Avid runner was having a heart attack – and then his heart stopped

在律师事务所忙了一天之后, Stuart Katz sat down for dinner with his wife at their home in Woodbridge, Connecticut.

他吃了沙拉和一个火鸡汉堡. 确切地说，是两个. Later, 看电视时, he began to question that second helping when he felt what he thought was indigestion.

然后他意识到那是别的东西.

他告诉妻子，他的胸口感觉不舒服. 也许是恐慌症发作. 接着，他感到手臂和脖子上一阵刺痛. 他在冒汗. 巨大的压力并没有减轻.

Marni Smith Katz suggested he meditate, something she practiced. Katz didn't try; he couldn't even sit still. 她迅速拨打了911.

“非常漫长”的八分钟后，医护人员赶到了. 急救人员努力让心脏监护仪正常工作, but they told the then-52-year-old that he didn't appear to be having a heart attack. 但他们还是把他送去了医院. 救护车没有超速行驶，也没有闯红灯和鸣笛.

At the ER, a monitor showed that Katz indeed was having a heart attack. He needed a cardiac catheterization procedure in which doctors would be able to check the inner workings of his heart.

Katz was sitting up as doctors explained the procedure and handed him consent forms to sign. 然后他说:“我觉得头晕.他的心脏停止了跳动. 他心脏骤停.

救援队迅速赶来抢救他. 与此同时，一名保安把史密斯·卡茨带出了房间. 今晚我可能要独自离开这里了，她想.

保安开始背诵主祷文. Smith Katz told her they were Jewish but to keep the prayers coming.

救援工作成功了. 卡茨醒来时意识到，“我想我正在做心肺复苏术.事实上，一名护士在他身上做胸外按压. 每个人都微笑着看着他. 卡茨问护士他们是否使用了“电击棒”.“是的，他们有. Twice.

A nurse rushed to tell Smith Katz they brought her husband back so fast that "you won't even have to worry about brain damage." The thought of his brain being deprived of oxygen hadn't crossed her mind.

卡茨被推到导管室, where doctors found a 100% blockage in the artery that carries nearly half of the blood to the heart. 植入支架以恢复血液流动.

Katz knows everyone who has a heart attack doesn't go into cardiac arrest, 所以他觉得自己能活下来特别幸运. 自2020年2月那天以来的三年多沙巴足球体育平台里, 他无数次地讲述自己的故事，以引起人们的注意.

"I think it's really important for people to understand how this can happen to someone who doesn't seem like it's going to happen to," he said.

Katz is slim and exercises regularly, running three to four times a week. He was inspired to be active after his father-in-law died of a heart attack in 2012. Katz logged 10 different 5Ks a year prior to his heart attack and ran a half-marathon right before his 50th birthday; he now runs a couple of 5Ks a year.

Katz's event prompted many of his friends to take stock of their health or visit the doctor after hearing his story. One man went to the hospital with chest pain after hearing Katz speak at an 美国心脏协会 event. He was fine. Another went to the hospital after telling his wife he sensed he was going to die and remembered Katz's exact words about sensing something was wrong. 他心脏病发作了，需要支架.

Katz gets emotional thinking about how his heart attack terrified his wife and two children, 他很感激能有第二次机会. He suggests people focus on what they can control like getting more exercise, 吃的更好, 减轻压力，学习心肺复苏术. 倾听他们的身体.

"My cardiologist told me after the fact that if I had come in for a stress test the day before, 它可能不会显示任何有关的东西," he said.

"I was lucky. 我经历了一些症状. 我并没有把它们当作不那么严重的事情而不予理会. 感谢上帝，Marni拨打了911."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

编者注:本文于11月10日修订. 去掉无关的细节.