To ask if you have had a heart attack?

[redredroyse]

My Dad died very suddenly of a heart attack recently.

I know it will have been over with very quickly. But will he have been in any pain?

I keep wondering about the last few minutes, if he knew what was happening to him and if he was in any pain at all.

Really missing my Dad

[Happyringo]

Sorry for your loss. The same thing happened to my dad, and it's really really hard to deal with. The passage of time has enabled me to accept that I'll never know what pain he felt and to remember all the happy memories he gave me. I hope you can find this too, big hugs x

[ShakeYourTailFeathers]

I haven't - but my aunt has had heart problems (has a pacemaker now) and they told her she had had some, and she wasn't aware.

Sorry for your loss.

[kathryng90]

Sorry for your loss. My mum had one and survived. She said it was like the lights going out. Instant blackness and waking to the cardio team round her. She was in hospital when it happened unrelated problem but v glad she was there.

[ghostyslovesheep]

I'm so sorry for your loss

My beloved Grand Father died very suddenly of a heart attack in 1987 xx

Try not to dwell too much on the grim stuff - just be kind to yourself and let yourself grieve

My mum had a heart attack last year and didn't even realise

[catsofa]

My mum once had a heart attack that she wasn't aware of, they did some sort of test to find out she had definitely had one but she hadn't felt it at all and may have been asleep when it happened. She died soon after of other things. It's possible that you've troubled yourself thinking about it more than the attack itself actually bothered your dad!

So sorry for your loss, take it easy and be really kind and gentle with yourself for a while, it's so hard to lose a parent.

[DollyParsnip]

DH had an undetected cardiac condition which lead him to collapse without warning (he went into heart block). The last time it happened he said he thought he was dying but he felt calm, accepting and a huge sense if peace before (in his words) the lights went out. Luckily a pace maker has sorted him out but it's left him with a real lack of fear about dying, and quite a lot of comfort about it all.

to you, and deep sympathies on the loss of your Dad.

[Showy]

I am so, so sorry about your Dad and I really wish I could answer your question.

I could tell you a few stories about people I know who've had heart attacks without knowing and the couple of people I know who knew but found it little more than uncomfortable BUT this would only help you for a matter of minutes I suspect.

Would you like to talk about your Dad on here? Do you have support in RL? I'd like to hear about him if you feel able to share.

[Birdsgottafly]

So sorry for your loss.

My DH had multiple HA's, which he survived.

He felt the minor ones and thought he had ingestion.

He didn't feel the pain of the bigger ones, or remembered what had happened immediately before or afterwards.

[MaidOfStars]

My FIL had a heart attack and thought it was a lengthy indigestion episode. He is fine now.

Just to note that a heart attack is very different form a cardiac arrest. A heart attack describes a slower process by which a blockage etc causes damage to the heart. A cardiac arrest is the cessation of beating. A heart attack can clearly lead to cardiac arrest, and is indeed the leading cause.

A cardiac arrest, which is what I assume from your OP (sudden, quick), will have caused unconsciousness very very quickly and it is generally not thought to be painful. Heart attacks, on the other hand, can be painful (see indigestion and the classic "pain spreading in the arm" symptom).

[MaidOfStars]

And idiot me forgot to say...

Sorry for the loss of your Dad. Christmas is a tough time.

[Bailey101]

I had a heart attack a few years ago, but didn't realise that was what it was until I was in hospital. I had indigestion type discomfort and then my arm, neck and face went numb and tingly. Your father would have passed out before the pain became too much, and a full cardiac arrest doesn't take long for someone to pass away.

I'm so sorry for your loss, and I know it's no consolation but your dads passing would have been quick.

[Showy]

The other thing you can do is take any medical notes/post mortem information/death certificate and see a GP who will go through what likely happened with you.

My SIL died suddenly. She was unwell and would have died but it wasn't expected for 15 years or so. Her death was out of the blue. Not a heart attack though. The GP saw my brother and it really helped. He went through everything with him and talked about the usual presentation of her cause of death (cerebral oedema in her case).