Coronary spasms

[Janie16]

Since having a heart attack I have been diagnosed with coronary spasms and after getting this under control with medication they have started again. I don’t know of anyone with this condition and have received conflicting information from different doctors. I just feel quite alone and scared. Does anyone else have to deal with this?

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hi Janie 16

Welcome to the forum.

I have lived with vasospastic angina causing microvascular and coronary artery spasms for many years.

It is poorly understood and recognised condition and you are fortunate that you have a Cardiologist who appears to have recognised your condition and started treatment .

It took me some time for my diagnosis to be confirmed.

It can be a bewildering and a frightening experience living with this condition as yes you will get conflicting views.

I have just come home from hospital and had an encounter with a Cardiologist who decided he knew best and wanted to do his own thing and not follow my Admission plan and change all my drugs.

I was able to ask him to speak to my Professor and then the consultant respected my expertise as a patient and was in the end very sympathetic and supportive.

My advice is to read all the information on the BHF website on both MVA and VSA the conditions are inter related.

Be prepared to advocate for yourself. Knowledge is the key to giving you the courage to be able to this. Doctors are human and can't know everything and you may need to help them.

It is really important to establish a partnership with your Cardiologist as it can take time to find the best combination of drugs that will work best for you.

Learn your triggers what makes your angina worse.

Mine are the cold, emotional and mental stress.

Caffeine, adrenaline which is in local anesthetics so tell your dentist.

Beta blockers can make spasms worse too.

Learning to manage stress is very important. I practice mindfulness meditation, Tai chi and yoga. I tend to my garden.

Please don't feel you are alone there are quite a few of us here who will all be along too to share their experiences and ways of living well with our special type of angina.

Good luck

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

These articles are ones to share with your Cardiologist.

heart.bmj.com/content/104/4...

mdedge.com/chestphysician/a...

[Janie16]

Hi

Thanks so much for your message, it’s comforting to know there are others out there like me, and that I’m not about to just die at any second.

I can totally relate to the things you have been through, I too was in hospital recently and it was mentioned that I possibly may have to have the spasming arteries stented, then told that it’s just like a migraine of the heart and not to worry. This is all hard to process, as my cardiac nurse told me that my last bout of severe spasms in fact caused a mild heart attack.

I’ve even been made to feel like it could all in my head, and so perversely was glad that the troponin levels had raised so they’d take me seriously!

Anyway I’m really grateful for your reply, thanks so much.

[Janie16]

Hi

They suspected based on my symptoms, then confirmed it with the angiogram. I had a heart attack in December and had a stent, and then the spasms started. They were under control for a good few weeks then started again :/

Wish I knew what caused the whole thing, as apparently I tick no boxes. Although I’m not convinced stress/anxiety is not a cause...

[Janie16]

To be honest I didn’t know there were different types of angiogram, so if it was a specialist one they didn’t say. You’re not being nosey at all ask me whatever you want. All I know is they did the angiogram as they didn’t know what was going. And the chap could see them on the screen and remarked that they were significant. He also widened my stent, which he said needed to be done as sometimes when you’re having a heart attack the arteries constrict, so the stent fits at the time but then becomes too small. Are you taking any medication for spasms? I am taking Tildiem, which I have just increased the dose of to see if that works.

[Janie16]

😂 It’s great isn’t it. If you are suffering with spasm like symptom maybe ask to try a calcium channel blocker and see if that helps. It’s so debilitating and can be very scary.