A Change of Heart: Personality Metamorphosis After a Heart Transplant

Initially my sister and her husband thought it was just heartburn as he sat on the stairs with an intense grimace on his face, clutching his chest, and perspiring heavily. There was a debate whether he should take doses of Maalox, lie down and take it easy or seek emergency care immediately. .

After administering her husband almost an entire bottle Maalox without relief, they decided it was time to call an ambulance for emergency treatment. After a cursory assessment, it was apparent he suffered a heart attack. He never lost consciousness but displayed other signs of a heart attack such as increased sweating, numbness and tingling pain radiating down his left arm.

My brother-in-law exhibited a typical response to chest pain as most men, who are more prone to heart attacks than women are. Many men have died at home because of the self-diagnosis, indigestion.

Despite mass media education on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, there is still an element of man's denial that they are experiencing anything as serious as a heart attack. Men like to feel they are immune to some illnesses even though many practice habits that surely guarantee heart diseases.

My brother-in-law was one who demanded control of all events that occurred in his home. He prohibited drinking alcoholic beverages, profanity and smoking as a strict rule. As deacon of his church, he attended more than once a week whether his family accompanied him or not.

His stepdaughter and her husband were addicted to crack cocaine; they were not allowed to stay at my sister's home so they resorted to sleeping in a park. Thanksgiving was an important holiday for my brother-in-law who believed in family togetherness, always leading with a prayer while holding hands before the big meal.

With his next heart attack, he actually required resuscitation. This time the only intervention that saved my brother-in-law was a heart transplant. The surgery was a success and his recovery was uneventful.