Heres a thing - when I get my chest pain, if I take a few really deep breaths it goes away! Anyone experience this? I cannot find anything online about this only the opposite ( pain worsens when taking deep breaths)
Suggests to me that I do not have angina & therefore not advisable to try the GTN spray again?
I believe in may help, particularly if you breath through the nose, by increasing oxygen levels and opening blood vessels. It might be a good idea to give the BHF nurses a call to discuss.
Only slightly related thought is that anxiety can cause quick shallow breathing, and long, deep breaths Are recommended, and can calm you down. Could anxiety be any part of it?
You'll want to talk to your doctor about the deep breaths easing what appears to be angina pain - but my personal experience is it does help with my angina, in fact it works so well I usually don't need the GTN. I have 'angina with normal coronaries'.
I told my cardiologist about the deep breaths and he feels it's what MichaelJH suggests - a bit of an oxygen boost that opens blood flow a bit more to the heart. The cardiologist said to give it a go when angina strikes but to be ready to use the GTN if the pain relief is not immediate.
I find the only time I get angina pain now is if I try to move too fast without first warming up on my exercise walk. I rarely need the deep breaths or GTN now I've been on 1.25mg Bisoprolol for over a year, but if I go out to walk without warming up again I do get angina pain - hand on the GTN bottle, I find a wall to lean on or bench to sit on, take several good deep breaths and usually that's all I need but I have the GTN at the ready in case the pain doesn't go away.
Btw, it took me a few weeks at first using the GTN to get past the side effects. I didn't like it but stuck with it and after a few weeks, no more side effects. Too, if I know I can't have a warm-up before needing to move quickly, I sit down and do two pumps with the GTN. Two or three minutes later I'm up and feeling I could sprint pain-free
The beta blocker and the GTN have been life-changing in a very, very good way for me!
Yes I have similar results from deep breathing.
I find when I do breathing exercise pain goes away. I do have a spray but do t use it much.
Thanks! Wonder why there is only the opposite stated anywhere on Google? - Like " angina becomes worse when breathing deeply"?
Because Dr Google is the worst 'doctor' on the planet If Dr Google were a real doctor, he/she would have been struck off years ago for erroneous and dangerously outdated 'information' dissemination. Dr Google is a snake-oil salesman, nowt more.
The search engine can be useful but only if the links clicked on are to reputable medical sources like the BHF and the NHS for British links, and American sites like the American Heart Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Med, Princeton Med, and Johns Hopkins.
I’ve been using, and sometimes teaching, breathing techniques for stage nerves as a musician. We used to call it performing technique, then (bits of) Alexander, now it’s Mindfulness, buts it’s all much the same😀.
I’ve been using it for pain control for some time, so use it to help with angina moments (MVA after MI) reducing my reliance on GTN.
‘Mindfulness for Health’ by Burch & Penman is excellent if all this is new to you. BUT this is to help, it’s not a replacement for the proper meds.
Well I spoke to soon!!
Night wakening
Deep chest pain, right arm & sometimes right leg 7 years post op mechanical AVR - 29 yr old male
Palpitations - help I'm scared
