I was running on the treadmill for my Echo Cardiogram Stress Test a year and a half from my near fatal heart attack. This test was to make sure I had fully recovered without issues so I could continue my running habit. My goal was to run on the treadmill until I reached my max heart rate.

Following the Bruce Protocol, the treadmill sped up and inclined every 3 minutes. I lasted 16 minutes, not bad, but the room was small and really stuffy, I just couldn’t breath. I got my heart rate up to 150 bpm, but that was probably 10 beats short of my max.

I passed my stress test with flying colors. No issues identified. So I felt both relieved and embodied to keep running and racing.

Fast forward 2 weeks…

I was going to bed on a Friday night, when I felt a mild case of heart burn coming on. I’ve had heartburn before, and have some medicine on hand for it. In the morning, it was still going on, so I took one of my heartburn pills and went on with my day. The mild pain in my chest continued on Sunday as I continued with my medicine and had another normal day.

Monday morning, the mild pain was still there. It was worse if I breathed hard and I decided it must not be heartburn. I ruled out my heart due to my successful stress test and ability to carry on during the day, so it must be something in my lungs.

Of to the hospital we went.

Checking in, they gave me an EKG test and drew some blood. After sitting in the waiting room for 45 mins., the nurse took me into the hallway and started asking questions:

“Do you feel faint?” No

“Are you dizzy?” No

“Are you seeing double?” No

“Well, we got your blood test back and your Troponin result was off the charts! You’ve had a heart attack!”

I was shocked! “No way, I just passed a stress test!”

What I found out was, yes, it is possible to pass a stress test and still have a significant blockage in a coronary artery. Stress tests primarily assess blood flow to the heart muscle during exertion, and they are most sensitive to detecting blockages that obstruct 70% or more of the artery's diameter. Smaller blockages, or blockages that are not yet causing significant blood flow restriction, may not be detected. So passing the stress test doesn’t necessarily give you a blanket ok.

My event was from an existing plaque that burst and clogged an artery. For me, it could happen at anytime.

Fortunately, it was an easy fix with a stent and by Wednesday afternoon, I was discharged from the hospital.

Again, I was really lucky. I believe that being an endurance runner allows me to survive these heart attack events and recover more rapidly than most people my age.

But I have to come to grips that I have heart disease, and even though I live a heart healthy lifestyle, it can rear it’s ugly head at anytime.

My new lesson learned is don’t try to second guess symptoms, get to the hospital immediately!

As you see from my story, not every heart attack is a grab the chest, fall on the floor event. The symptoms can be much more subtle.

This is so important. Many people die of heart attacks because they are in denial, or try to self diagnose, or feel it will just pass…

Hope you take this lesson seriously and share with others.

Have a great week!

-Herb

Running with Heart Disease: A New Lesson!