In November of last year, I had a transient ischemic attack, basically a mini-stroke. The whole right side of my body was going numb, leading to a trip to the emergency room. I was found to have extremely high blood pressure, and given IV drugs to bring it down. But by the time I was admitted to the hospital, the symptoms had disappeared. EKGs, cardiac enzyme tests, and eventually (3 months later, after another attack) an MRI were performed, finding no likely cause other than my blood pressure and somewhat elevated cholesterol.
Since then, I had been under regular doctor's care, primarily to control my blood pressure. My blood pressure came down to normal levels, but my cholesterol and triglycerides shot up, despite the fact that I was being more careful with my diet than I had been before. As a result, I was placed on an additional drug regimen to deal with those problems.
Then, on July 13th, 2010, I just stepped out of the shower prior to getting dressed for work when I felt a severe pain in my chest, radiating down my right arm. I had previously bought a home blood pressure monitor, so I checked. My BP was 197/127, higher than I had ever seen it. So, it was off to the emergency room again.
My symptoms had passed by the time I entered the ER. Still, I was admitted to the hospital, and a series of cardiac enzyme tests showed that I had indeed had a heart attack. A cardiac catheterization test showed that I had severe blockages in 2 arteries leading to my heart.
I later learned that 60% of patients in my condition don't even survive to make it to the emergency room.
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