I dodged a serious bullet last week. My doctor tells me I had a serious heart attack, but it took me four days to realize it. Four days of bright red flashing neon warning signs before I decided to head to the hospital.

I’m not going to evangelize on the risks of poor lifestyle choices or bad diet. I hate it when people do that. But I understand now why they do it. I hope these few words will give others pause to consider the implications of serious heart problems.

I’m thinking here specifically about drivers, longhaul driver in particular, whose travels may take them to remote areas of the country where medical help may be some distance away. I was lucky.

The hospital was just a few kilometers from home. Drivers in Northern Ontario or Northern B.C. could have considerably further to travel to access urgent care.

My little drama begins on Thursday morning. I was in Michigan attending a press event. I was up at 7 a.m. and downstairs enjoying a Starbucks and my first cigarette of the day. While scanning my news feeds and checking email, I noticed a slight burning sensation between my shoulder blades.

It felt a bit like a strained muscle or a kink from sleeping in a strange position. I blamed it on the too-soft hotel bed.

The event went off without a hitch and by 3 p.m. I was in the wind, heading home to Southern Ontario. The irritating pain was present much of the day, but at such a low ebb at times I hardly noticed it.

I spent most of Friday at my desk, writing up the story from Michigan. By bedtime, the pain was a little more present. The burning between my shoulder blades was still there, but my forearms now ached a little as did the top of my legs just below my hips.

Saturday morning found me doing some renovations in my garage and carting heavy stuff up and down a ladder to a storage area in a loft. The pain was more intense, about a five on a scale of zero to 10, but I’d been wanting to get the garage cleaned out for a few weeks, and today was the day.

The pain was fairly consistent all day. Lifting, carrying, up or down the ladder, it didn’t seem to make a difference. I was still sore at bedtime, but being pretty tired, I crashed almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Everything changed on Sunday. I woke up a little before 8 a.m. (that never happens) in real pain. Like eight, on the scale. I got dressed and drove to the hospital emergency ward. The look on the nurse’s face upon reading my electrocardiogram made it clear I had a problem.

Moments after checking in I was strapped to a gurney and stuffed into an ambulance for a trip to a different hospital for a coronary angioplasty.

This story has a happy ending. Despite a couple of uncomfortable days in an ill-fitting hospital gown wired up like an engine diagnostic test procedure, I walked out the door under my own steam.

I’ll spare you the self-righteous finger-wagging about eating better, getting regular exercise and not smoking (because I never listened to that advice, either).

So, the point to this missive is this: The symptoms I experienced were not what I expected. I thought I knew how a heart attack was supposed to manifest itself. I had considered the possibility I was having a cardiac event as early as Friday, but dismissed it because the symptoms were inconsistent with what I believed were those of a heart attack.

The whole thing was irritating and inconvenient, and I had stuff to do. I didn’t think the symptoms I felt were life-threatening — until Sunday morning, when they apparently were life-threatening.

The only finger-wagging I’ll do here is this: pay attention to what your body is trying tell you. It’s a remarkably resistant organism, but it will eventually be overwhelmed.

These comments are especially directed to drivers who are under tremendous pressure to perform. And who are often not in a very good position to seek help should the need arise. Don’t think “I’ll be okay ‘till I get to the next stop.” Deal with any potential threats to your health immediately.

Signs and symptoms

What follows are the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and an explanation of how they may present differently in different people. I couldn’t have had a clearer message from my body, but I managed to convince myself that some part of the puzzle was missing.

I think this is also a recognized medical condition called, “being in denial.”

The world-famous Mayo Clinic defines a heart attack this way:

A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of the heart becomes blocked and the heart muscle can’t get oxygen. If the blood flow isn’t restored quickly, that section of the heart begins to die. Depending on how long the blood supply is cut off, the damage can be mild, severe or cause lifelong problems. In some cases, a heart attack can be fatal.

I’ll place an Asterix beside the symptoms I had but chose to ignore.

A heart attack usually causes chest pain for more than 15 minutes. The chest pain may be mild or severe. Some people don’t have any chest pain or pressure.

Heart attack symptoms may include:

• *Chest pain: It may feel like pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching. The chest pain may come and go.
• *Upper body pain: Pain or discomfort spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, teeth or sometimes the upper belly. Some people have upper body pain with no chest discomfort.
• Shortness of breath. (I smoke, so this symptom didn’t seem unusual) You may gasp for breath or try to take in deep breaths.
• Anxiety. You may feel a sense of doom or feel as if you’re having a panic attack.
• Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness. You may feel dizzy or feel like you might pass out.
• Sweating. You may suddenly break into a sweat with cold, clammy skin.
• Nausea and vomiting. You may feel sick to your stomach or throw up.
• *Heartburn or indigestion. Some people who are having a heart attack may feel like they have heartburn or an upset stomach. (I had a heartburn-like sensation, but it was coming from between my shoulder blades, not where one would expect to feel it)

Women tend to have vaguer heart attack symptoms, such as nausea or a brief or sharp pain felt in the neck, arm or back.

Older adults and people with diabetes may have no or very mild symptoms of a heart attack. Never ignore heart attack symptoms, even if they don’t seem serious (Mr. Park??).

Further, Heart & Stroke Canada offers the following advice:

Chest pain or discomfort is the most common symptom of a heart attack in both men and women. However:

• The symptoms may not always be sudden or severe.
• Some people do not experience any chest pain.
• Some people only have mild chest pain or discomfort.
• Some people only experience one symptom.
• Other people may have a combination of symptoms.

I won’t use that last bit as my get-out-of-jail-free card, but that’s the essence of my mistake.

Take precautions

I’ll also offer this bit of advice for drivers mostly, but anyone could benefit from this.

• Carry some basic medical information with you listing pre-existing conditions, past episode, allergies, etc.
• Include your doctor’s contact info and an emergency contact’s telephone number (you may be unable to speak for yourself)
• Keep this info on a bright pink card or something easy to identify in your wallet or purse that a first responder can easily find.
• Don’t put it on your phone. EMS won’t know your password.
• Write it out in English so first responders anywhere in North America will be able to read it.

Oh, and take a serious look at your lifestyle and dietary habits.

More information:

Heart & Stroke Canada

Mayo Clinic