[Tommy]

From what I was told, if there was not permanent heart damage, then it was technically not a heart attack. Your heart was under distress, but the symptoms alerted you to action before it was damaged. .... I had a triple bypass in 2001 at age 53. I now know I had been having symptoms for about five years before that. I reported them to my family doctor and took and passed three stress tests during that time. I now suspect my family doctor declined to refer me to a cardiologist so he could keep collecting fees as my physician. I now reccomend that anyone with symptoms that might indicate heart distress see a cardiologist right away.

I did not like the bypass procedure and recovery, so I swore to change my lifestyle so I wouldn't have to do it again. The biggest source of my problem was a poor diet. I went on and have maintained a low fat diet and stay as active as my body will allow. I haven't had any cardio problems since then, so in my case, lifestyle was an important factor in my heart disease.

Good luck with your recovery. I hope you're feeling much better very soon.