COVID, anxiety attack… or something more?
By Eric Inmon
I'm a 45-year-old and I never seriously thought about having any type of surgery. I smoked for years and finally laid them down for good in October 2020. In December 2020, I was diagnosed with COVID-19, Omicron variant. No big deal, just a cold, and then the O2 stats dropped and in January 2021, I found myself in the hospital for the first time since third grade for COVID pneumonia. Two days later, I was back home, only to return to the hospital 10 days later.
Back home on Jan. 12 and back at work on the 13th. I couldn't breathe while walking without chest pains. Couldn't walk more than a few feet without hurting and sitting down. Some of my co-workers and boss were telling me I was either faking or having an anxiety attack. Funny how everyone is a doctor these days.
On Feb. 10, 2021, I woke up with my heart rate hovering around 130 to 150. My wife is a registered nurse, so she pleaded with me to go to the ER. I had missed so much work that I went in but sent my wife hourly heart rate/O2 readings. I called my doctor about 9 a.m., and he also pleaded with me to go to the ER, and at about 2 p.m. I took myself there. My troponin level was 500. The ER tested me for everything from COVID to sepsis because the EKG showed tachycardia but was otherwise normal.
The scariest thing to me was being alone, as I still tested positive for COVID-19 even though I had no symptoms. Eventually, Infectious Disease cleared me so my wife could come and be with me. An angiogram showed 95 percent blockage to three arteries. Eight days after going to the ER, due to complications from COVID-19, I received a five-artery bypass because two of the other arteries were blocked a bit as well.
It's been a long recovery, but I am praying this next cardiology visit allows me to get back to work and a normal life. Not being able to do much or lift anything, myself included, is probably the worst part of recovery. Building up my strength to walk in the grocery store and such takes longer than I wanted, but I am thankful to be mending well. I will say that the leg they took the vein out of has hurt more than my chest during the healing process.
The emotional toll alone is enough for me to be an advocate of heart health, but with the recovery pain and mental toll added in, I'm constantly telling my kids and friends to take care of their hearts!
For more information on this health topic, visit heart.org.
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