Symptoms can be trivialized

Dear Dr. Gott: I’ve just seen Bill Clinton interviewed on (the Oct. 28) “PrimeTime.” He recently had bypass coronary surgery, and analyzed the symptoms that bothered him: primarily, chest “tightness” that struck him during exercise and – later – shortness of breath during trivial levels of exercise. This was coupled with extreme difficulty breathing when exercising.

Do you have any comments about the unusual nature of his symptoms?

Dear Reader: Although most people are familiar with the classic signs of coronary occlusions – such as crushing chest pain and “indigestion” – coronary artery disease may also produce less noticeable symptoms, such as mild chest pressure, aching of the left jaw or arm, breathlessness during even light exercise and heart palpitations.

The former president chose to ignore his nontraditional warnings of an imminent heart attack, until the worsening symptoms literally forced him to seek medical attention. Interestingly, I read that he was initially sent home from his local hospital and told to return the next day, so his original physician also may have trivialized the symptoms.

Fortunately, the situation was resolved without tragedy.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Coronary Artery Disease.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: I feel qualified to answer your request to send in opinions about suicide, since my father committed suicide.

My father was in his early 70s when he was diagnosed with emphysema. He was given a limited time to live, and my mother was told that he would eventually strangle to death. I don’t know if she shared this information with him, but she did tell my siblings and me.

After about six months of severe difficulty breathing, one day my father chose to end his painful life his way (with a pistol) rather than strangling to death.

Of course his death upset all of us. We loved him. None of us felt guilty or blamed our mother for his death. This was 35 years ago and I was a young woman. My feelings are the same today as they were then. I have stronger feelings now about dying in great pain from costly and lengthy illnesses. I know that no one is legally able to put me to sleep permanently, so I have made arrangements for no heroic efforts.

We would not allow our pets to suffer, but we allow the people we love to suffer because of human morality.

Dear Reader: Thank you for writing and sharing.