Art Villarreal’s Living Green

Previously, I talked about having some heart attack symptoms after trotting a few blocks to try and catch my bus.  Needless to say, I was not feeling very good at all.

I know I should have just stopped at the nearest hospital and get treatment right away if I suspected a heart attack or stroke. Instead, I took the bus home and ate dinner, took a shower, and then got a ride to the hospital where I was promptly seen.

First things first, I was taken back without questions, hooked up to an EKG machine, asked what seemed like thousands of questions, and quickly taken to a bed to await a doctor.

About 10 minutes of waiting, blood work was drawn. I can’t say exactly what was ordered, but my guess was a comprehensive panel, cbc, cpk, ck, A1C, Lipid Profile, and who knows what else.

Soon after a doctor visited me and showed genuine concern for my well being and asked me some questions concerning my symptoms to which I explained the details of my previous days event. He thought it would be best for me to stay, have a cardiologist see me and have a stress test to determine if I had any lessening of my heart capacity.

He left.

Then the wait occurred. I waited for at least 2-3 hours in the ER waiting to find out what was going to happen. I fell asleep, woke up, heard neighbors come and go, but nothing. I thought I was forgotten. Then another doctor came to visit. He did a more thorough examination, explained the same that the previous doctor had explained and thought I should be admitted.

When I arrived at the ER it was about 6:30 pm. By the time I made it to my hospital bed on the fifth floor, it was after midnight. I was weighed, had more blood drawn, my blood pressure was taken again, I was asked the same questions I had been asked twice before and then I was allowed to sleep for about 2 hours before I had to get my blood drawn and my blood pressure taken again.

To read more Continue to Part 3