February 4 my Dad had a stroke due to an undetected heart arrhythmia, specifically atrial fibrillation. It was, fortunately, a mild stroke that has impacted the posterior portion of his frontal lobe. The damage he has suffered is affecting his speech and his ability to understand some things being said or asked.
Heart disease and circulatory issues are a common concern in his (my) family history. His older brother died of a massive stroke when he was just 40 years old. One of his sisters died from a heart attack when she was 43. His other sister suffered for years with breast cancer, finally losing her fight at the age of 52. Two of his nephews have partially carried on this genetic tendancy, one having a heart attack and one have 2 strokes (both due to Afib), but both are still alive and doing well.
My Dad is 71 years old and other than having his gall bladder removed a year and a half ago, has been healthy. As a matter of fact, he thought he was having a heart attack because the symptoms of gall stones include chest and arm pain. Before scheduling him for surgery the doctors had him examined by a cardiologist to make sure that his heart was healthy enough for surgery (had a treadmill stress test and EKG readings were done) and there was no sign of an arrhythmia at that time.
My Mom does not drive. Never has. Never will. She is Irish, born and raised, lived in Dublin, Ireland until her early twenties and never needed or wanted to drive. My folks live in a suburb of Chicago, about 3 hours from me, so that is where I spent the past 10 days. My brother and his wife flew in from Seattle, arriving 13 hours after he had his stroke. He spent 6 days in the hospital, getting his blood pressure under control and working out what anticoagulant would work best to prevent a future stroke. He is home now, started speech therapy yesterday and will soon start occupational therapy, with the goal of getting behind the wheel again. My brother, sister in law and myself have worked out a schedule to be with my parents through the end of March, getting Dad to therapy sessions and helping my Mom.
So now, in addition to figuring out if there is anything I did to get this stress fracture (other than running a lot of miles), I am going to get established with a cardiologist and find out what type of preventative checkup schedule I should embrace. Got to keep my heart happy!
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