Many of our fellow C-Brats have experienced varying medical challenges in their lives and up until this past week, (with the exception of one bout with cancer), my health has been impeccably clear.
So, I share this story in the hopes of further educating others of the sometimes subtlety of chest pain.
Last Monday, I joined one of our engine companys on a day long live fire training excercise at our state fire academy. During the last evolution of the day, my task was to provide water supply from a fire hydrant to our engine and then I joined the rest of my company on the third floor of the fire tower to complete the connection of a hand line to the standpipe and extinguish a fire in a room on that floor. We then moved our handline up to the fourth floor where our crew extinguished another room fire. While I was at the nozzle extinguishing the fire I felt some slight chest pressure radiating to my back, that was quite transient lasting only a few seconds and was accompanied with no other symptoms. Since, the excercise was completed I joined the rest of the companies involved in the training in securing our hoses, ladders and equipment back on the participating engines and we returned back to our respective fire stations and I continued working the remainder of my 24 hour shift.
Shortly after returning to work on Wednesday morning, I responded on one medic call where I treated and transported a patient having an active, easily indentifiable myocardial infarction to the hospital. My partner and I then returned to the fire hall where our annual wellness physical exam was taking place. (Two weeks ago we had our blood drawn and the results of mine were all in the favorable parameters). When we arrived at the fire station, I checked in for the "second half" of my exam which included a 12 lead EKG. I immediately recognized changes that were not normal and the doctor agreed and recommended that I be seen in the emergency room.
Cardiac enzymes proved to be slightly elevated and during consultation with the cardiologist, he said that "just to be on the safe side", he would "do a cardiac catherization of me in the morning and if any blockage was located he'd insert a stent". So I spent the night in the hospital on telemetry.
The results of the catherization was a 99 + % blockage in my Left Anterior Descending coronary artery (also known as "the Widow Maker") and an 80+ % blockage in my Right Coronary Artery.
I returned home yesterday and am doing fine, but will be off work for a few weeks.
(Since the discomfort I felt was so minimal and transient in nature and lord knows how many cardiac patients I have treated in the past, this one REALLY slipped in on me. Thankfully, we had an annual wellness physical scheduled so closely to my seemingly benign event or the problem might have been detected in a less desirable manner!).
I'm really looking forward to many days on the water in 2010!
So, I share this story in the hopes of further educating others of the sometimes subtlety of chest pain.
Last Monday, I joined one of our engine companys on a day long live fire training excercise at our state fire academy. During the last evolution of the day, my task was to provide water supply from a fire hydrant to our engine and then I joined the rest of my company on the third floor of the fire tower to complete the connection of a hand line to the standpipe and extinguish a fire in a room on that floor. We then moved our handline up to the fourth floor where our crew extinguished another room fire. While I was at the nozzle extinguishing the fire I felt some slight chest pressure radiating to my back, that was quite transient lasting only a few seconds and was accompanied with no other symptoms. Since, the excercise was completed I joined the rest of the companies involved in the training in securing our hoses, ladders and equipment back on the participating engines and we returned back to our respective fire stations and I continued working the remainder of my 24 hour shift.
Shortly after returning to work on Wednesday morning, I responded on one medic call where I treated and transported a patient having an active, easily indentifiable myocardial infarction to the hospital. My partner and I then returned to the fire hall where our annual wellness physical exam was taking place. (Two weeks ago we had our blood drawn and the results of mine were all in the favorable parameters). When we arrived at the fire station, I checked in for the "second half" of my exam which included a 12 lead EKG. I immediately recognized changes that were not normal and the doctor agreed and recommended that I be seen in the emergency room.
Cardiac enzymes proved to be slightly elevated and during consultation with the cardiologist, he said that "just to be on the safe side", he would "do a cardiac catherization of me in the morning and if any blockage was located he'd insert a stent". So I spent the night in the hospital on telemetry.
The results of the catherization was a 99 + % blockage in my Left Anterior Descending coronary artery (also known as "the Widow Maker") and an 80+ % blockage in my Right Coronary Artery.
I returned home yesterday and am doing fine, but will be off work for a few weeks.
(Since the discomfort I felt was so minimal and transient in nature and lord knows how many cardiac patients I have treated in the past, this one REALLY slipped in on me. Thankfully, we had an annual wellness physical scheduled so closely to my seemingly benign event or the problem might have been detected in a less desirable manner!).
I'm really looking forward to many days on the water in 2010!
