Why I Called 911 When I Thought I Was Having a Heart Attack

I haven’t written a letter from the heart since January 1st. That’s because on January 11th, I had what I thought was a heart attack. Since this month is American Heart Month, I wanted to share what happened.

In the days before the 11th, I hadn’t been feeling great. But I’m almost 50, so I thought it was just getting older, perimenopause, and some muscle pain. We also had a heavy snowfall on the 8th and I spent time outside dealing with that. So by Saturday, it seemed natural that I was feeling worse.

The morning of the 11th I woke feeling drained. My left shoulder hurt, reaching up into my neck, and overall I just did not feel well. But I got on with my work. After lunch, I still felt off so I sat down at my computer to relax. Then I began to feel worse. At first, I did not think too much of it until my chest felt squeezed, almost like a corset tightening.

Then the pain in my shoulder spread down my left arm, numb and burning. Heat exploded into my head and my heart pounded wildly. I got up and checked my blood pressure. It was 157 over 100 with a pulse of 153.

Normally my blood pressure is about 115 over 65. This was way off. I told my daughter, who still lives at home, that I might need to call 911. She called my other daughter and we talked it through. My blood pressure would calm down then spike again. I was very nauseous. So I decided to be safe and called 911.

When the ambulance arrived, they said I was not having an active heart attack but gave me aspirin and then nitroglycerin. At the local hospital, they hooked me up to an EKG quickly and said I was fine. The ER doctor said I was just a little tachycardic and thought I was having a panic attack. They discharged me.

My family saw I was not fine. They drove me almost two hours to a heart hospital. The doctor there said right away that something was wrong. He did not think it was a heart attack but suspected my heart’s electrical system was off. They hooked me up to an event monitor for two weeks.

They also gave me electrolytes because I was low in magnesium and sodium. This surprised me since I already take magnesium for muscle pain. They also recommended starting a good B complex vitamin along with extra magnesium.

Once home, I started taking these supplements and added electrolyte powder to my water. After about a week, I started to feel much better. Many symptoms I thought were just from aging or perimenopause were actually due to low B vitamins, magnesium, and sodium.

I saw a cardiologist on February 5th. We reviewed my blood pressure log and the heart monitor results. Since my episodes stopped after January 15th and I started feeling better, he believes the problem was a severe lack of electrolytes. I hope he is right. I will have a stress test and echo in March to make sure my heart is healthy.

For me to have called 911 and let an ambulance drive me down our curvy, steep, icy road that day meant I truly thought I was having a heart attack. The way the local ER doctor treated me upset me deeply. I have heard many women dismissed with diagnoses like anxiety or acid reflux. This kind of treatment keeps women from seeking help when they really need it.

Thankfully I was not having a heart attack. But because the local hospital did not address my electrolyte imbalance, I could have been at risk for one. Low electrolytes can cause heart attacks or cardiac arrest. I plan to write an article about this soon.

I wanted to share my story to encourage you: if you think you might be having a heart attack, please call 911 and go to the hospital. If the first hospital does not take you seriously, don’t give up. Get a second opinion.

Your health is too important.