Another 30 something heart failure

[doorhandle]

One thing I cant figure is why I got that blood clot in my right coronary artery. When they did the angiogram they found that my arteries were wide open, no narrowing with plaque etc. In fact, once they had sucked that clot out of my artery he wanted to put a stent in but they didnt have one big enough to fit! He said my arteries were huge and they did not have a stent that big. So it doesnt sound like i had a plaque that ruptered. Most of the cardiologists I saw told me thats what happened. WOUldnt the artery be narrowed down?

The answer is no, most heart attacks occur from a plaque that is less than 50% in size. Meaning, you can pass a stress test with ease and still go out and have a heart attack.

A plaque of just 5 or 10%, virtually no narrowing can still rupture and cause a heart attack. The plaque can become unstable and it is a very dynamic process, it happens all the time, in fact, Swatdoc is probably rupturing one right now.
The unfortunate fact is that yours led to a heart attack but it does happen on a not too frequent basis.
The plaque isnt the hardiest of entities. It has the consistency of toothpaste with a friable cap over the top. The theory being that blood pressure surges can rip open or rip the skin on that toothpaste blister in your artery, in laymen's terms. That is probably done by the sheer force of blood pressure during the squats you did.

That little teeny plaque you had, then spilled its chemical messengers into the bloodstream and the body reacted thinking you had a cut on your finger and sent clotting factors and such. It formed a clot in the RCA.

Since plaque rupture is dynamic, that it is why it is suggested that people take a baby aspirin to make blood cells "slippery" when this happening to lessen or prevent a major myocardial infarction.

Your query does make sense as to "if they arent narrowed, why did this happen", the answer is that, most heart attacks occur with small blockages, not large b/c of plaque rupture.

When arteries are mostly narrowed they produce symptoms. Symptoms are then relieved by stents or bypass. Stents on an elective basis do not prolong life, they relieve symptoms unless done so to have other surgeries where cardiac function has to have a reserve.
Bypass does prolong life according to studies, but stents do not. But this is a whole 'nother discussion.

The fact that you had large arteries and still had a plaque rupture, and after heavy exertion, makes you more of a textbook plaque rupture than anything.
The plaque rupture, body thought you cut your finger, doesnt know the difference and clotted it off. Unfortunately it clotted off the whole artery like a traffic jam. The muscle down stream got starved for oxygen. Since all the nerves in the thoracic cavity are jumbled. You felt referred pain and everyone feels it different depending on their anatomy.

Hope that helps answer your question

 

[maldorf]

The answer is no, most heart attacks occur from a plaque that is less than 50% in size. Meaning, you can pass a stress test with ease and still go out and have a heart attack.

A plaque of just 5 or 10%, virtually no narrowing can still rupture and cause a heart attack. The plaque can become unstable and it is a very dynamic process, it happens all the time, in fact, Swatdoc is probably rupturing one right now.
The unfortunate fact is that yours led to a heart attack but it does happen on a not too frequent basis.
The plaque isnt the hardiest of entities. It has the consistency of toothpaste with a friable cap over the top. The theory being that blood pressure surges can rip open or rip the skin on that toothpaste blister in your artery, in laymen's terms. That is probably done by the sheer force of blood pressure during the squats you did.

That little teeny plaque you had, then spilled its chemical messengers into the bloodstream and the body reacted thinking you had a cut on your finger and sent clotting factors and such. It formed a clot in the RCA.

Since plaque rupture is dynamic, that it is why it is suggested that people take a baby aspirin to make blood cells "slippery" when this happening to lessen or prevent a major myocardial infarction.

Your query does make sense as to "if they arent narrowed, why did this happen", the answer is that, most heart attacks occur with small blockages, not large b/c of plaque rupture.

When arteries are mostly narrowed they produce symptoms. Symptoms are then relieved by stents or bypass. Stents on an elective basis do not prolong life, they relieve symptoms unless done so to have other surgeries where cardiac function has to have a reserve.
Bypass does prolong life according to studies, but stents do not. But this is a whole 'nother discussion.

The fact that you had large arteries and still had a plaque rupture, and after heavy exertion, makes you more of a textbook plaque rupture than anything.
The plaque rupture, body thought you cut your finger, doesnt know the difference and clotted it off. Unfortunately it clotted off the whole artery like a traffic jam. The muscle down stream got starved for oxygen. Since all the nerves in the thoracic cavity are jumbled. You felt referred pain and everyone feels it different depending on their anatomy.

Hope that helps answer your question

thanks. you confirmed all of my hypotheses and presented it in an organized manner! I really did think that it was more than just a coincidence that my heart attack happened during squats. That 455 lbs on my back surely raised the intrathoracic pressure to a high point. I know ive suffered plenty of nose bleeds while squating before in the past. Hell, I even burst zits on my head from the BP getting too high. Those days are long gone for me now. No more heavy squats. Hell, I probably shouldnt even be lifting weights at all now, especially squats.
Sucks too, I was taking an adult aspirin a day too while on aas to combat this sort of thing. It did nothing to help me. My hematocrit was always too high too while on.

 

[doorhandle]

thanks. you confirmed all of my hypotheses and presented it in an organized manner! I really did think that it was more than just a coincidence that my heart attack happened during squats. That 455 lbs on my back surely raised the intrathoracic pressure to a high point. I know ive suffered plenty of nose bleeds while squating before in the past. Hell, I even burst zits on my head from the BP getting too high. Those days are long gone for me now. No more heavy squats. Hell, I probably shouldnt even be lifting weights at all now, especially squats.
Sucks too, I was taking an adult aspirin a day too while on aas to combat this sort of thing. It did nothing to help me. My hematocrit was always too high too while on.

big legs arent worth dying for.

Its sweating to the oldies for you from now on

 

[gjohnson5]

If anyone wants to read more on what happend to me you can read up at this link. Just survived heart attack at age 38, follow up to Phil's post - Professional Muscle

I was trying to figure out why this thread got bumped
So now , I'm wondering who needto is referring to with "He died of a clen overdose"

 

[ceo]

thanks. you confirmed all of my hypotheses and presented it in an organized manner! I really did think that it was more than just a coincidence that my heart attack happened during squats. That 455 lbs on my back surely raised the intrathoracic pressure to a high point. I know ive suffered plenty of nose bleeds while squating before in the past. Hell, I even burst zits on my head from the BP getting too high. Those days are long gone for me now. No more heavy squats. Hell, I probably shouldnt even be lifting weights at all now, especially squats.
Sucks too, I was taking an adult aspirin a day too while on aas to combat this sort of thing. It did nothing to help me. My hematocrit was always too high too while on.

Putting 455 lbs. on your back and squatting isn't nearly as important as putting your girls on your back for a piggy back ride (one at a tiem of course). I know you know this full well bro, but a lot of guys reading this may take it for granted. It's easy to lose sight of things like that in this very self-centered sport of bodybuilding. No one cares how much you lift or how big you are...except you (a generalized "you" - I'm not pointing directly to anyone).

I just got all caught up on your thread at PM. Sorry to hear about the stem cell study being cancelled. Hope something else comes up soon.

I think everyone should read that thread maldorf linked to. There's some stories over there that will make you think about your own mortality.

Maldorf, glad you're here and sharing with us. I hope people will take something from this and get bloodwork, EKG, heart scan, etc. done...especially if they've been using AAS and/or have family history.

 

[maldorf]

Putting 455 lbs. on your back and squatting isn't nearly as important as putting your girls on your back for a piggy back ride (one at a tiem of course). I know you know this full well bro, but a lot of guys reading this may take it for granted. It's easy to lose sight of things like that in this very self-centered sport of bodybuilding. No one cares how much you lift or how big you are...except you (a generalized "you" - I'm not pointing directly to anyone).

I just got all caught up on your thread at PM. Sorry to hear about the stem cell study being cancelled. Hope something else comes up soon.

I think everyone should read that thread maldorf linked to. There's some stories over there that will make you think about your own mortality.

Maldorf, glad you're here and sharing with us. I hope people will take something from this and get bloodwork, EKG, heart scan, etc. done...especially if they've been using AAS and/or have family history.

It wasnt really unitl I had this heart attack that I realized how dangerous what I was doing was, and how selfish I had become. Youre right, nobody cares how big and muscular we are excpet for outselves. It was the pressure I put on myself daily that caused me to go to the extremes I did. My wife actually thinks I look better now than I did before. Most ladies really dont like really big muscular guys.

I am glad people from other boards have read my that post over at professional muscle. I used to frequent here a lot, I got my start online here infact. Thought I would pop over so that some here could be enlightened. Seem to be a lot of young guys here just getting started and thinking about using AAS. My hope is to educate people that there really are risks out there associated with the use of AAS, and that its not all just overblown scare tactics. Things really can go wrong, and people can become very ill or die.
I do believe that genetics play a big part in this too. The thing is, you really cant know for sure how your genetics will interact with the use of AAS. Its all an experiment we play. Overall, I would say the best advice for those that want to use is to be extremely conservative and be regularly monitored by a doc.
I was always monitored by a doc, but was certainly not conservative in what I did. YOU KNOW YOURE IN TROUBLE WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF CONSTANTLY HAVING TO USE HIGHER DOSES, MORE COMPOUNDS, AND LONGER CYCLES TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU DESIRE. At some point you have to draw the line and realize that your genetics are the limit and youve reached as far as you can go. Perhaps its even your method of diet or training that is holding you back. Way too many guys always think the problem is not enough AAS.
If I could go back and do it all over again I would not have used at all. I personally now believe that for me at least the only reason to use aas is for HRT. Since I wrecked myself and my natural test never recovered, I am now going on doctor supervised testosterone replacement therapy for the rest of my life. 100 mg/wk to start and go from there. That should be enough to get me into a natural range.

 

[binö]

hey dorf i just hooked the plat up for you for being a good bro
enjoy

 

[gjohnson5]

well Now that I know who Needto was referring to , my only comment is More does not equal (!= or <>) better
Infact more could = fatal in some cases.

 

[ceo]

Perhaps its even your method of diet or training that is holding you back. Way too many guys always think the problem is not enough AAS.

So true! If more guys would do everything they could with their diet first, then training before using AAS, most would find they could go much further naturally than they thought. I see so many guys say they've "totally got their diet and training down" and they've stopped making gains (after 18 months total of training), so it must be they need AAS.

Ask these 6' tall 170 lbs. monsters about their diet and they're barely managing to get 150-200 grams of protein a day. They think they're taking in 4000-5000 cals/day...turns out it's more like 3000. But, they've mastered their diet and there's nothing more that can be done. (lol)

People are all too quick to jump on AAS before eating more and more food (protein esp.) and constantly evaluating their training in conjunction with their eating. Of course you can't tell them a fucking thing because they know it all already.

Sorry...got carried away. I'll stop now. lol.

 

[redsamurai]

that food they eat is probably what's more responsible for health problems down the road than AAS, although it does exacerbate things. It's very hard to eat 300-400 grams of protein a day without eating too much of the animal proteins which are great short term for building muscle, but they build up in your system.....blood stream, colon..etc.

I'm wondering lately if eating more plant proteins is not only healthier but may in fact be superior......the problem is just getting enough of em. The proteins may be more complete, but less available.....I dunno. What I've read lately about what they're discovering about the nutrients in high density plants makes me wonder. Chlorophyll is of particular interest......it's virtually identical to human blood except it's centered around magnesium I beleive, where human blood is based off iron.

Or maybe you should keep eating meat but just fast more often so you negate any buildup...... I dunno, but what we've been fed by the bb'ing and supplement industry on dietary needs is bullshit.

So true! If more guys would do everything they could with their diet first, then training before using AAS, most would find they could go much further naturally than they thought. I see so many guys say they've "totally got their diet and training down" and they've stopped making gains (after 18 months total of training), so it must be they need AAS.

Ask these 6' tall 170 lbs. monsters about their diet and they're barely managing to get 150-200 grams of protein a day. They think they're taking in 4000-5000 cals/day...turns out it's more like 3000. But, they've mastered their diet and there's nothing more that can be done. (lol)

People are all too quick to jump on AAS before eating more and more food (protein esp.) and constantly evaluating their training in conjunction with their eating. Of course you can't tell them a fucking thing because they know it all already.

Sorry...got carried away. I'll stop now. lol.