Just had a heart attack • Hacker News Board

Re: Just had a heart attack

#141

Post by waterlesscloud » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:44 PM UTC

pdabbadabba wrote: post #137

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which part is an exaggeration? The death? Hardly. It usually takes some time to get someone to an emergency room, so if their heart fully clogs, the outcome is often death. Or that people will usually forego seeking treatment because they can't afford to rack up huge bills? Again, not really an exaggeration. If you have a house that you live in with your spouse and child, then you need that house, and people will oft…

It is an exagerration to say that the situation you described was typical (though "too common" might fit). You implied that you could not obtain treatment if you cannot afford it. And now you're adding the largely fictional risk of losing your home into the mix. Yes, it is possible to lose your home in bankruptcy but only if the equity in your home exceeds your state's homestead exemption (often, but not always, $50,…

The important thing to note here is that the scaremongering is precisely what contributes to more deaths.

If you're marching around saying lives will be ruined if you seek treatment , then YOU, not some other person, are the problem.

Think carefully if the point you imagine you're making is worth that.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#142

Post by pdabbadabba » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:44 PM UTC

Justsignedup wrote: post #134

pdabbadabba wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an exaggeration, and it's an unfortunate one, since it distracts from the truth of what you're saying. As many have pointed out, a person who chose to be taken to the hospital would be taken to the hospital and treated whether they could pay for it or not. The result of this would be a serious amount of debt, but likely could be paid down with a monthly payment. The worst case scenario is bankruptcy, which su…

You would be surprised to know that hospitals would treat the person with the cheapest drugs and not do the major heart surgery. Not all hospitals, mind you, I know Mt Sinai (NYC) will most likely treat the person fully, but some will give enough heart meds to make the person feel "okay" until he/she dies. Also, often after treatment, hospitals will just write the treatment as a "loss" and get a tax break. I've had f…

Yes, there are cases where things are worse than I described. But the comment I was responding to, and thus my comment, was addressed to what is "typical" in the U.S. system. What's typical, is that a person has insurance, goes to the hospital, and everything is more or less fine. What is not typical, but still entirely too common, is that an uninsured patient takes on an obscene amount of debt that has a major impact detrimental impact on his life. But that is far better than dying, which many would have you believe is the only option.

It is also true that people sometimes get this calculation wrong and die as a result. This is due, as I mentioned, to a system that inhumanely forces this choice upon you, as well as people who spread misinformation about how our system works.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#143

Post by JshWright » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:47 PM UTC

rswail wrote: post #101

JshWright wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A heart attack isn't likely to cause an irregular heartbeat (at least not until well after the damage has been done). It's common for heart attacks to cause cardiac conduction anomalies called 'blocks', but these generally don't result in any irregularity of the pulse.

While I was waiting to go into the angiogram, I was feeling my pulse... it was weird, there was three beats, then a gap, or three regular beats and a fourth straight after the third... was fascinating to listen to... Apparently I'm weird because I wanted to watch the angio. They kept telling me that they "didn't need my help" :) I was saying "how often do you get to see your insides?"

Cool. That sounds like a pretty classic 2nd Degree Type 1 Atrioventricular Block (also know as a Wenckebach block).

If the area of infarct impacts a part of the heart responsible for electrical conduction, stuff like that can absolutely happen, but it's not especially common.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#144

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:47 PM UTC

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #88

You're quite lucky that you could afford that hospital trip. In the US, it would typically go like "My doctor made some tests and he said that it doesn't look like a heart attack but something is wrong with one of the lines on my ECG. He asked me if its ok to call the ambulance for doing more checks at the hospital. I said no, I can't afford that. So I died four weeks later." This isn't an exaggeration. Many people l…

[deleted]

Re: Just had a heart attack

#145

Post by Zancarius » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:48 PM UTC

michaelochurch wrote: post #118

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a partial truth though, right? There is a system for emergency healthcare for those without even medical insurance, isn't there? Also, wouldn't you "just" get treated, rack up a bill and then go to prison for non-payment - guess that might be worse than dying?

I have cyclothymia and panic attacks, and these issues were worst at 25-27. At that time, I worked for a startup and had no insurance. (Now I have shitty insurance, but that's a world better than none.) Of course, panic attacks are brilliant and creative in their ability to throw weird symptoms (phantom smells were my "favorite") and every time, I'd worry about the (small) chance that "this time" it was a physical he…

> I have cyclothymia and panic attacks, and these issues were worst at 25-27.

Weird. I had my first panic attack at 25, nearly 26. The medical folks thought I was having a heart attack at first, but the symptoms and tests didn't quite add up. Fortunately, I've been able to manage it reasonably well with the help of my GP, but I do occasionally have recurring episodes if I don't take care to avoid triggers (my fault, really, I'm bad about that sort of thing).

Oddly, reading this makes me feel better knowing that there's someone else who had the same thing happen in the same age range. What's funny is that you know in the back of your mind you're not a statistical outlier, but when you don't know anyone in your immediate circle who suffers from the malady, you can almost convince yourself there's something horribly wrong. ;)

I never did get the phantom smells, but it often expresses itself differently for different people.

Cheers, mate.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#146

Post by mgkimsal » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:49 PM UTC

HEY! So sorry to hear about that - I'm glad you're on the mend. Thanks for the warning/heads up to the community here, and I hope we're able to catch up when you're better.

Related to the topic... I've had 'chest pains' of varying degrees for... 20+ years - chest pains alone aren't going to signal me to call, unless I feel they're different somehow from what I've had in the past. Someone else posted below that arm pains and sweating usually accompany this, so I'll have to look out for those - never had those, but have 'chest pain' often. And yes, have been to ER and had scans, and they can never find anything. :/

GET WELL.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#147

Post by narag » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:50 PM UTC

ludicast wrote: post #68

Good luck, and congrats on making it through the woods. Sounds like you are in good hands which makes all the difference. You are right on the money about calling 911. As men we tend to be slow making the call, and don't want to seem like whiners. I always think of the line from The Edge - "Most people in the wilderness, they die of shame". Had emergency surgery for aortic dissection myself in february (mentioned it…

Congratulation on your recovering. If you don't mind me asking, why is a fireman interested in HN?

Re: Just had a heart attack

#148

Post by kbart » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:51 PM UTC

wpietri wrote: post #111

Gratiated wrote: post #96

I just ate a dry muffin. Just wanted to let you all know that if you encounter a dry muffin, here's what you do: make sure you have milk or coffee handy.

What kind of person creates an account just to be a dick about somebody's heart attack?

I call them special. You know, like special kids.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#149

Post by Taek » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:52 PM UTC

pdabbadabba wrote: post #117

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #88

You're quite lucky that you could afford that hospital trip. In the US, it would typically go like "My doctor made some tests and he said that it doesn't look like a heart attack but something is wrong with one of the lines on my ECG. He asked me if its ok to call the ambulance for doing more checks at the hospital. I said no, I can't afford that. So I died four weeks later." This isn't an exaggeration. Many people l…

This is an exaggeration, and it's an unfortunate one, since it distracts from the truth of what you're saying. As many have pointed out, a person who chose to be taken to the hospital would be taken to the hospital and treated whether they could pay for it or not. The result of this would be a serious amount of debt, but likely could be paid down with a monthly payment. The worst case scenario is bankruptcy, which su…

I have met two people in my life with over $250,000 in medical debt. Both were under 30, and neither had a job paying over $15/hr. They each seemed to be doing alright but had accepted that the medical debt was something they would never pay off. They both still needed infrequent care, and one of them was still building his debt faster than his income could keep up with.

I didn't know what to think, and still don't.

Re: Just had a heart attack

#150

Post by selmnoo » Mon, Nov 03, 2014, 3:57 PM UTC

Taek wrote: post #149

pdabbadabba wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an exaggeration, and it's an unfortunate one, since it distracts from the truth of what you're saying. As many have pointed out, a person who chose to be taken to the hospital would be taken to the hospital and treated whether they could pay for it or not. The result of this would be a serious amount of debt, but likely could be paid down with a monthly payment. The worst case scenario is bankruptcy, which su…

I have met two people in my life with over $250,000 in medical debt. Both were under 30, and neither had a job paying over $15/hr. They each seemed to be doing alright but had accepted that the medical debt was something they would never pay off. They both still needed infrequent care, and one of them was still building his debt faster than his income could keep up with. I didn't know what to think, and still don't.

The two people should just leave the United States, start a life elsewhere. Argentina, Germany, Thailand, whatever.

I suggest the same thing to folks with unmanageable student loan debts with no clear answer in sight.

I think it's unfair for society to have burdened such debts on people who didn't know any better, who weren't equipped with the resources or the knowledge to make the right decisions. What do you do? Be 'unfair to society right back, don't pay, get away, start over again somewhere else.