I had a heart attack several years ago. I am perfectly fine.

[yardwork]

I'm posting this because I'm reading some things here about how somebody who has a heart attack is automatically too unwell to maintain a rigorous schedule.

I had a heart attack, had a stent placed, and was out of the hospital in a few days. A few days later I went on a business trip. I returned to work full-time and haven't looked back. The cardiac rehab I did was physically strenuous. The doctors and therapists urged all of us in the rehab class - people in their 40s to their 80s - to work out rigorously, working up a sweat, getting our heart rates up. This is the standard of care.

I am physically fine. No permanent damage at all.

My biggest problem has been convincing my bosses and co-workers that I'm well enough to handle a stressful job. I'm at the top of my game in a competitive field. People look for reasons to count out the competition. I've proved them wrong, but there's always a stigma.

I don't agree with Bernie Sanders' policies and I don't like him very much as a person because of his behavior leading up to the 2016 election. But there's no reason to assume that he's not well enough to campaign. That's up to him and his doctors.

[hlthe2b]

1. Yup...

There is a tremendous range of what is known as an MI (myocardial infarction-heart attack) and the damage that occurs can be quite minimal to quite severe. No one should make assumptions merely based on the words "heart attack."

Glad to hear you were at the "minimal" end and doing well (and working to educate others).

[yardwork]

2. Thank you.

[NurseJackie]

3. You're in your mid eighties?

[yardwork]

5. No, and I didn't say I was.

[NurseJackie]

9. I know.

So it's hardly the same.

[rpannier]

27. Neither is Sanders

Born 1941. That would make him... ohhhhhhhhhhh... say...... 78
So it's hardly the same thing as a man in his mid-80's

[NurseJackie]

32. 78 plus "several years"

[drray23]

4. I am glad you are doing well.

However. No job on this planet is more stressful than being the president of the United states. I wish Bernie the best but I dont think its reasonable for him to be elected president. In the unlikely event he does get the nomination, I will of course vote for him and donate to his campaign.

[yardwork]

7. I hadn't planned to support him in the primaries anyway.

I just don't like the biases I'm reading here.

[Joe941]

6. Thank you.

[guillaumeb]

8. Recommended.

[Jirel]

10. Yep.

For all the haters, I have 2 words:

Dick Cheney.

8 years of shadow presidency evil with a heart a hundred times worse. If Bernie wins the nomination (unlikely), he’ll be infinitely better for the country regardless of a bit of heart disease.

[murielm99]

11. I just hope he is listening to his doctors.

My husband had valve replacement surgery. Then he had blood clots in his femoral artery and had to go back for more surgery. He came home after two days and is doing well. His cardiac rehab has been put on hold for awhile.

I know that complications can occur. I know my husband is tired and needs to rest for awhile.

My husband is 75. Bernie is 78.

I don't care much for Bernie, either, but I don't want him to think he is Superman. He needs to listen to his doctors and to his body.

[yardwork]

14. I agree that everybody is different. I'm just speaking out against automatic assumptions.

I hope that your husband recovers fully.

[qazplm135]

12. oh I think there's reason to wonder

he's almost 80
Running for President is harder by far than just about anything...except, of course, being President.

so your experience doesn't translate on multiple levels.

But ultimately, he's a grown man, he will decide what he decides, and whatever he decides I certainly wish him long health and happiness...but the idea that it's crazy to wonder if he's going to have the health and stamina for this? Millions of potential voters are DEFINITELY going to be wondering that.

[yardwork]

17. I didn't say our situations are comparable.

I'm simply speaking out against automatic assumptions that having a heart attack means that you have to stop working.

I had to fight against this bias after my heart attack. Worrying that people would count me out and that I might even lose my job just because of people's uninformed assumptions caused me more stress than the event itself.

Everybody's situation is different. Please don't assume that having a heart attack is necessarily a dire thing. It may not be.

[qazplm135]

24. No one said that

Or applied it to all cases...they are pretty clearly tying it to his age and current situation.

[Susan Calvin]

31. .

[blm]

13. 👍🏼

[pnwmom]

15. But he is 78 and the job of President is extremely stressful.

[NurseJackie]

26. Exactly. Thank you.

[Aaron Pereira]

16. He'll be out there campaigning soon and people will get a chance to judge for themselves.

Another candidate has endured some cynical attacks over health from supporters of other candidates and it's really not a positive thing for party unity. If Sanders isn't well enough to continue the campaign it will show and if he is that will show too.

[yardwork]

19. Exactly.

[wasupaloopa]

18. We are not all stamped out of the same machine. I am 73 and am more healthy than any of my family

and my wife's family who are all younger than me. All but my wife have some ongoing medical problem.

[democrank]

20. Thank you for this.

Glad you’re okay.

[yardwork]

21. Thank you.

[TomSlick]

22. I get it.

A stent is not a death sentence. There is no reason that Senator Sanders will not be fine. I am not convinced that a stressful job, even the Presidency, increases the risk of future heart issues.

However, the issue is not whether Senator Sanders is physically up to the job. The question is whether those few swing voters in the very few counties that might again decide the election will worry that Senator Sanders is not up to the job.

Nothing is more important than winning the 2020 election. If concerns over Senator Sanders' health endangers a Democratic victory in 2020, then he cannot be our candidate. It isn't fair but that's the way it is.

[highplainsdem]

23. Thanks for posting this, and I'm glad you're perfectly fine now!

My mother lived decades after a heart attack, even though she was in her mid-70s when it happened, and I don't think that's all that unusual when people take care of themselves.

The heart can repair itself, if the damage isn't too great. New blood vessels can form. This is something I don't think most people are aware of.

[babylonsister]

25. Rec'd! nt

[yardwork]

49. Thanks!

[jberryhill]

28. I had one last year and cycled 70 miles last Saturday

A month and a half after an LAD heart attack, I was back on my bike and riding 60 miles.

[yardwork]

48. See?! Good for you!

[pansypoo53219]

33. an epal had a small heart attack, his chiropractor told him to go to the dr. he had no idea. minor.

went on some drugs for cholesterol.

[iluvtennis]

34. Congrats on your full recovery. Take it favorably that your coworkers are protective of you.

[yardwork]

38. It didn't feel protective. Quite the opposite.

[iluvtennis]

42. Aww too bad...sorry. I'm ever the optimist. Take care. nt

[Baclava]

35. Every person is different, every cardiac event is different, every prognosis is different

These testimonials don't prove anything one way or the other, other than you survived, which is great, btw

Bernie should be glad he's still alive, modern medicine can do wonders these days.

[yardwork]

47. That's my point. Don't automatically assume and reject based on this one thing.

[kozar]

36. I had Double PE's 2 years ago.

we nt through kind of same thing,,2 days of panic and then back to work. Got "kid glove treatment" from bosses for about 6 months. Physically,it took me about a year to feel "strong" again,I played sports my whole life. Mentally, was my first taste of mortality and Im still working on that. So happy you feel well and shared your story!

Koz

[yardwork]

46. I'm glad that you're doing well too!

[Roy Rolling]

37. Apples and Oranges

Because the critical element of an MI is damage to heart muscle that cannot be repaired.

Good for you to avoid such a tragic and permanent fate, it remains to be seen if Sanders was so lucky.

Medical professionals evaluate our lifestyle, age, and stress levels to make a diagnosis. Diagnosing Senator Sanders based on your own wonderful medical outcome is certainly hopeful, but not predictive medical science.

The regenerative power of a 78-year old is diminished as a normal function of aging, it’s nobody’s fault.

[yardwork]

39. You seem to have misread my entire post.

I'm pointedly NOT making any assumptions about anybody else. I'm asking that others not jump to conclusions just on the basis of the words "heart attack." It tells us very little.

[vsrazdem]

40. Well there is no guarantee Biden wouldn't have another aneurysm, he has had 2 of them, but

if he is healty enough to campaign, he is healthy enough to run, and so is Bernie.

[Stonepounder]

41. About 15 years ago I passed out in the garage one Saturday night.

Ambulance called, tests till about 3:00am, angiogram on Sunday, open heart surgery on Monday with a triple bypass, Maze procedure, and removal of a hanging clot. About a week in the hospital, 3 months off work.

Back to work, lots of travel involved, flying here and there, 50 hour weeks, and loving it. Had a couple of doctors tell me that if they hadn't seen the scar down the middle of my chest they would never have known that there was ever a problem with my heart as it seemed healthier than somebody much younger.

Cardiac medicine has come a LONG way in the last 20 years!

[yardwork]

44. I'm so glad that you are doing well!

[ecstatic]

43. I see your point, but we can't have another 4 years of chaos.

I want to be confident that our next democratic president will be able to serve 8 years with ZERO worries about mental or physical health. In addition to health concerns, a lot of guys turn right-wing at a certain age. Not interested in dealing with any of that.

[yardwork]

45. Well, that's an impossible guarantee.

Many of our candidates are older, including the one you and I are supporting. And even with younger candidates, there is no guarantee of perfect health.

Rejection of a candidate just because they've had a heart attack, without any further information or details, is exactly the kind of bias I faced.

[DrFunkenstein]

50. As Leslie Nielsen Said in Naked Gun...

There is always risk. You take a risk getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.

Bernie, beautifully, has never let anyone tell him what to do, and I doubt he will start now. He'll be the one to decide whether or not to go on.

[Mike Nelson]

51. Nonetheless...

... a presidential campaign is grueling - I hope he recovers fully, takes it easy, and lives to be 100.

[Eric J in MN]

52. Which policies of Bernie do you disagree with? NT

NT

[yardwork]

53. Trade policies, for one.

I am strongly in favor of open trade policies, as I believe they prevent wars. Isolationism and protectionism leads to nationalism and war.

I also strongly disagree with Bernie's habit of throwing out "kitchen sink" solutions that are not well thought out and stand zero chance of passing Congress. His green new deal "plans" - if you could dignify such a hodgepodge as such - are a good example. OF COURSE we need an emergency response to climate change, but Bernie's approach to campaigning is intellectually lazy and ultimately counterproductive. I could go on.

[Eric J in MN]

54. Does Elizabeth Warren have different trade policies

...from Bernie?

[Hoyt]

55. Do what? Elizabeth Warren's criticism of Obama, TPP, NAFTA, her "Economic Patriotism," etc.,

is the main reason she is a concern for me.

I agree 100% with your comments about open trade policies, nationalism, prevention of war, etc. But, that is not Warren's view.

[yardwork]

57. Her positions on trade are a concern to me as well.

I like Warren because of her detail-oriented approach to economic policy, and deep down I trust her. I also like Biden.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

56. It's so nice transnational corporations will keep the peace...

... as long as they are able to race us to the bottom while extracting trillions in profits.

How about we have fair trade and worker protections? Open trade leads to assholes like Jack Welch wishing they could literally float their manufacturing on barges looking for the lowest wage bidder. There has to be a better balance.

[yardwork]

58. I agree that we need much more regulation. Warren's approach makes sense to me.

Simply cancelling trade agreements and slapping tariffs on everything is a disaster.

[Hoyt]

59. Let's treat poor foreign workers like scabs, such that they have no chance to progress. That's what

I hear from Sanders and Warren. America First, Economic Patriotism, etc., are unacceptable to me.