Forum Discussion

moisheh's avatar
moisheh
Explorer
Aug 19, 2016

Heart Attack in Mexico

In May of 2015 I posted information on my heart attack while in Canada with the comment that I don't think I would have survived if I had been in Mexico. I am now posting a brief story of what can happen in Mexico. My post is not meant to be critical but rather a warning for anyone who may be at risk for a heart attack. Yesterday we received a call from my Wife's best friend in Mexico. They live in Kino and work for a real estate company looking after rental homes. They both have IMSS. The other day he was complaining of chest pain. We have a small IMSS clinic in Kino. The quality of the Drs. is hit and miss. They are supposed to be recent graduates and are doing community service. Sometimes they are great and sometimes horrible. The clinic does have a new defibrillator and an EKG machine. Our friends drove to the clinic. The Dr. said he was having a heart attack and they should go to Calle Doce ( Miguel Aleman) 50 k from Kino. Bad advice as the clinic in Calle Doce is notorious for bad Drs. and bad service. They do not have anyone there to handle a heart attack. The Dr. should have called next door to the Cruz Roja for an ambulance. Instead they drove to Calle Doce. The Dr. sent them to a pharmacy to get some type of expensive medication. I think it must have been an injection. Then he told them to go to the General Hospital in Hermosillo. Our friend was distraught when relaying all of this info so I don't know if they went in an ambulance or by car. Apparently the Dr. in HMO said he would be alright and they put him in a bed. He died 10 hours later. He was hooked up to a heart monitor. The moral to this story is one has to be proactive. Do not rely on IMSS for anything serious. Had they gone to CIMA in Hermosillo he would be alive today. That hospital has a world class Cath Lab with great cardiologists. Of course they cannot afford the fees at CIMA. IMSS can send you to CIMA and pick up the tab. However I think they reserve that option for others.

Moisheh
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Oct 02, 2016
    Mex, I hear you.
    Thanks for reminding the importance of self-monitoring, small oxymeters and BP machines with digital readout is a no-brainer. Nobody after 65 should travel without one.

    But, what this sad subject has started from - there was nobody able to stabilize a patient with heart attack in Kino Bay, and in similar size town of Aleman 50 km North. Greenhorns fresh after medical school doing community service in towns where they don't want to be.

    Qtla, it's nice to hear about the big world and airports out there :). In central Baja where I spend winters, the closest airport is 100 miles away and if somebody would try boarding in a wheelchair, they would need a crane or forklift. The only way to get in is climbing stairs. IMSS hospital in Sta Rosalia is a bad joke. Guerrero Negro - same. The closest private hospital is in Loreto, 200 miles from GN, don't know how good but this is 200 miles.

    On the Mainland few years ago a resident doctor from Patzcuaro area in Michoacan was interviewed where indigent locals are getting help, and why they don't go to IMSS Patzcuaro. His answer: there is no surgeon and clinic is terribly understuffed. Don't know if this has drastically changed since then, but have some doubts.
  • qtla9111's avatar
    qtla9111
    Nomad
    Sep 29, 2016
    I'm at the airport right now. There are lots of people in wheelchairs that look like they are close to the big one. No one is being denied.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Sep 29, 2016
    Getting back on track...

    Superb talented doctors go to where the money is - just like in the USA.

    I practice what I preach - I've had to do this twice (ugh).

    GET STABILIZED! Even a country doctor has more training than you do. Any clinica can stabilize to the best of their ability. Then evacuate north if that is indicated.

    If a passenger cannot climb the stairway to the aircraft door they are denied passage - so take this under consideration. I was -almost- denied passage in Zihuatanejo because of Atrial Fibrillation. I stumbled on the stairs.

    I did the best I could trying to get some kind of estimate from several air evac cases. The best time from phone call to pushing the emergency doors open at a US hospital was 14 hours. The slowest was "in excess" of 26 hours. Evacs must be conducted from a major airport.
  • Almot's avatar
    Almot
    Explorer III
    Sep 26, 2016
    moisheh wrote:
    ... right up to date on the latest drugs and diagnosis. I can call this morning and get in this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The Cima hospital is across the street and they have the best Cath lab in Latin America.

    Yeah, but that street is 80 miles away from your Kino. Situation is similar to SMA and other popular places - no decent hospital within 50 miles. The initial post was about heart attack - at this point you need a hospital with Dr on duty, not a cardiologist that works 9 to 5.

    Paying out of pocket for emergency in CIMA would be unthinkable. For places of this kind (and many other private hospitals) you need a so-called "catastrophic" insurance plan for semi-permanent residents, with high coverage and high deductible. Cost about $1,500 a year.

    Heart you may try and keep in check, like Mex and others suggested. OTH, stroke comes sudden and window of opportunity is less than 4 hours - then you'll become crippled for life.

    Somebody's comments on Mexicans going to US hospitals are correct. This is not due to lack of good private hospitals on the Mexican side of the border. Poor are getting free emergency care in the US (average Mex public hospital is also free, but the standards are 10 times lower), pregnant women are getting US citizenship for their children, and rich Mexicans are doing it because this is fancy.

    Tell the pastor to pass a word to your friend "up there" not to blame himself for not calling Cruz Roja in Kino. From what I know about this service, you'll be better off calling a taxi.
  • moisheh's avatar
    moisheh
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2016
    I have begun to notice defibs in some public places in Mexico. They are of course more costly in Mexico. I know 2 fellows who have their own units. The Phillips units are not too pricey and available on ebay. Both the clinic and the Red Cross in Kino have defibs.

    Moisheh
  • navegator's avatar
    navegator
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2016
    I have been thinking of purchasing one of the small portable defibrillators self contained easy to use and then my wife says no! You had enough trouble trying to get a cardio workout with the tasser.

    In the late 70s and 80s Mexico was recognized as a leader in Cardiology, the Hospital General purchased special operating tables frrom Sweden for heart surgerry and blood pump machines, my dad was involved with that, one good thing to learn is CPR, I know the older we get the harder it is to pump a heart or blow but you can always count on the Mexicans to lend a hand, you tell them or mimic what they have to do and away you go, someting is better than nothing.

    Hay vamos, al mal paso buena cara.

    navegator
  • ReneeG's avatar
    ReneeG
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2016
    navegator wrote:
    I still like the curandero best.

    You take 2 bottles of tequila and a chicken go to the curanderos hut and you sit in front of him on the dirt in the hut, he takes the chicken throws it down then he takes one botle of tequila sptinkles a bit on the floor, trows some chicken bones and some colred rocks, and tells you to drink the second botle of tequila, the whole thing.

    After drinking the whole bottle and watching him chant and say some incantations

    you have no idea where you are,

    who you are and the best

    what you had,

    so the curandero cured you!


    As es en esta vida loca

    navegator


    Es un loco!
  • ReneeG's avatar
    ReneeG
    Explorer
    Sep 20, 2016
    Swampman597 wrote:
    Otro chiste!!

    You say that like its a bad thing - is it?


    No! It means "another joke".
  • navegator's avatar
    navegator
    Explorer
    Sep 19, 2016
    I still like the curandero best.

    You take 2 bottles of tequila and a chicken go to the curanderos hut and you sit in front of him on the dirt in the hut, he takes the chicken throws it down then he takes one botle of tequila sptinkles a bit on the floor, trows some chicken bones and some colred rocks, and tells you to drink the second botle of tequila, the whole thing.

    After drinking the whole bottle and watching him chant and say some incantations

    you have no idea where you are,

    who you are and the best

    what you had,

    so the curandero cured you!


    As es en esta vida loca

    navegator

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