29) Did you really have a heart attack? Are you kidding?

Yep, I really did.

I'm only 45 but , it's not as shocking as you might think--my family history is really bad. A bunch--and I mean a bunch--of my close relatives had MI's in their 40s and 50s. So, unlike the cancer, I could imagine myself sitting in the hospital for heart surgery and the like.

I really lucked out, though--this attack was caused by a small blockage that caused little damage. but the docs found a 98% blockage in the major artery that fuels 2/3rds of the heart. (They call that artery the "widowmaker". Yikes!)

So, the docs added 2 stents. And I feel just great! I guess the blockage was bothering me more than I realized.

That's one problem with avoiding these problems. The docs say "if you have really bad chest pain, go right to the hospital". Well, how bad is "really bad"? And they say, "if the pain radiates...". Well, I had pain in my wrist but none at all in my shoulder, and none in my neck or jaw. I also realize now that I've had tightness in my chest for a long time--now that it's gone. But if you'd have asked me a couple of weeks ago, I would have said, "No, I feel normal". Well, normal is defined according to how you've felt.

So, it wasn't clear what I should do when I had bad chest pain. Thankfully, I erred on the side of caution. I figured the worst thing that could happen would be that the docs would say "You silly guy, you're not having a heart attack, you just need to burp!"