On October 5, 2021, I had a heart attack. It happened at lunch time, as I stood up from my desk; I work at home. A sudden tension in my chest, tingling in both arms, and quickened breathing like I never felt before. My back seized up, and I mistakenly thought that was the problem. I took a hot shower to try and relieve the tension. That didn’t work, so I laid down to try and relax, which also proved impossible.

At this point, I called my wife at work. Normally, it’s impossible for her to answer her phone at work, but she just happened to be close by at that moment and answered. I told her I was feeling “weird”, and I had trouble speaking, or even being able to hold my phone in my hand. She said she was coming right home (her work is only 15 minutes away) and to meet her in front of our building. I had a slow time getting dressed and managed to make my way downstairs. She drove me to North York General Hospital, and I admitted myself to the Emergency Department.

Front of the line

I couldn’t help but notice I jumped the queue in Emergency. Here’s a tip: if you want to avoid a long wait, tell them you have chest pain, they’ll take you straight in :). Just kidding; don’t do that. But that was the first time I thought, this must be serious.

A quick Electrocardiogram (ECG) later, the emergency doctor said I was in the midst of a heart attack. I was legitimately surprised, but not surprised. Up until that moment, I thought of myself as generally healthy. Sure, a few issues, but nothing that wasn’t manageable, and certainly nothing that called for a serious intervention. At the same time, I was aware that my family history could be a factor.

They injected me with a few drugs to stay off the attack and help me relax, then rushed me by ambulance to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where they’re renowned for their cardiac care.

At Sunnybrook, I was rushed in for an emergency angioplasty, and received my first of two stents. But only after signing a waiver, the gist of the unsaid message being, “This is elective surgery, you don’t have to do it, but if you don’t, you’ll die.” OK, let me sign this with my tingling shaky hand and let’s get this show on the road.

Medical science to the rescue

It was amazing how much better I felt almost immediately after the operation. More amazing was the fact they they inserted a tube, starting from my wrist, found their way to the blocked artery of my heart, blew it open and then inserted a metal tube to keep it open and the blood flowing. It was only a generation ago that I would have gone through artery bypass surgery instead, a much more invasive procedure with a longer, more painful recovery time. Of course, the doctors and surgeons working on me were mostly younger than I, so they never lived in a world without this amazing technology. For them, this was a text book procedure, and only one of likely many they did that day.

I also better understood the actual purpose of an IV. Having it inserted at the Emergency Department, it stayed with me for the next three days in hospital. In Emergency, they used it to quickly administer drugs for pain and improving blood flow, which continued in the ambulance ride to Sunnybrook. They used it to take blood for tests and to administer more drugs very easily. Even during an echo cardiogram (ultrasound), the technician hooked up a dye to get a better image. You can take it for granted how useful it is to have an IV always ready, but imagine being poked in the arm every time they needed to do something. Holey moley, that would hurt bad and make me look like I was on the wrong kind of drugs!

For the rest of my stay in hospital, I felt very well taken care of. The nurses were friendly and took their time, and Sunnybrook also provided consultations with a nutritionist and a counsellor.

I suppose there are patients who wouldn’t bother with this kind of after-care, considering their heart attack to be purely physiological in nature. But I knew mine also had to do with a largely sedentary lifestyle, stress related to work, and probably other factors. It made sense to look at this in a more holistic way.

I was also told that calling 911 would have been wiser than calling my wife. Paramedics would know exactly what was happening and begin treatment right away, and I would have been rushed to Sunnybrook directly instead of starting at North York General. This would have resulted in less damage to my heart.

Time off to recover

I took the next two weeks off from work to recover at home. The first task was to get my prescription drugs filled out – all 7 of them. And a weekly pill box to manage taking them. And twice daily reminders in my phone to ensure I take them. Sometimes I do manage to neglect a dose, and that’s OK, I just save it in my pill box for the following week.

It was also highly recommended I get a blood pressure measuring device to use at home. I got one with Bluetooth and an app to keep a history on my phone. At first, I was taking my blood pressure daily, but nowadays I take it twice a week. I put reminders in my phone to make sure I do it.

I was sent home from the hospital with a few do’s and don’ts:

• No driving for a month
• No heavy lifting for two weeks
• Limit myself to short walks, 0.5 km to start, then 1 km, then 2 km

Naturally, family were deeply concerned about my well-being. But I found having social interactions very taxing on my energy, more so than usual as a strong introvert. My brother’s family left me with a wonderful care package of reading material, puzzles, and snacks when they dropped in for a short visit.

My wife was part of a fitness and health group called “100 Strong & Sexy” at the time, led by R&B and soul artist Jully Black. (You may remember Jully’s 2007 hit song Seven Day Fool.) They sent me a sweet get better card and plant. Literally three days before my heart attack, we saw Jully perform at Koerner Hall for the UnCovered: The Music of Dolly Parton show, and I got to meet Jully after the show. I highly recommend this show, it was fun and full of musical talent.

Getting my energy back took some time. Going for increasingly longer walks over the next several weeks made for a good marker of my improving condition. J-running across busy streets was still out of the question for quite a while.

I also got myself a Samsung Galaxy 4 smartwatch, which gave me more bells and whistles compared to my current Fitbit Charge 3. I could now measure my heart rate constantly, blood pressure on the go, and even an ECG. The blood pressure feature required me to input two manual measurements from my at-home device before it could be used, and the same at regular times afterwards. Sure enough, the novelty of these features has since worn off.

I also missed a few episodes of hosting the Song Talk Radio podcast. The guys continued on just fine without me, and when I returned in November, I had enough energy to lead a discussion and lesson on using the circle of fifths for writing songs.

Cardiac Rehab

Sunnybrook offers a fantastic follow-up program for patients with heart incidents. The Cardiac Rehab clinic provides education and in-person physical training exercises. They have a “Cardiac College” website packed with videos and other information, and it’s available to anyone, not just rehab patients.

The program starts with a stress test. They hook you up with nodes and sensors and a breathing mask to measure your ECG, heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure, and more while you walk and jog on a treadmill. The test is repeated at the end of the program, about six months later. I showed a reasonable improvement in my heart health and endurance.

For the first time in my life, I was given a “cardiac prescription” for exercise from my Cardiac Rehab Supervisor. I recorded a video after the first time I tried it at home:

In addition to physical fitness, Toronto Rehab also offers online sessions on stress management, nutrition, psychosocial workshops, and emotional reprogramming. Although the education was interesting, the best thing about the program was meeting others who had their own health journeys and struggles, and feeling like you’re not alone.

I also got turned on to a fascinating book called Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art. It’s about how human beings evolved to breathe incorrectly in modern times, leading to all sorts of health problems.

Back in the swing

Following the winter, one of my concerns was getting back into playing tennis. A life-long sport for me, I took a hiatus of 7 years after hurting my knee, and I only resumed playing in 2021. Thanks to meetup groups, apps, and Facebook groups, I continue to make new friends and get great exercise too. I also wear a brace for my knee to prevent it from getting worse.

The short bursts of high heart rate activity associated with tennis had me worried though. My Cardiac Rehab Supervisor assured me that short bursts are OK, as long as my heart rate returns to a normal rate fairly quickly. I took it slow at first, but quickly acclimatized and had great tennis outings throughout the spring, summer, and now fall.

Before and After

I’m extremely grateful and lucky to have the help I needed to quell the emergency, and the support of family, friends, and health programs in the months to follow.

But I also acknowledge that my life is now divided into “before my heart attack” and “after my heart attack.” The road ahead is full of challenges, to keep my health in check and minimize the chances of another attack. Although there are ups and downs, I can make small changes every day to overall better health.