Two years ago, I had a stroke. Fortunately, it was a mild one and I have completely recovered. I was lucky. but it was a sign from Above for me to modify my lifestyle and keep another stroke from happening to me. Here’s my story.
I’m 64 years old, 5′5" tall, weigh 190 pounds and have been treated for hypertension, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. I’m a heart attack (or worse, a stroke) waiting to happen. I’ve been seeing a cardiologist for 20 years, and through increasingly better medications have got the high blood pressure and cholesterol under control. The Type-2 Diabetes is still a work in progress, but I’m still battling the diabetes, as it’s mostly a function of being overweight. My doctor says if I lost 30 pounds, the diabetes would most likely disappear. I already did that once and it did dissipate, but I gained the weight back. So the battle continues.
My Stroke
Now for the stroke. I had been taking my medication and my cholesterol was pretty good. For those of you don’t know exactly what causes a stroke, it’s caused by blockage in an artery that deprives the brain of oxygen. In most cases, as was the case with me, a small piece of placque broke off in my artery and was blocking some of the blood from getting to my brain.
I had been going through a very stressful period with my business–a start up company that I was trying to raise money for, but was using my own personal funds and borrowing on the equity in my house. My partner, a former friend, controlled the company and made all the final decisions. Problem was that he was incompetent and was ruining any chance we had to succeed.I had corporate credit cards that I was paying off on my own because the company had no money. I couldn’t make the payments on the corparate cards and the collection agencies were calling to collect their money. My partner had no money and refused to take responsibility for them, and since I had co-signed for them, I was on the hook. Needless to say, I was extremely angry and would totally lose it when a collection agency called and tried to collect their money.
I had an extremely heated exchange with one of the collection agencies one evening, slammed the phone down and went to bed. Sleeping was difficult but I finally dozed off. I woke up about five in the morning to go to the head and when I got out of bed, my legs felt very heavy–unusually so. But I managed to trudge off in the direction of the bathroom and everything was ok. I came back and went back to sleep for another hour and then got up for good. My feet, especially my right one, still seemed sluggish. I just figured I was still half asleep and didn’t think anything was wrong. I made coffeee, read the paper, then went downstairs to my office.
I’m not a very good typist, but I was having more difficulty than usual with my typing. So I stopped and went upstairs. As I was climbing the stairs, I tripped. My right foot hadn’t cleared the stair. Now I was starting to thinks something was wrong. But I continued up the stairs, had a light breakfast, then returned to my basement office. I typed a few emails, then returned upstairs a second time. I tripped again. Same thing happened. My right foot failed to clear the stair. So then I started to think that something was wrong, but I dismisssed it as I felt all right.
I had to take the dog for his walk. He did his duty in a neighbor’s yard. The yard had an incline in it where he had gone,and as I was squartting down to bag it, I lost my balance and fell on my side. And for several seconds I struggled to get up. But I finally did. Now I was worried. I felt absolutely no pain, but was obviously having a problem with my balance. So I called my doctor and he said I better come in right away. I drove to his office about ten minutes from my house, and he did an examination, tested my reflexes, heard my story, and told me to go to the hospital because he thought I had a stroke. He offered to drive me there, but I insisted I could drive myself, which I did, It was also about ten minutes away.
I checked into the emergency room, which was crowded. My doctor had called them and told them why I was coming in. I waited onlty about five minutes and was ushered back into one of the examination rooms. I took some tests, and the doctors there all thought I had had a stoke, which the tests later confirmed. They kept me in the hospital for more tests and examinations and treatments for several days.
It turns out my stroke was a mild one. One level above a TIA, which by definition is a stroke whose symptoms last for only 24 hours. Mine lasted longer, but mostly disippated after 72 hours. I basically had weakness in my right extremeties. The doctors would come to see me every three hours to check my vital signs, and they would tell me to squeeze their hand using my right hand to test my strength. They’d also test the strength of my right leg by asking me to push it against their hands and thighs. The most noticeable symptom I had was a lack of balance on my right side. Walking across the room toe-to-heel was a challenge. But I got better each day and was discharged after 72 hours.
I had all sorts of expensive tests (fortunately I have a good health care plan)–MRI, sonar imaging, and others I can’t even remember. They concluded I had blockage in my carotid arteries (which my father also had–a heriditary factor), and I had a sonar imaging test on each carotid. The technician puts a sonar device on your neck and it creates an image on a screen of what your artery looks like, including any obstructions from placque build up. I had 35% blockage in one and 55% in the other, which was the artery where the blockage had caused my stroke.
The doctors said surgery was a possibility but it was premature. If the blockage had been 75% or greater, surgery would have been necessary. They advised me to modify my diet, get back on a regular exercise program, take an aspirin daily (it thins the blood), and check in with my doctor in three months. If anything developed, I was supposed to get back in touch with the neurological team at Evanston Hospital, where I live. They also said what might have triggered the stroke was my high-stress exchange on the phone with the collection agency. I got me so pumped up that my blood pressure probably dislodged a speck of the placque in my carotid artery.
So that’s my story. I was lucky. I knew I was in a high risk cardiovascular category and was more aware than perhaps the average person might be of potential problems like stroke or a heart attack. If you’re still reading this, I hope this has helped you understand what a stroke can feel like. There’s one VERY IMPORTANT thing you should remember. The sooner you get to a doctor if you think you’re having a stroke, the better your odds of surviving one if in fact you are having a stroke. Don’t delay or ignore the fact that something is happeneing to your body. It’s better to be safe than sorry! Take it from me!
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systolic pressure and the resting pressure is called diastolic. Normal blood pressure is 120/80. If this reading goes above 140/90, then you consider yourself as a hypertensive patient. Between 120 and 140 is a pre hypertensive stage. which can be controlled even by natural measures like exercise, low salt intake, stopping smoking, lower cholesterol, eating more natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
