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Rascal12 Asked January 2015

Has anyone had a parent with dementia announce they had a heart attack in the night - the next morning?!

My mom with dementia just told my adult son, who is home between college terms, that she had a heart attack in the night. He, in turn, called me right away here at work. She took her nitro for angina, and apparently that took care of it (for now). When my son asked her why she didn't let someone know since there are three of us at home to help, her response was, "When it's your time to go, it's your time to go. And I didn't want to worry your mother (meaning me)." (No, it's much better to freak out other members of the family with the flip announcement you've had a heart attack.) I have called her PCP for direction since we know she has the angina, and the nitro seems to work.

I have told her before she has to let me know when these things happen so I can get her the care she needs. And I have told her if she can't or won't let me know when she is having medical issues, we can't have her living at our home anymore.

Has anyone else run into this behavior?

6 Answers

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gemma7777 Jan 2015
Dont rule out check out nitro spray keep at bedside does alveiate or not if not muscle then try tylenol to decrease pain
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Rascal12 Jan 2015
Oh, too funny, Pam! In this case I know she has angina pain so I believe her when she says she had pain. It the timing that concerns me. She's almost 87 now, and I just want her to communicate her pain asap.
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pamstegma Jan 2015
When mom clutched her chest and said she wasn't going to be around much longer, I said we should all put stickers on the objects we wanted.
Boy was she pixelated!! Immediate recovery followed. Faker.
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Rascal12 Jan 2015
Yes, I do think she hopes in some ways "this is the end". But to scare the bejesus out of herself and the rest of us?
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cwillie Jan 2015
Based on your mom's response her dementia can't be very advanced. Perhaps on some level she really did hope this was the end? Also the pain, whether angina or a heart attack, can make it difficult to call out. She acted appropriately by taking her nitro and I assume that when her symptoms were relieved she felt there was no need to "bother" anyone in the middle of the night. Make sure she follows up with her doctor, but I wouldn't threaten to evict her or next time there is a issue she just wont tell at all.
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Eyerishlass Jan 2015
I had the same thing with my dad only he didn't announce it in the morning, he told me a few days later. He had had angina and had taken a nitro pill in the night. The nitro pill had alleviated the pain which told me that he probably did have some kind of cardiac event. I got him to the ER and found out he had had a heart attack.
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