clogged artery
 

Seems I've been riding around with an almost completely closed right coronary artery!!I mean about 2300 miles worth since the beginning of May when I bought my Trek.Last week I took an 84 miler.Since I had a heart attack 9 years ago I had a stress test which looked questionable to the cardiologist.He ordered an angiogram which revealed the blockage.3 stents were inserted with great difficulty(they couldn't find a path it was so blocked)and now I'm recovering,dieing to get back on trhe bike(no pun intended)Since I started biking,I lost 22 lbs.my BP plunged my other vital statistics improved markedly and I could have dropped dead with a heart attack at any moment!!Careful folks!!

Funny how problems can be there but if fit enough they do not "Appear" to cause a problem. 99 and I was fit. Had been riding for 9 years and was in training for a hard ride. Sunday did a ride of 65 miles offroad and had to wait for my riding partner who was fitter than me. Wednesday driving into work and a bit of indigestion and it got worse. Phoned for Ambulance and the angiogram showed a triple bypass was needed.

No previous signs of a heart problem and as I say I was fit. My mate that was riding with me- and as I say he was fit- had an indigestion problem a few weeks later. Went to the quacks and he was told he had had a heart attack and was rushed into hospital. Tests were done on him and not certain if an angiogram was done but he was declared A.1 fit. He had not had a heart attack and everything checked out fine. Two years later and out on a ride and he had a heart attack and died. Autopsy showed he did have blocked arteries but they were internal of the heart. At that time they would not have been detected.

Not going to say there isa downside to being fit- but both I and my mate had no inkling of a problem beforehand. I was lucky and got away with it. My mate wasn't.

Yup, it was only in cardiac rehab where I learned fitness and health are not synonymous. Always considered myself health-savvy (insert game show gong sound here) until my heart attack at 47. I was a thin, non-smoking gym rat who used to chug milkshakes just to keep weight on. It was a surprise to learn that my good conditioning bore no relationship to the insides of my arteries. Like you, fitness probably did contribute to my survival, though. Some people's bodies seem to make heart disease based on all kinds of factors that have to be managed no matter how many miles we can do.

Sure do miss cheese.

After a heart attack a few years ago my cholesterol (total --hdl+ldl is about 102, bp -- 115/60 --, and cardio conditioning as measured by repeated stress tests indicated no apparent problems. I exercised regularly, and then had another event happened this past winter. A few more stents later I know this can and probably will happen again. I asked my cardiologist about the positive stress tests, etc...., and he replied that a stress test is only as good as the moment you take it, so it is not necessarily an indication that all is well.

I started cycling recently as a way to do what I can do to have good cardio conditioning and hope that what ever happens in the future will be mitigated by the cycling and other exercise and diet.

Good luck!
Metalheart

Take care of it
 

As we get older, more stuff happens. I had a heart valve replaced a few years ago and some other cardiac work done. As I worked through rehab, I also learned about health and fitness. At very close to 60 now, I'm sure I am in the best shape of my life. Working out is part of my life now and has paid a number of dividends.
Take care of the blockage and get back on your bike.
Goof luck

The exercise strengthens the heart muscle making it more efficient. Thus it has to be pretty deprived of oxygen before you feel it. Same thing happened to me. Started having pain in both triceps and got checked out. Cardiologist thought I had 1 blockage in the (R) coronary, turns out 6 were blocked. Been over 2 years since the bypass and I feel great.

Just remembered another thing, that exercise helps the heart make its own "bypasses." I believe collateral circulation from these little arteries is partly why folks can have 90% blockages and still be walking around.

It is indeed important to know the warning signs of various health problems. We can't go back and rewrite our family histories, but we can improve our respective odds through stress reduction, diet, and exercise. Even when a healthful lifestyle disappoints by not preventing a heart attack, it does improve one's chances of a rapid and full recovery.

I'll bet many people have cardiac problems that are unknown until the person dies and the autopsy shows the cause of death. Frankly, that is one of the risks of living. A person can't go running to the doc for every pain or discomfort.

I agree, but there are a few areas that should send up a red flag. Esp when you have family history etc. My pain was not in the chest or jaw like you often hear about, but in my elbows and triceps.

True also, didn't think to mention that.

They say it can be any unusual feeling between your earlobe and your belly button. You are living proof!

For a certain percentage of people, death is the first, last and only symptom. For others, there are warning signs. I would recommend that other people NOT ignore them, since being stoic cost me some functioning on the left side of my heart and bought me a lifetime of medication.

I think "living" is the key word here! :)

Elbows and triceps? I've had pain like that a lot as have many others I know. Mainly after a long ride or when I've had a good session with the free weights. Maybe there was a concurrent feeling of doom, or similar.

I'm not advocating ignoring symptoms. What I'm trying to do is point out that unless a person is a member of the Lazarus family each person's ultimate fate is determined and that should be recongnized. At the same time I'll bet each of us knows someone who has become a medical cripple due to over concern about their medical condition. I'll also bet most of us would rather have a brighter life even if it meant having the inevitable occur a bit earlier.

The difference is this...with aches and pains from riding you can ease the pain by flexing or rubbing a bit on the affected part...cardiac pain is deeper, more intense and moving about or massaging does not help. Only complete rest usually relieves it. This happened while I was walking, not riding. So maybe thats something to look for, the quality of the pain and if it comes and goes vs being constant and gripping. After reading a bit I saw that angina in the elbows or just above in the triceps area is not all that uncommon though not a classic symptom. Ride safe everyone.