DH suspected heart attack at 31

[HidingInTheBathroom]

I need some where to have a little bit of a cry so I've voicing my worries on here. Sorry in advance for the moaning.

My dh became very ill on thursday last week. He had sickness and a fever. I told him to man up as the kids have all had it and it can't be as bad as he was making out. (feel pretty guilty now). Any way Friday he had stopped being sick but moped about all day on the seatee. This again annoyed me as its Easter we had gone away to my parents caravan and the kids where fed up because we couldn't go any where. He went to bed early Friday but woke at 2am with really bad chest pain.

Me being the bitch put him off going in a&e because it was 2 in the morning on a Friday night. We would of have to take the kids and it would be full of drunks. I really thought it was man flu. I feel really bad now.

I got a friend to mind the kids on Saturday morning and we went to a&e. He was put straight on a ECG which was adnormal. It showed signs of infection of the heart and a heart attack the levels in his blood of this chemical was sky high.

He was admitted and I was a wreck (not in front of him). Never thought he could of been having a heart attack he is only 31.

He was due to have a angiogram today but it has been cancelled so hopefully he will have one tomorrow so we know what damage has been caused.

Now I am so worried. We have 3 young children. I can't work as he has just given up work to watch the kids do I have no child care. I hate him not being. All I want is for things to come back to normal.

What Is the effects of a heart attack I mean what quality of life are we to expect. Has this shorten his life expectancy. I am little bit of a emptional wreck at minute but don't want to worry my kids or my parents do can't really voice my concerns to any one.

Sorry for going on.

I am so sorry you're going through this. Please talk to your parents. Plus don't blame yourself, I agree 31 very young for heart attack, if that's what it is. Remmber that as well if you do Google _ outcomes for a young fit and healthy man are likely to be better than outcomes for the average heart attack sufferer.

You need a diagnosis before you start worrying, my ex/current/god knows what he is!!! Is a cardiologist, I can ask him.

One thing I would say in my limited experience is, that if it were life threatening he'd have been operated on by now.

Hugs xx

I'm really sorry... what a shock for you all.

There was this thread on here a few weeks ago about women with heart attacks younger than expected, though they were all still 40+ so still older than your DH.

But in response to your immediate concern about life expectancy... no, it won't necessarily shorten your DH's, especially as he did survive the heart attack itself. Heart attacks tend only to happen in such young people only when there's an underlying cause, and many of the possible underlying causes are treatable. So hopefully DH will not be discharged from hospital without a diagnosis and a treatment plan. An angiogram will be a good start.

He is going stir crazy in there wornt be able to do the angiogram until Thursday and that's not set in stone. This waiting around for a diagnosis is horrid. Just want to know what's going on.

The hospital is a 40 min drive away so that is not helping. My house is a mess and I have no excuse as I'm not at work but just can not get motivated to clean up. I can't take the dogs out as I have no one to watch the kids while I take them out. (there 3 big dogs so can't walk them with the kids).

I can hear my self it's all me me me. But I'm feeling pritty shitty at the minute. Just having a good moan.

Moan on. Better to have a bit of a vent here rather than at DH.

Do you have anyone who could come over for a bit? A friend who could help you tidy up, or could come on a walk with you and kids and the dogs? Could you afford a few one-off sessions with a CM - you could get the house sorted and then reward yourself with a nice quiet bath/gym session/lunch out before going to see DH...

Forget the house as long as the bathroom and kitchen are hygenic.

Eat easy food - something on toast, jacket potato.

Rest when you can. Get the kids in the garden and then let the dogs have a run around outside.

Try not to stess out and call in all the favours you can for help.

Your dh is in the right place and hopefully he will soon be well and home again.

my fil had a heart attack at 37, and is still going strong at 74, so not always necessarily life limiting. My mil was also not very sympathic, and had two young children. I think with fil it was down to stress, drinking, and smoking and fairly unhealthy lifestyle. Hope he gets results soon, must be very stressful for you.

my grandad had a heart attack in the 1950s when he was 20 something (no treatment in those days) he never did have any more problems with his heart and passed away peacefully last year at the age of 86.

I think this counts as a little crisis therefore ask someone to look after the dogs for a week and someone else to look after the children whilst you be with your DH in hospital and clean up the house and do the laundry and conserve your energy. It is very useful for your DH to have a relative/spouse there when the doctors come round and after his angiogram. It is also useful to have clean pyjamas etc.

Thank you all family and friends have rallied round me at the minute. As for the dogs my beloved Lucy the labrador was sadly put to sleep this morning. She has been riddled with arthritis and yesterday she couldn't get up. I had to take on my own and it was one of the hardest thing I've done.

If I could describe my week from hell it would be this week. The angiogram has been postponed until tomorrow so if every thing is clear he might be home for Monday.

I miss dh so much at the minute espically with Lucy going, the car failed its mot, washer on the blink, kids playing up, parents are ill With bad chest infections (my mum only has one lung so a little worring) I'm just feel like im standing here shouting come chuck all this shit at me and see how long it takes me to crumble.

My business is also going to shit because I'm not there. Orders not going out getting bad feedback.

Arghhhh sorry again needed that good rant. Next year Easter is cancelled

Hiding Sorry you have had such a rotten Easter. Sad about your dog. You must be feeling really awful.
Anyway, looking on the bright side, at least your DH survived the heart attack and is young enough to get over it quickly. He might never have another one, all being well.
Try to be positive. First, could you get some child care, just temporary stuff like a relative or neighbour so you can pick yourself up off the ground. Your business is important and you need to give it a bit of attention.
Visiting the hospital is taking a lot of time, but that will get better when he is home./Try to ring round people you know and get a bit of back-up. Maybe people don't know you are in such a fix and will rally round. Hugs to you and the DCs .. it must be rotten for them too.

sorry you're dealing with all this.

try not to jump too far ahead (so easy to say..)there are a few things it could be rather than a heart attack, like myocarditis which is a very different kettle of fish, tomorrow must feel like a long time away- i hope you get more info then.
thinking of you

Yes it could be myocarditis maybe thats why they are putting off the angio.
Priorities are possibly in this order:
you
the children
dh
your business
parents
dogs
delegate as much as you can of the children, business, your parents, dogs this week. DH wont be ill for very long but he is ill now and needs you. Ring people up and ask for help. Especially on the day of the angio as DH will need you there. Big stresses, but clearly thats why it all overcame DH. He will need to rest when he gets home. Sorry you are having a rotten time. Good that you haven't shouted at anyone though. I always look back with shame at crises- I do manage to muddle through and with a good outcome but generally not in a calm way and I wish how I wish I was calm in a crisis.

Just googled myocarditis.

The best news is they do this angiogram tomorrow and they say it's all clear and you can go home. That would make every one

On the other hand if it is bad news then we can digest it and deal with it.

But this waiting around is not doing anyone any favours it is just making it all worse. The more time you have to ponder over things the more time you have to worry yourself.

I know he is in the best place. I just need to become stronger I think pull my self together and get on with it.

The dog thing has upset me today and the kids are picking up on it. I have told work they need to get there act together and get on with it. My dh was ment to start being a full time stay at home dad this week but everything has gone tits up so we had no child care in place. But I'm getting a lot of help off friends and neighbours which is great x

Oh no it never rains but it pours
My husband is a electrocardiologist and does a lot of angios he sees a few young people in their 30's unfortunately. Many recover and can be treated to have long and healthy lives however he does worry about those who he sees time and time again as they don't treat it as a warning sign and continue to smoke, drink, eat too much, it is these stubborn people who tend to skew statistics so please don't look at statistics - talk to the docs about your husband, if you have questions no matter how daft ask them and keep asking them until you are happy about the answers. Hope that he's back home with you soon and on the mend.

DH had the same thing about 10 years ago when he was early 30's. The test results suggested a heart attack but the doctors were baffled because he didn't smoke and was relatively healthy. Turned out to be Myocarditis.

Battery about to die on computer but just to say, I really feel for you. Try not to worry too much and ironically, he has age on his side.

Hi well dh does not smoke or drink he is a little overweight but nothing major. We do enjoy the take aways but lately we have been exercising he has lost around 2 stone with slumming world and gym.

Might not do the angiogram tomorrow as his white blood cells and I think it's called ccu is still raised so will have to see what the doctor says tomorrow

The children are going to be upset about the dog and their dad arent they, not to mention the ruined holiday. They might think its all their fault which it isn't. Maybe you need to sort out some part time child care. Maybe DH didnt want to be a FT SAHD. Great agony aunt me. No qualifications to be an agony aunt at all.

He is coming home. He is fine he has a small narrowing of the artery so just on aspirin for the rest of his days but thank god he is coming home

Hiding Whoopee! So pleased for you all.

My DH had a heart attack a few years ago, he was 45 so a bit older than your DH but obviously still young so it was a massive shock. He collapsed at work and was rushed to hospital where he was operated on and had a stent inserted in one of his arteries. Like your DH he will be on aspirin for life and also takes some other drugs daily.

They found his cholesterol to be quite high but other than that could not suggest any reasons for why it had happened although we both feel that stress played a part. He was off work for a couple of months during which time he attended a rehab course through the hospital which he was very dubious about (though it would be full of old people!) but actually got a huge amount out of.

2 years later we can look back and almost see what happened as a good thing. It was definitely a warning that he needed to look at aspects of his life and how they were affecting his health - he has never smoked and isn't a big drinker but he was a few lb overweight and didn't exercise as much as he could have. He was also enduring a very long and stressful commute. He took on board the advice he was given - changed his diet, started running and (maybe most importantly) got his employers to agree to him working from home one day a week. All of this has contributed to him looking and feeling better these days than he has for years. I'm sure his health must be better overall and he has never had any further problems (touch wood) since it happened.

I know it will be hard to think straight at the moment but if you can try and see this as a sign that things weren't quite right before and if you/your DH pay attention to the advice you're given (sounds obvious but lots of people don't) then hopefully this need not be the big deal it first appears for you all (assuming there is nothing more serious wrong in which case I apologise if this seems insensitive).

Glad to hear your DH is coming home, will be thinking of you and hoping he recovers well - feel free to pm me if there's anything someone who has been through this can help with.

PS I was also unsympathetic initially - DH had felt off for a few days before it happened and I just shrugged it off as man flu. In fact we had a massive row that morning and he left for work with us not speaking - next time I heard from him was a call from the hospital - how guilty did I feel?!

So glad he is coming home safe.

So glad he is coming home safe.

Hi Hiding, my husband had a heart attack aged 32. Out of the blue, previously fit as a fiddle. No one has ever found out why, clean angiogram, no furring of the arteries, no blood clotting disorders, nothing. We had 3 children under 10 at the time. It was such a shock and hard to deal with at the time BUT now, 7 years on apart from the medication he takes daily you would never know he'd had a heart attack. Life is practically the same (we're just a bit greyer!), he still does the same job etc, nothing has been compromised. I know how difficult things are for you at the moment, but all you really need to do is look after yourselves. Forget the house etc and look after you and yours. I tried to be superwoman and paid for it badly, I made myself ill, when everything got better I came crashing down, so look after yourself, you're the family glue :) On a financial note, check your financial paperwork. Insurance including critical care pays out on heart attacks, sometimes completely, we had a loan paid off, and sometimes it even can pay off your mortgage completely if you have it on that. Just might help the money side for you.

How is DH