Sorry for your loss of a good friend Greg.

You're giving good advice to anyone who will listen. Two personal stories follow.

Story 1: In 1997, at age 53, I was having a general check-up with my Internist. He asked how I was doing. I said I was doing real well except for a general loss of energy which I attributed to age. In fact, I found myself having to stop and rest a bit when walking a quarter mile to my deer stand. "Any chest pains?", he asked, "funny feelings in your arms or upper back?". Nope - never - just tire more easily than I used to. Even have to take a break mowing the lawn. Getting older I guess. He took me by the hand and led me to the Cardiologist next door, who put me on a treadmill. Two days later I had triple bypass surgery. The doc said "one day soon you would not have made it to that deer stand".

Story 2: Three months ago my brother-in-law had a complete check-up at the insistence of my sister. Typical story. A guy in good health with never any problems. But the wife says "you're getting to that age where you ought to get things checked - a proctoscope exam, a treadmill test, etc." He did it to stop the nagging. They found a blockage in the "widow maker" artery and put a stint in a few days later. Doc said it was a ticking bomb - one of those situations that seldom give a warning.

So guys. Listen to Greg. Don't ignore symptoms. Life is too precious.