He is lucky. My husbands wake up call was a stroke.

Yikes!

An ex-boss, aged 42, died a few weeks ago from a massive heart attack.

He was young, healthy, looked good, felt good...

Maybe we could all remind our friends & family that we have to have our hearts;
it won't hurt to get checked out!

I worked with a guy years ago who had a heart attack. We were all shocked......he was a runner, didn't eat fat at all, almost vegetarian.
I thought that if he could have a heart attack, anyone could!

Our neighbour has cancer, and found out from the dentist that her hole in her gum is from smoking, not tooth decay. But will she quit, nope.

My son in law died last year at 42. He also appeared young and strong, but had ignored some warning signs and family history. Glad your son will be alright.

Thank goodness he is okay. I didn't know you could have a heart attack without damage to the heart.

I'm sorry about your son. I hope he takes care of himself. Working in healthcare I see a lot of patients who just don't. It's sad but I find myself not taking my own advice too.

I'm glad your son is doing well, I hope it turns out to be a serious wake-up call for him.

Special thoughts for your son. Hope he does what is needed!

jasdip, I don't think some or maybe most people *can* quit, especially if they're depleted already.

Nicotine is terribly addictive.

I once went with an office friend to visit my uncle & her father, who were both in the same VA hospital in the throat cancer ward

yep, a whole ward of 'em.

There must have been 30 beds in that ward, lined up along the walls, & in every bed was a guy who had had throat surgery & who was taking chemo, or radiation, whatever they used back in the late '70's.

We could hardly see through the cigarette haze;
they would put their fingers over their tracheotomy openings so they could inhale.

addiction.

Right now, he's very serious about his health issues. Starting a regime of good eating. I called yesterday to see what he did for the Super Bowl (hoping no wings). He had two friends over. They decided against a big party because of food issues. His guy friends brought veggie sticks and fruit and his girlfriend made a heart-healthy soup from a recipe she got on line. He said it was delicious. Hopefully he sticks with it. He had a friend who died last year from extreme alcoholism and he kept saying, Mom if he doesn't stop drinking, he's going to kill himself. So I think he really got the message. He's 49 and wants to live a long healthy life. As I said before, I think he's a very lucky young man that he got a strong warning with no damage done.

Holly, I hope your husband is doing well.
Pam, unbeknownst to me, my son had warning signs, too, but ignored them. This time he was flushed and sweating and thank God for his girlfriend because she noticed it and said I'm taking you to the emergency room right now. If he had been home alone, he probably would have ignored it again.
I had a friend who had tongue cancer and when visiting him in the hospital, he was blowing smoke rings through the hole in his tongue!

I posted this in hopes that everyone would take heed, not ignore warning signs and go get a check-up. Whether it be your heart, or something else, often the signs are there and we ignore.

oh georgysmom - I hope your son will be ok. What a shock for him. Yea, warning signs are something that a lot of us tend to ignore in case they indicate something is wrong. The old adage "ignorance is bliss" can be fatal.

Wow, that's great that he's taking charge, Georgysmom. It certainly won't be easy of course.

Re: smoking addiction. When Mom was in her 30's she got uterine cancer. While in the "lodge" where all the cancer patients were staying, she met a fellow who had throat cancer from smoking and got his voice box removed. He was speaking through a hole in his throat. He also smoked through that hole as well.

Why do husbands and fathers ignore or fail to take responsibility for their health? Do they think paying a life insurance premium 'takes care" of that responsibility? How about a physical every couple of years? Instead, they evidently depend on the women in their lives to become nags, *forcing* them to see a doctor.

Jas, it just goes to show that nicotine addiction is a lot stronger than most people realize. I truly feel sorry for those that have it. I talked recently to an old friend from a past life. She'll be 80 this year and is a long time smoker. I asked her if she still smokes and she said most people don't know it but yes she does. Obviously she doesn't smoke in front of her son and other family members. She said she always remembers me saying, "Lee, someday you're going to have to give up smoking. It's difficult to smoke when you have an oxygen tank. So why don't you give it up now, before you're on oxygen?" I guess it's just not that easy.
blf, I've had people say to me that they're afraid to go to the doctor because of what they may find and I say, don't be afraid of what they might find, be afraid you don't find it. If you find something wrong and you find it early enough, you can treat it. You're so right, ignorance is not bliss.

The famous runner/jogger died of a heart attack. People are not suppose to run constantly. I read a health report recently that walkers get as much or more health benefits from walking. It seems that if people run or jog on a schedule their bodies defends itself much like a person's body on an extreme diet.

Hi there jasdip,

Maybe your neighbour who has a hole in her gum ...

... could plug it with - gum?

What would she say if you accused her of " ... having a hole in her head"?

ole joyful

I smoked for 30 years. Quit 10 years ago. I still crave it occasionally. I walk by smokers and the smell makes my stomach turn, but that doesn't stop the urges. They say the two worst addictions to overcome are nicotine and cocaine. I believe that.

I had to go to the doctor yesterday, needed my b12 prescription refilled. Of course, I now have to go for a full blood work and also a rectal/colon exam. I have a great doctor, who said, after explaining it is sort of a nasty test, will I go and have it done? My answer to him was, if I don't you won't quit harassing me about it.

Strictly precautionary, but I am getting close to 60 and it is better to have the test and catch things early than too late. I thanked him very much for pointing out I am getting old. LOL

Sorry to hear about you son, but glad he came through ok. Yes, that was a big wake-up notice. Unfortunately, kids do not listen to their parents, and in your case, Mom was right!

An interesting tidbit: The dangerous age for a male to have a heart attack is from 25 to 40 years of age. These are often fatal. From age 25 to 40 or so, males continue to develop small blood vessels and capillaries that parallel the main artery. When the main artery gets blocked, sometimes these parallel vessels supply enough blood to limit heart damage, enough for the patient to survive the attack.