A Recent Heart Episode?

[Burnsy1973]

Hi all. After recently waking at 2 am, with the most agonising pain in my chest, i was taken to hospital by ambulance and subjected to various tests (ECG and bloods)

Initally, my ECG was normal, both at home with the ambulance guys and in A and E, but after the ECG changed and i was put in the care of a coronary nurse and was treated for a "heart episode" and admitted to CCU.

After review from the Dr, it was suggested to me that the pain "wasn't caused by the heart" and that it was most likely to be musculoskeletal.

I know my body and I know it's not a muscle strain. Muscles dont heal in a matter of hours, surely?

The initial pain i had was left central, into my neck, throat and the top of my left arm but after a few hours it moved around. Later, while on the ward, the pain was constant and unresponsive to pain relief (except diamorph) and went from 6 on the pain scale right down to a 2 within 30 minutes or so where as an hour earlier, Oramorph didn't touch it.

I am still having strange feelings (pain in my left shoulder, palpitations, light headedness) and I'm terrified as my job involves delivering furniture to rooms of choice.

Has anybody else had any similar experience? I know the Drs have to go off what their results suggest but I just have a gut feeling that it's not right and all research i do leads to unstable angina.

[skid112 Heart Star]

Hi there,

it could have been a spasm that affected you, i assume they ran blood tests and other tests along with ECGs. DId they give you a GTN spray and this had no effect as well?

I would go back and pester your GP for some follow ups with a cardiologist

Mark

[Burnsy1973 in reply to skid112]

Thanks for replying.

Yes, they did quite a few ECG s and 2 blood tests. The bloods came back negative. The initial dose of GTN I was sensitive to and my blood pressure/heart rate dropped dramatically. The subsequent doses didn't have an effect.

Cheers for your advice, I will certainly do that.

[skid112 Heart Star in reply to Burnsy1973]

Hi, the GTN should really have helped if the pain was angina, sometimes not but more than often it would.

bhf.org.uk/heart-health/con...

Still pester your GP, more investigation is needed

[Burnsy1973 in reply to skid112]

Thanks, I'm awaiting a phone call appointment.

[ClaireATP]

Just wondering if they ruled out a hernia? I'm no medical expert but they can be extremely painful and as you lift heavy weights for a living, just a thought. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

[Burnsy1973 in reply to ClaireATP]

A hernia wasnt ever mentioned and i was perfectly fine when i went to bed. Also I have been lifting things without so much as a twinge.

Thanks, me too.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hi Burnsy you may find the information at the end of this thread

helpful.

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

[Burnsy1973]

Thank you. That was very useful.

[Donkster in reply to Burnsy1973]

Hi I had a similar thing happen to me and it turned out to be pneumonia and I was roughly walking around with those symptoms for about six months ended up in hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy left me with scaring on my lung not saying you have pneumonia but the symptoms are the same (go back to the doctors)

[Burnsy1973 in reply to Donkster]

Thanks. I have an appointment this morning.

[Burnsy1973]

Just returned from my GP, who has gone with everything that the hospital have said.

[IamMe2]

I had a similar episode to you about 3 years ago. After being kept in hospital overnight and being given various tests I was told it was indigestion and sent on my way. The reoccurring pains stopped me running, often saw me sitting in the hedge when out walking and led to me having to give up the job which I loved. My GP was insistent it was indigestion. After a bout of severe daily pains last Summer I eventually (against her better wishes) I was referred to the cardiology dept for tests. All Good. In October I was having a blood pressure test for something unrelated and routine when it was discovered that I was about to have a major heart attack! I have an artery that is completely blocked so it needs bypassing rather than a stent. However because I have formed my own bypasses into the territory of the blocked artery they say it is a very stable situation and so am still on the waiting list.

If only I had pestered my Doctor's surgery, maybe even asked for a second opinion I would not be in this predicament now. Yes, I am working again, but not in the job I loved so much, no, I cannot run anywhere seriously, yes, I can walk for hours without pain, but get breathless uphill. The medication helps but is not a solution. Oh, and I still don't suffer from indigestion! BE A PAIN. MAKE YOUR DOCTOR LISTEN. Good luck

[Burnsy1973 in reply to IamMe2]

Thanks for that. I will certainly do that if I have any more major symptoms.

Although I've been free of pain for a few days, no more repeat of the heart attack pains, I still feel something sinister happened that night.

I've never heard of a musculoskeletal pain that goes from zero to 10 and back down to zero within 36 hours, and for it then to change in sensation and location from my central chest to upper left. One doctor diagnosed pleuricy for this latest pain, which resulted in another visit to the E.D. and another diagnosed more muscle pains.

I'm back at work on Wednesday, back to carrying furniture up and down stairs, so we will soon see.

[IamMe2]

Keep pestering. Good luck

[janeytrace]

This is almost spot of my experience wow, except I didn’t get to have the blood tests yet. The arm pain not there all the time but the back pain is it’s spread to the nerves still thought to be cardiac related even though ecg only shows the normal t wave inversion which some of us have to live with.It’s depends on if you can be given certain medications or not because of interactions. You could ask for alternative pain relief, the liver can cause a lot of pain in my opinion when on pain relief I take lansoprazole first to try and avoid the gastric upset which can feel like angina but I do have hiatus hernia. The only other pain I’ve felt so bad was ulcer and kidney stones at the same time. Apparently lots of us live with those.

Good luck in finding the cure

Hydrate well eat light and get a vitamin profile done and metabolic panel blood test.