovery and will go on to live full lives. I would suggest seeing your farther before hand for a sense of closure just incase the worst happens and maybe being there during his surgery to support your mother.
My uncle has had a double bypass. God knows why, he's been running 28+ miles a week for as long as I can remember, and now he won't got near anything with a modicum of fat in it (poor guy, I don't know what I'd do if I had to stop eating cheese!). Still, he got through it fine.

Bypass surgery with a heart-lung machine is used for most coronary bypass graft operations, but in recent times more surgeons have started performing off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB). During OPCAB, the heart is not stopped, and continues to beat throughout surgery. "In some patients, OPCAB may reduce intraoperative bleeding (and the need for blood transfusion), renal complications and postoperative neurological deficits (problems after surgery)."

I hope your dad gets through the operation fine, and stay strong. With regards to your original question, I think I'd go and visit him in the situation, I'm sure your university would be sympathetic. Talk to your tutor?
Reply 14
My dad is 51 and he's got history of high blood pressure I believe, been on medication for that for a while.

Also, I wanted to go home. But because it takes so long (6 and a half hours by train, noone can pick me up) I can't right now, what with exams coming up. Mum is insisting on me staying to do my exams, and I'm going home as soon as I possibly can once they're over.

I hate all this. First they said they were 99.9% sure it WASN'T a heart attack. Then they said there was a reallllly small chance he'd have to have a bypass. Now I'm being told that there's only a small possibility of it going wrong, I'm not thinking good things!!
Reply 15
Well, your dad is young that is good, the chances of him recovering easily are higher when he is young and healthy apart from the high blood pressure.
Your mum will be under much stress now, I suggest not stressing her more by making her think the situation is affecting your studies (as it of course is probably doing, but then that can be corrected later on).
Bypass surgery is very advances nowadays, he should be fine. Much better than leaving the clogged up artery there and taking the chance of another MI.
Reply 16
Dont feel like writing a long post.

My grandad was admitted to hospital under similar circumstances.
You don't come home the next day after a heart attack.
I think he was in there for 2 weeks untill they were sure he was better.
Trust me, if it happens again he is in the best possible place.
Maybe go home on the train over the weekend?

All the best,

Jon.