Coronary Artery Disease And Domestic Violence ?

Since my recent Heart Attack, I am amazed at how GOOD I feel! To say I feel like a new person is a pretty accurate description. I had 95 percent artery blockage that has been surgically repaired with a stent that is drug coated. My Cardiologist called me yesterday, and we talked. He asked me if I had more energy, and was less Irritable. I asked him WTF Irritability has to do with my Heart and my Arteries ? He answered "everything"!  He explained that clogged arteries make us tired all the time, and this causes extreme irritability. I noticed myself greatly "slowing down" about 7 years ago. I used to basically live in the Gym, plus work 10 hour days cleaning roofs in the hot Sun. I thought I was just getting older. I was always so tired, yet I forced myself through many days with coffee. I caught myself never wanting to go anywhere or do anything, but stay at home in my room on my computer. I was really too tired to do much else. I even remember going to a concert I had tickets for with my ex girlfriend that I really wanted to see. We drove to the concert, and it started raining. I was  sooo tired I tried to use the rain as an excuse to just go home and sleep!  She wanted to stay, and I wound up slipping in the Mud from all the rain, and messing up my wrist!  What a difference getting my Artery  unclogged has made so far!  I went to a Picnic today, and my friends tell me I look great, and my color has returned! I wondered how a clogged Artery could have so much effect on my attitude and personality, so I Googled this article, and found out my Cardiologist is right.

Update 2/27/2011 - 12.41 am - I am just back from Brandon Hospital ER. The Stent was put inside me through the Femoral Artery in my Thigh. I noticed the whole groin/thigh area is black and blue because it was bleeding internally. They only kept me in the ER for a few hours, and fixed the internal bleeding. I am glad now I did not fall asleep. I could have bled to death, especially on all these blood thinners.

Update 3-2-11 - I was back in Brandon Hospital again, and released. I started feeling dizzy, lightheaded , and short of breath, so I asked my friend to drive me to the hospital emergency room. They did an EKG and Echo Cardiogram, and determined that a possible blood clot may have formed. They gave me some I/V medicine, and released me. Blood Clots are a well known cause of instant death in Cardiac Stent patients. Especially ones like me with a Drug Coated Stent inside of them. This is why the blood thinners I must take are so very important. I feel fine, but I am also aware that a Blood Clot can kill me suddenly. It kind of makes you re evaluate your life, if you know what I mean ?

J Behav Med. 1992 Jun;15(3):273-84.

Anger and impatience/irritability in patients of low socioeconomic status with acute coronary heart disease.

Mendes de Leon CF.

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.

Abstract

This case-control study examines the relationship between anger and impatience/irritability and acute coronary heart disease (CHD) in middle-aged men of low socioeconomic status (SES). Subjects included patients with myocardial infarction (MI) (N = 31) or unstable angina (AP) (N = 26), who were compared with hospital controls (N = 26). In separate multivariate analyses for each anger scale, MI was associated with Anger-Out and Impatience/Irritability, particularly in the subgroup of patients who did not have a previous MI. The same factors were associated with AP, but only when this acute ischemic event was not preceded by a MI. No relationship was found between Trait-Anger and Anger-In and either acute ischemic outcome. The results indicate that particularly overt behavioral expression of anger is related to CHD in lower SES patients and that there is similarity in the behavioral factors associated with acute CHD between low- and high-SES men.

PMID: 1625339 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]