StrokeSurvivorBlog

Overindulgence on our trip to Florida increased Steve’s stroke risk and caused some serious consequences.

We rented a scooter for Steve to use. This was a necessity because of his mobility deficits. But as a result, he did very little walking…maybe only 40 ft. a day going to and from the bathroom, which is much less than he does at home. I won’t allow him to have the wheelchair in the house, because he needs to use his legs. This lack of physical activity caused his legs to stiffen up, and he didn’t get the blood flowing through his extremities as it should.

Then there was the overeating when we ordered in or ate in restaurants. The high fat and salt content caused weight gain, fluid retention and increased Steve’s blood pressure. His diet lacked fruits and vegetables, and consisted mostly of carbohydrates. This was especially dangerous for him, because  fluid built up around his lungs and heart, and exacerbated his congestive heart failure.

With the opportunity to sit outside more often, Steve took advantage of the warmer climate to smoke his pipe more frequently. In fact, he smoked most of the day. At home, he usually smokes just one pipeful a day because he has to sit in the cold garage.  He would like to smoke cigarettes, but there’s no way I will allow him to do so. He’s getting enough nicotine in his system even though he says he doesn’t inhale. By the way, didn’t one of our presidents say the same thing about another weed?

So with all the overindulging for 10 days, it’s no wonder Steve’s blood pressure was up and he was having episodes of extreme chest pain (angina) and increased heart rate. He was taking quite a few nitro tablets to relieve the pain even though he’s on a long-acting nitro patch; and the pain did subside after about 15 minutes or so. But this unstable angina is highly dangerous and he was at risk for another heart attack or stroke. (Do you need to see a doctor for chest pain? Take this quiz to find out.)

I called Steve’s doctor and he wanted to see him right away. By the time he saw him, Steve was feeling better. But the doctor referred to his condition as holiday or vacation syndrome. It happens often around the holidays or when people are on vacation because they overeat and ingest too much salt, which lands them in the emergency room or cardiologist’s office with chest pain.

The doctor doubled the amount of the diuretic Steve normally takes to eliminate the excess fluid, and within a few hours, Steve dropped 5 pounds and was feeling so much better. His cardiologist also increased the dosage of the nitro patch to relieve the pain and reduce his blood pressure. He took some blood and scheduled a follow-up appt. in two weeks.

We really like this doctor. His specialty is non-invasive cardiology, so he tries alternate methods first and reserves the invasive measures as a last resort. If all the safer measures fail, he will do a coronary angiogram to determine if there’s any blockage that can be opened.

But just think…it took only 10 days of overindulgence to put Steve in such a risky predicament. Can you imagine what a lifetime of overindulgence does to a person? And there lies the condition of the American people. It’s no wonder that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the USA, and stroke is the leading cause of disability. Let’s wake up America!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is … self-control.”   Galatians 5:22-23