Heart scare

[concup]

Hi Everyone, just a post to relate my last week experience

I have persistent/permanent Afib 18months,paramoxial 30 years,BP 140/70 HR 90,on apixaban 5mg twice a day

On Monday morning I finally plucked up the enthusiasm to trim my back hedge,I was on the last edge when I got this unusual pain in my chest,just under my armpit.Given my condition, my wife drove me down to drs surgery just down the road and next thing I was in an ambo on the way to hospital, with a nitro tablet under my tongue by this time I was in a fair dinkum anxiety state, with the old ticker about 180.

Taken to A and E and wired up to the usual machines, blood tests but apart from the Afib everything looked fine and the pain was much better, except for HR which was down to 120,so after an hour or 2 they were looking to send me home until the blood test for troponin came back as 1200.For those not familiar with this test, normal is under 1 and anything over 3 is cause for concern

Talk about hitting the panic button!! I was whisked off to the catheter lab and given an angiogram,which showed an artery with a 60% blockage,so as this was borderline they put a stent in and sent me to the ward.Over the next few days I underwent a series of tests, including Echo ,TOE,CCTA etc,the whole 9 yards,everything came back normal, except for moderate narrowing of aorta,so cardios were really scratching their heads, as ,given my high troponin level (got as high as 1800,but now down to 250) there could be something very seriously wrong and although I had a borderline artery block they were not sure this caused my original pain.

Anyway,I got discharged this morning with a stack of meds,and here's the punchline, in my discharge notes, my diagnosis was given as

" Rapid Atrial Fibrillation" with chest pain caused by muscle strain.

Bizarre but at least I got a good working over for free!!!

Dave M

[BobD Volunteer]

Good call Dave. I once strained all my intercostal muscles whilst tightening a hub on a Grp C car to 210 ft lbs and they went into cramp at 4 am. Similar exercise! Good to get a thorough work up even if you do waste a lot of time in hospital. Free stent as well.eh.

Some people do have raised troponin levels with AF I understand as well as severe chest pain some needing morphine.