Alan's story
Alan is something of a miracle man. At the age of 32, he had a massive
heart attack. But more than 40 years, 4 bypass surgeries, 30 angioplasties, and
a combined pacemaker/defibrillator later, he's still thriving. He learned how
to cope with heart disease the hard way.
Alan had always been
healthy and athletic. Except for the occasional cold, he was never sick. So the
heart attack came as a shock.
But he was a smoker. And when he
had his first bypass surgery a few years later, Alan learned that he was born
with very small heart arteries. The combination proved too much for his heart
to take.
"At some point in my life, I was going to have a heart
attack. Smoking just sped it up," says Alan, 73. "It happened while I was
playing basketball with some guys from work. I started getting pains in my
chest. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor."
Lessons learned about heart disease
After the
heart attack, Alan quit smoking immediately. He didn't have much choice. At
that time, treatment for a heart attack was total bed rest for 3 weeks.
"That's how they thought the heart would heal in those days-with
complete rest, no excitement. Now we know that if you can get up, get up. You
have to move around at least a little."
During those weeks in the
hospital and the months of recovery that followed, Alan taught himself a lot
about heart disease. He read everything on the topic that he could find.
"I learned how to take care of myself. Those lessons have stayed
with me."
One of those lessons is the importance of a healthy
diet. But putting what he knows into daily practice is an ongoing challenge.
Alan leans on his wife, Cloris, for help.
"I've had to work at
keeping my weight under control, and that has really helped my cholesterol," he
says. "When you have heart disease, you learn to eat better for the rest of
your life. And if you don't, you're asking for trouble."
Alan no
longer drinks alcohol or eats red meat. His daily meals include fruit and
vegetables. Fish is often on the menu at home. The portions are a little
smaller than what he'd like. Since his diagnosis of type 2 diabetes a few years
ago, he's also had to limit sweets.
"That's a tough one," he
says.
Making these changes hasn't prevented the need for major
surgeries and other procedures. But they have helped Alan stay active and enjoy
life. "Heart care isn't a one-time fix. Exercise, eating, and medical care all
have to work together," he says.
Support groups make a difference
As a lifelong
athlete, Alan didn't need much coaching to add more exercise to his daily
routine. For more than 30 years, he's been an enthusiastic member of a local
walking program for people with heart problems.
"It's so easy for
cardiac patients to put weight on," Alan says. "And it's so hard to get it off.
You need to walk every day or the weight comes right back."
Alan
credits Cloris with giving him the help he needs to stay focused on taking care
of his heart. But he also relies on a network of friends and support groups.
The two belong to the cardiac support group at their local hospital. Alan is
also a member of the Ticker Kickers-a group of people who have pacemakers or
implantable cardiac defibrillators.
"I couldn't do any of it
without my support groups," he says. "The camaraderie of being together and
working out together makes such a big difference. We take care of each
other."
When newcomers join, Alan and other longtime members of
the group share what they know. "We ask them about what they're going through,
what medicines they're taking. And we share information about how to get along.
It's great for them and for us."
Getting the care you need
After 4 bypass surgeries
and 30 angioplasties, Alan has lots of tips about how to work with doctors. He
and Cloris track every aspect of his medical care. They keep a printed sheet in
the car and bring a copy to every doctor visit. The sheet contains a list of
every procedure performed and when, medicines he has taken, names of doctors,
and drug allergies.
If you plan to have bypass surgery, ask for
the most experienced surgeon, Alan advises. He also tells people to make the
most of their office visits and ask a lot of questions.
"We bring
a list of questions to every doctor visit," Cloris says. "You can't always
remember everything you want to know."
Coping with change after a heart attack
Life
wasn't easy after the heart attack. Unable to return to work, Alan sank into
depression. Cloris, up until then a full-time homemaker, found a job to support
the family, which included two young children.
"That was the most
difficult adjustment for Alan," Cloris says. "All of a sudden I was thrown into
the workforce, and we didn't have any choice."
"Psychologically,
it was tough," Alan says. "But we got used to it. And we kept going."
Working with a counselor or chaplain can be a huge help for people with
heart problems and for their families. What is often overlooked in cardiac care is
the impact a major heart event can have on the person's family and loved ones.
"When you have a heart attack, you know you have to change your
lifestyle," Cloris says. "There's depression. But with all the new medicines
and surgeries and procedures, you have to remember that there is so much to
hope for."
Keep a positive attitude
Even though Alan stopped
working, he has never stopped learning-or helping others learn-about how to
cope with heart disease. What has kept him going all these years? A positive
attitude.
"You've got to have a sense of humor. Don't take life
so seriously," he says.
Staying positive and finding the humor in
any situation is a message Alan shares with everyone he talks with about heart
disease. He is well known around the local hospital, where he often visits with
people scheduled for heart surgery.
At one such visit, a man
asked him about the pain after bypass surgery. How bad would it be? How long
would it last? "I told him, 'It only hurts when you breathe.' He just looked at
me for a minute. And then we both started laughing, and we couldn't stop," Alan
says. "Sometimes it just takes someone who can say, 'been there, done that.' A
nurse or doctor can tell you what to expect, but they haven't been there."
Alan's story reflects his experiences as told in an interview. The photograph is not of Alan, to protect his privacy.
For more information, see the topic
Heart Attack and Unstable Angina.