So - I’m now 5 months post stent. I’ve been getting stronger by the week, playing football pretty hard with no reaction / discomfort.
About a month back on a cold morning I got a familiar pain in my shoulder after some very gentle exercise. Eventually I wrote it off as muscle pain.
Tonight (after a poor warm up), the pain kicked in again after 5 minutes of football. I stopped, took my spray, the pain went away and I finished the session strong as ever.
My rehab were insistent on the importance of warm up - and impact of cold air. But is there anyway i would still get this pain if the arteries were open? Could It just be a reaction to starting too quickly while I’m on Beta Blockers? Or impact of cold air on the stent itself?
I’m grasping at straws.
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DavidG1971
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Having had to be stented means that you have CVD. They will have treated the worse narrowings but other areas will be affected to a lesser degree. Go and char with your GP - he might decide to request an exercise ECG.
Thanks - i understand that. I did have another artery that wasn’t stented with a 30% narrowing....but it wasn’t expected to be an issue. So while that’s a strong possibility, I’m hopeful there might be another explanation. Cold air on the stent? Not warming up properly - Beta Blockers. Im having another stress test anyway, so I guess that will help. But my final rehab exercise test was fine, i never had any issues in rehab and I was fine later in the same session - after running much harder.
Hi David, Fergus here. We have corresponded on a couple of previous posts and being stented in one artery and having a mild blockage in another one I think we are in a similar situation.
I live in New Zealand where its currently about 5 'c outside. I am 2 years post stent and have just finished a 5k run in 21 minutes which at 54 is about the same as I was before my stent with no additional chest pain which I assume rightly or wrongly means that none of my arteries are currently blocked enough to be symptomatic and cause angina.
I have suffered sub sternal chest pain regularly for years but because exercise, cold etc as well as gtn spray do not effect it I have always been told it is non ca4diac in nature. In 5 months I think it is unlikely that your stent has re blocked or other artery worsened enough to cause issues but if your pain is relieved at rest or the spray helps it might be worth getting checked out.
I recently found out that I have a hiatus hernia that is probably the cause so maybe you have one also as they are very common.
if you suffer from acid reflux as well give a ppi a trial and see if it helps as I now take omeprazole for this.
I have no medical training except Dr Google but have had similar experience as you so if you have any questions let me know cheers
Thanks Fergus. I was also very tight in the shoulder muscles yesterday - i could feel then pulling this am when I got out of bed. So could have been muscular.
It's hard to know as well as worrying. I've had chest pains for the last few years, before and after my stent. If I went to A and E every time I had chest pain I would be there most days.
I had an ACS and the only symptom was shortness of breath which made it difficult to talk.
I spoke to a cardiologist who told me that heart attacks and acs will all effect exercise capacity so if you have chest pain do some exercise.
Any shortness of breath, go to A and E, no breathlessness carry on watching telly.
Unfortunately I end up doing burpees most days at some point but fortunately no shortness of breath yet.
The cold air gets too me, but current temperatures are OK now for me. I expect that next winter I will feel the cold and something will happen.
But to get to the point. I had an almost blocked artery and that was stented. The other artery was 70% blocked and there was a build up over a much longer length. They thought it should be treated with pills and I would be ok (the alternative was a bypass) - but I wasn't. A month later, I was back in hospital after chest pains made me dial 999. I was there a couple of nights, and they were all ready to discharge me (I thought I'd be offered a bypass), I was sitting on the bed waiting for the final signature, when the consultant came and said they had a long stent, 48mm long. I had no idea they could be that long. Anyway I said yes please and it was put in 2 hrs later and I spent another night in hospital. And that's the point really of all this, there are some very long stents around and even some narrowing may still cause problems which the docs don't expect.
Its taken a while to settle down, but I now feel a lot better, but get tired quite quickly. I really do need to go to the exercise classes. I feel rubbish if I don't. I've changed my diet.
Now, 10 months later, I usually feel I am making progress, but it's been slow for me; now retired after a very sedentary job for 45 years. There are still days/occasions when I just have no energy at all. Angina like pains gone, docs say the back pain I'm getting is muscular; I just hope they are right.
Hi, I had HA and stent end of Jan this year, slow to recover as I’m a chronic asthmatic. I found walking in the cold difficult but realised I tend to breath through my mouth. I found if I suck Jakeman’s menthol sweets (other sweets are available!) it makes me keep my mouth closed and I can walk more confidently.
I know it sounds daft but it seems to work for me.
Hi VelvetSky. I thought it was just me 😀 I’m not asthmatic but have hay fever and find Jakemans a great help. Vicks vapour rub has also been a help when I had a bad cold.
Our cardio doc let us know that cold air is not our friend. He suggested just wrapping a scarf over the mouth and nose so the air warms up before entering the airways. In sports you might try a gator.
Warming up before any exercise is necessary for everyone regardless of their heart issues. It’s important to get the body ready for more strenuous exercise. Same with cooling down.
The most important thing is to exercise! More research has shown we recover faster and live longer. The life of a coach potato is not a life. Keep moving and enjoy your second chance!
Do you know WHY cold air is not our friend? Because one of our arteries is still narrow, because we have metal in us or maybe the medication? If I understood that bit, might find a bit more peace with it. Thanks.
I only post this after reading so many posts with patients concerns and questions as well as my own experiences (that I lived though) going back well over 10 years ago. You lived though and you know your body.
You listen to what your body is telling you. Listen and come to your own answers/conclusions as nobody else can.
You have your common sense. Doctors only act on their guidelines and give you their "opinions" and they have no clue about your body, to be frank. Their hands are tied, they are not going to discuss anything beyond what they are told to do (by the guidelines). They have their computer screen and they are busy ticking boxes. All boxes ticked, that's it, you're good to go, farewell & have a nice life!
Why there are so many posts full of questions and concerns dismissed and not considered propertly by NHS or doctors on this hub?
Because not all tests can show/tell you as to what's going on. The body is a hellva complex entity. You/patients are naturally concerned and want to find out what's going on. They don't need to tell you everything as they can't tell any. "oh, it's muscular" is just based on their "impression", not coming from any sort of valid source. Their tests are limited. Anything too academic (could this be this or could this be that?) after you had a standard treatment is not going to be considered on cash strapped NHS when abroad, you might get a little further.
Realistically, you have CVD but systemic inflammation can affect anywhere. Have you seen some studies of association with CVD and other systemic conditions? Could they really confirm that your pain is simply "muscular"? Have you asked "Can you prove it?". They can't, they said it just to bail and end the consultation as quickly as they possibly can. Their clinics time is limited and so many patients waiting. That's the reality.
My common sense/my own experience tells me, that, of course, your symptoms are related. Given so many patients, struggling post-stenting on this hub, it's not a big surprise, is it? Another question: are you sure you are not "over-training" beyond your limitation, which is known to be just as bad as "not doing anything"? Pushing too hard can put a huge strain on your system, especially with CVD. I would not go as far as saying, 'slow down' as it's your own choice and enjoy life to the full. The importance of warming up. Sure. It seems a little different here.
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