Had a Heart Attack

[john chesnut]

Kevin, I"ve had Stents. I hope to avoid bypass surgery.
My last heart attack happened on a Friday night while I was driving. I pulled into a parking lot and told my wife that I thought I was dying. This was when all of the Obama Care was happening and my insurance company had just gone out of business. For the first time in my life I didn't have medical insurance. Because of that I was reluctant to go to the hospital.

We were in Lawrence, MA. My wife googled a hospital and drove me there. I remember getting to the emergency entrance. Then I woke up in the operating room. The Dr told me that I had just survived the "Widow Maker". This is a complete blockage of the LAD. The hospital had a cardiac team that was leaving to go home but stayed when I arrived.

The good news is that I survived. I did lose 25% of my heart. I'm thankful for every day. My medical bills were 67K. Ouch.

Both my Grandfathers had heart issues. 1 died at 72 from a heart attack. The other survived a heart attack in his early 60's.

My father passed a stress test in his late 60's. 3 weeks later he was in the hospital and had quad bypass. I don't trust the stress test.