Unexpected double heart bypass and heart disease

[sherwood123]

Hello everyone,6week post op , double bypass, left hand side.Having no symptoms re chest pain, I began to feel unwell, burning sensation whilst on my bike,went to docs long story short diagnosed with blockage left hand decending. All the box’s you tick for this problem , mine were empty, you wonder why, but eh that’s life ,get on with it. Been discharged by surgeon he is happy, waiting to have another scan to see if my heart has recovered at all, it was down to 15-20%,not what I wanted to hear. Maybe fitting a deflibrator subject to result of scan,the question I cannot not get answered is IF MY HEART IS DAMAGED TO EXTENT DIAGNOSED, then why could I walk miles , ride my bike, lift very heavy objects, felt a strong as a ox ? I hope this write up helps anyone with similar circumstances, and hope everyone with heart problems a speedy recovery, regards Stephen

[Ader42]

Our bodies are remarkably resilient. I was recently told that I shouldn’t even get angina symptoms from my two arteries that are around 60% blocked until they were well over 90% blocked.

[Ader42 in reply to Ader42]

I’d add that earlier this year I was rowing 12k a session several times a week etc when I clearly had significant plaque and no symptoms or knowledge of it.

[Gail1967]

Welcome to the club of having no signs or symptoms until the event that leads to the the cabg x 4 in my case. You think you doing everything to live a good healthy life and wham there it is. I have found out this week I have a high level of Lipo protein a or lpa- which has put a whole new spin on things for me- never heard of that before but reading about it absolutely made sense for me. Hope your results are good and you can get on road to recovery again. I’m now back to my pre event pretty good fitness - feel as strong as an ox- but determined to improve on this so it doesn’t define me and I win!!!

[Ader42 in reply to Gail1967]

I’m trying to find out if I have high LP(a) myself. Did you get a test on the NHS or private? I have managed to get myself referred to local FH unit and am hoping their tests will shed more light on why my TC was over 9. I’m on a statin since the HA and wondering if I will stay on the statin if I do have high LP(a)given that statins or lifestyle changes do not affect LP(a). Are they giving you a PCSK9 inhibitor on the NHS?

[Gail1967 in reply to Ader42]

I’ve been to see a cardiology team on nhs that specialise in hereditary heart probs- due to being fit and healthy with no signs of a prob but having quadruple bypass at 51. I think I was just lucky to be referred as my bro had ha at 35 but was a smoker so it was only with my event they started making family link. Lpa test was done as part of that so it’s completely new to me- no one mentioned this possibility before- so I’m still processing it. I’m at drs Monday as need to see if can get daughter tested and find out next step. Cardiologist has suggested going on med if my ldl rises to 1.4 - it’s currently 1.2.

[Ader42 in reply to Gail1967]

Yeah it’s strange that 1 in 5 people have high LP(a) but it’s little known - they just shove everyone on statins without testing which seems madness to me seeing as statins don’t affect LP(a). My FH appointment isn’t until Feb but think I will wait to see what they have to say before getting private tests. If I do have a genetic component to my high LDL will have to get my son and brothers tested.

[Frenchbulldogsx]

Wow your conversation is very interesting with Gail1967.... I too had no signs of a problem with my heart, don't smoke, drink alcohol and exercise and maintained a healthy diet yet 2 years ago I had a heart attack at work.

I had a quadruple bypass and was told that I have heart disease and that the back of my heart is dead!

My grandad died of a heart attack, he was a fit fella and mowing the lawn at the time.

My dad had a heart attack at 51 and quadruple bypass, he is now happily living in France.

So basically I have mimicked him.

The hospital staff could not believe how healthy I seemed, when I sat in a wheelchair to go for an echo pre operation I heard the nurse say why is she not on a stretcher! I had a defibrillator on my lap. She 😳

I am taking statins, along with asparin and Ticagrelor (added in August) as I had another heart event.

Life is a bloody bitch but I'm signed back to work and back to previous fitness... Just get twinges now and then been told to use nitrate spray but so far have used it once and I didn't see any difference.

[Billypil]

Hi there my friend, Don't be surprised at anything associated with medical problems. In 1980 I repeatedly went to my GP to ask what was wrong with me as I didn't feel all that well. I had always been active and worked at being an Electrician in Industry working on all sorts of equipment from Jaw Crushers in rock quarries, Concrete Batching Plants, Generator Sets, and working on live power up poles etc. The doctor did several Electrocardiograms over several months and assured me that all was well, I was quite healthy. I finally insisted on seeing a specialist and after a while, I finished up at the P.A. Hospital in Brisbane where I found out in about 10minutes that I was urgently in need of Bypass Surgery and this was done in Feb 1981. All that time I never had a pain in my chest, just felt not as good as I should have been. Following that, towards the end of 1981, I got in my car and drove off to a freight depot to pick up a parcel. Don't remember much of that as about the same time as I drove out I suffered a TIA. Don't remember the trip but have a faint recollection of people thinking I was drunk as I couldn't walk or stand well and had trouble speaking.

In 1997 I was working away but something felt a little odd while I was using my hands with arms raised above my head. I immediately phoned for help and was driven to an ED at a hospital nearby. Strangely enough, I was told quite quickly that there was nothing wrong with me, all was well. Again I insisted and was referred to a specialist who quite soon advised me that I urgently needed Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.

That was quite a coincidence of course but I still don't believe in coincidences. In between those two events, I once again felt not as good as I should be and I made a nuisance of myself at another GP. He advised me that I should stop worrying about what could be wrong with myself and just enjoy my life. Again I insisted and asked to be sent to see a Respiratory Physician. This confident gentleman had me book into a large hospital overnight and had some blood tests carried out. He came back the next day and reassured me that I had no respiratory problems at all. He insisted though that I was seriously depressed and gave me prescriptions for two different Anti-psychotic drugs. I was surprised but managed to infer that he didn't know what he was talking about. He left somewhat offended and I managed to obtain a referral to our Pr. Charles Hospital in Brisbane North. It wasn't long before I was hospitalised by a smarter young doctor who conducted a few tests and informed me that (i) I had a number of Pulmonary Embolisms resulting from a DVT in my Right Calf that had not been located when I complained about a sore calf muscle and (ii) I also had Asthma.

The moral of this story is to be guided by your own feelings even if you believe them to be insignificant and if you are not sure of a diagnosis always ask for a second opinion. You know your own body far better than anyone else. There have been other times when I came close to death due to another doctor' failure to realise the seriousness of an illness and I would have died if two nurses had not insisted upon having me transferred to a major hospital to be treated for another about four weeks of pneumonia with my family not expecting me to ever return home. I was also unsure about why I was not diagnosed for another littler problem. Doctors ignored and refused to act on early deaths on the male side of my family. I researched this and found that I had a substance in my blood that was frequently high. Nobody wanted to do anything about thjis but I looked it up and insisted on tests that showed I had a genetic problem with the MTHFR gene that stopped me processing folate by about 70%. It turned out that I was what is described as homozygous MTHFRc677T. Now at 85, the only person I can fully trust with regard to my health is ME.

There is more still with other family members but I guess I have bored you enough top make my point. Life's a lot of fun if you can stay alive.

[fixedrider]

I had no symptoms either, until a couple of incidents in one week when I was cycling to/from work and felt that I wanted to stop, as my chest was a bit odd. Then, on the Saturday, it came on when I was a car passenger, and felt wrong all day, even though I cycled several miles to an AGM and back without real problems. We ended up calling 111, and the upshot was a double bypass within a week.

I was clearly healthy throughout for a heart patient (in spite of a six-week return to hospital owing to an infection, which is another story). I was pushing the boundaries of what the recovery physio team expected/would allow, even though I'm nothing special athletically. I'm now probably as fit as before, and a little lighter, although I'm still definitely overweight and having to work on it.

Because of the quick action by the NHS, I don't think I have too much damage, which is clearly a huge blessing.

[Pollypuss in reply to fixedrider]

Oh dear it’s so depressing when you are fit, doing the right things an wham it happens. In my case I was fi tennis 3 times a week BP fine Cholesterol fine 6 ECGs also fine. However my chest pain was put down to muscular - until one night my chest pain felt different. I drove myself 20 miles to A&E , waited two hours to be seen to be told I had a mild heart attack . Angiogram confirmed I needed a triple bypass ASAP. But I did smoke 40 years ago. Back to tennis now 6 months on - wonderful without pain,. Female age 77

[Ianc2]

Have a look at 'selfhacked' on the net . He open a can of worms by quoting evidence that seems to make the assertion that taking statins makes things worse..

[Billypil in reply to Ianc2]

I have refused to take Statins for years as they are known to cause muscle pain. Try Google you will be surprised. I have not had high cholesterol. Mostly below 5.0. I know that Homocusteine in my blood hasdamaged my vascular system much more than Cholesterol ever could, because researchers are now realising that genetics are a big cause of our problems. I have forced the issue and had a test done for Homocysteine then because that was moderately high I had the test done for the MTHFR gene. Because I proved to be Homozygous MTHFRc677T, my ability to process Folate is reduced by 70%. This causes a loss of most B vitamins especially B12, but still most GPS do not understand this so they ignore it rather than admit the problem.

There is a history of unexplained early deaths even some of my children. It is a nasty problem and can cause many illnesses including mental illness, neural tube defects in babies and numerous other problems

It is interesting to Google MTHFR genes. I believe that in time when the medical world takes notice many illnesses can be treated early and early cardiac problems and still born deaths avoided. Taking extra Folate will probably not help and the synthetic form of Folate, Folic Acid may cause more problems. I am trying to get help with finding out correct dosage of methylated B12, B9, B6 and I believe B2 etc to help to help my family. I constantly wonder about the connection between Fibromyalgia and the MTHFR anomally. Ask your doctor because I was diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue many years ago.

Good luck Bill P. From Oz

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[Pollypuss]

Did you ever smoke.