heartattackandvine80

It started with a fast heart rate and breathing - both I put down to the exercise. Then I became 'anxious' and had a funny stomach feeling, so I left the gym, had a shower and drove to work . In the car I had the classic - heavy feeling on the chest, unable to breath, dizzy, sweating, thought I was going to pass out. I arrived in work and the nurses took one look at me and went straight into action.

No supplements, but that was one of the first things the doctors asked. Apparently they see a trend of young men having attacks due to the things they take to improve performance

As for cause, no one can pinpoint one cause but many. In order of importance - genetics, stress, diet, smoking status (ex-smoker with occasional relapse), weight

The device won't have a huge impact on my day to day life. I was given a bunch of advice and warnings - don't stand near shop security systems. I can't drive a lorry or large bus. I can't scubadive anymore, I shouldn't spend time around large electromagnets. But mostly, appart from hitting a button on a device to 'read' the defib every 3 months, I won't change ty life too much. The idea is this is a safety net to allow me to lead a normal life

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As for my heart attack I need to be careful with my lifestyle choices. What I eat, exercise, drink and drug use... I need to develop good lifestyle habits. Also I'm on a range of medication for life

My lifestyle wasn't good as a young adult. I wasn't the worst in the world, but until 25 year old I was overweight boarding obese, I smoked, I binge drank and I experimented with drugs (I wasn't addicted, nor a frequent user, but I did try a range of drugs a handful of times

Since 25 I lost a bunch of weight, took up running, hiking and the gym, tried to deal with stress and became a social smoker. I had made enough progress that it was commonly remarked upon by friends and family, but I wasn't perfect

I made the changes slowly. In another reply I gave the reasons why I had it, genetics plays a huge part. My arterial plaque is prone to rupture, sucks!