On the morning of March 10, I had a heart attack beginning around 9:30 am.
By 11:30 am I had a stent in an artery on the back side of my heart.

I was actually scheduled for a renal artery screening using radioactive dye in my bloodstream.
The heart attack was another way to get screened, a harder way, but I was told it was
very successful, the clot was stented and broken apart, and the rest of my heart and renal
arteries are clean and shiny. 

I felt much better when the stent was in place, I watched the whole procedure on a monitor.
I was very lucky that the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital built a Heart Center several
years ago and now are able to do all kinds of heart procedures that we would have had
to travel some distance to get.

The doctors told me my damage was limited because of the quickness that we got into the hospital.
Of course much of that is because we have such wonderful volunteers in town, the first EMT got
to me in like 5 minutes after calling 911.

I was out of the hospital in 48 hours, I attribute that to my good health and to my pestering about going home.  The squeaky wheel.........

I was fortunate to get into the hospital quickly and that is the key.  I have other friends who did valves and by-passes, it's amazing what they can do these days.  I would like to see insurance companies and our Government give at risk people screens so that we would know where potential problem lay and we could get them fixed at a much lower cost.  It only makes sense.

I'm anxious to go through my re-hab and then back into hiking and biking for the summer.  I have change some parts of my diet, although we were eating very healthy before, there is always room for improvement.  And like most things, a certain diet is just a matter of getting use to it.