Possible heart attack?

[KyleeD]

For a while now, my dad (who is 59, and a smoker) has had episodes of chest pain. I can tell he's in pain because he winces and groans. It typically lasts anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Today he had one that made him hunch over. He says it happens more frequently when he wakes up from taking a nap.

These episodes really worry me. I always want to call an ambulance, but he's a real man's man and doesn't want me to, saying he'll be fine. I make him take aspirin and drink water, in case these really are heart attacks.

I worry about what will happen if I'm not home and he has an episode. In the future, if I see this happen, should I call 911, even against his will? I couldn't forgive myself if something were to happen.

[erijon]

Wow Rosemary, that's powerful stuff. So sorry for your loss, I think yu nailed the answer here.

Jon

[Rosemary349]

PLEASE listen to my advice.  Insist he goes to the hospital immediately.  Don't take no for an answer and don't worry if he hates you for it.

This is my advice.  My father died last week.  You have been warned.  If i can stop the pain for one other person then he won't have died in vain.

Don't wait for the crushing chest pains.  He has to go to hospital now.  My father only had an upset stomach for two days - no chest pain - yet it was a heart attack - if only we knew.  By the time he had the crushing chest pain he was 2 minutes away from death.  The ambulance people tried to revive him for an hour and a half.  It was no use.  He didn't have any known heart disease or chest pains up to that point.

I hope i have scared you.  I wish i still had my dad and someome had scared me too.

best wishes and hope i haven't come across as rude - i am trying to help but these things are usually only learned in retrospect....hope you get your dad to the hospital and get help.  Don't listen to him if he protests.  If he died you wouldn no longer be able to listen to him about anything, what he says is not important on this one.

[erijon]

Wow, tough spot to be in. I would certainly want to reach for the phone as well. Here are some signs to look for;

Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.  

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.  

Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

If you see any of these I would make a call without his permission, better to ask for forgiveness than live with the guilt.

Hope this helps,

Jon

[ed34]

I would have had him in hospital by now. Like you say, how can you forgive yourself if it's serious and something bad happens. He is scared, that's why he refuses to go. Just reassure him that you only want some tests performed and he will receive medication to get rid of the discomforts.
My Mother was the same. She kept refusing to go to hospital and she could hardly breath. She kept telling me it was a chest infection. She called me one night asking me to pop round because she was in pain and I found her crawling on the floor gasping for air. In hospital they couldn't find anything wrong and said it wasn't her heart. I went home and the following morning I was told she had died through the night. Her heart had stopped and they couldn't restart it. I have to live with the guilt and I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. If only I had called an ambulance several days earlier, she would probably still be here.