heart attack

[nikki666123]

My friend is in the hospital and the doctors say he is having a heart attack. but this has been going on now in the hospital for over 10 hours and they aren't doing anything. He has been moved to ccu but the attack is still going. Is this normal?

[alleycat2]

Actually I walked around including exercising for over 6 months before finding out what I had. Sometime other veins around the heart will enlarge to compensate for the blockage.

[ChatterAlly]

With my last heart attack it was 3 days before my markers began to drop.  In the ER as soon as it was discovered that my Troponin (a cardiac enzyme that is elevated during a heart attack) was elevated I was sent to the cath lab to check for any blockages.   Did they do this with your friend?  It's more commonly called an angiogram or heart cath.  They look to see what or if the heart attack caused damage.  In my case, the new blockages weren't bad enough to require any intervention. (Stents or bypass surgery).  I was kept in the CCU and watched for the next 3 days.  It is common to be just "watched" during this time frame.  Stay hopeful.  I think your friend will be fine and sent home soon.  Of course, there will be many lifestyle changes and need for meds.  Take care, Ally

[ed34]

Well, it all depends on the severity of the attacks, there is a whole range of severity with heart attacks because it's such a general term used these days. As long as the word ACUTE wasn't used then I wouldn't worry. The usual protocol is to get the heart stable and the patient free of pain using medication. This works nearly all the time. They then wait for 12 hours to have a blood test taken (Troponin). Once this has confirmed there is tissue with a lack of oxygen, the next step is to monitor the patient who is comfortable on meds and run tests to see what the cause is. Believe me, if he wasn't stable on meds and was in a severe condition, he would have had an angiogram by now and possibly be on his way for bypass surgery.

[jrbon]

Niki,
A heart attack can last several days .... or kill the person in minutes. What I do nor believe is that he is in the hospital for 10 hours and they are not doing anything.

Good luck

Jesus