My heart attack: The return home.

When I came home after the heart attack, I was convinced I had taken it philosophically. To explain how I was living the situation, the first night I had sex immediately. At that moment I really thought I was going to die: with anticoagulants and blood thinners in my blood, it seemed like everything could “burst”. I contracted every muscle.

I am Catholic, I am afraid of dying because of what I might find after. But I also realized that my sins are mine, and hardly, even if I confessed them, would I stop repeating them. So I told myself: “It is not today or tomorrow the problem. I would always arrive at death with the same burdens. My life has been beautiful enough: if the future were worse, I could also accept that it ends.”

The doctors had ordered me to start slowly: 50 meters a day for the first 10-15 days, then increase week by week. After a month, also some flights of stairs. I felt destroyed: I had difficulty with everything, even sex, but at least I didn't want to lose that good thing.

I didn't have a religious conversion, but I stopped many habits:

• no alcohol, coffee, tea,

• no sugar and pasta (only sweeteners like stevia and erythritol),

• you became 90% vegetarian.

It wasn't an obligatory choice, it was fine like that. I started studying heart attacks, what they involved, and listening to those who had already experienced them. I followed gurus on the internet who explain what to eat: honestly, they speak to people in their 30s, but at that age I ate everything and felt fine. The problem comes after 50. So I switched to listening to real experts, doctors, but I realized that there is no absolute security: many things about nutrition are still unclear, and meanwhile my parents, at 80 years old, were in better shape than me… but that's another story.

I committed myself to understanding the medications I was taking, especially the statins, because they were causing me problems: joint pain, muscle pain, weakness. I was convinced they were making it worse. I saw friends walk poorly after hospitalizations, I was sure it was always the statins.

After 6 months I stopped all medications. Maybe I would have died? I would have accepted it. But I didn't want to accept the decline that the medications were giving me. I continued with the diet and everything seemed to be going well, but I didn't know about the blood clots that had formed during the heart attack…

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⚠️ Warning
This is my personal experience. I am not a doctor. Each person can have different symptoms, treatments, and timelines. Never stop medications without discussing it with your doctor. In case of suspicious symptoms, immediately call the 118 or go to the emergency room.

What are statins

Statins are drugs that lower bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood. They serve to reduce the risk that arteries close again.

Many take them for life after a heart attack.
I however had side effects: joint pain, muscle weakness, difficulty walking. Because of this I started to doubt if they were really right for me.

After six months I decided to stop on my own, even though doctors don't recommend it. Maybe I took a risk, but I didn't want to accept the physical decline they were causing me.

⚠️ Warning
This is only my experience. Statins are important drugs: never stop them without consulting your doctor.


What are blood clots

A clot is a blood clot that forms when the blood becomes too thick or when the vein is damaged. It's as if the blood is making a plug inside the tube.

The problem is that this plug can:

• block the flow of blood in an important vein;

• break off and travel to vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, or brain.

In my case, doctors gave me anticoagulants and blood thinners to reduce the risk. These are drugs that make the blood more “flowable”.

The danger is that a clot, if untreated, can cause another heart attack or a stroke.

⚠️ Warning
I'm sharing my experience. Never stop anticoagulant drugs without talking to your doctors.