Worried wife

[tillysnan28]

Hi. My husband had a triple bypass Nov last year..3 months into his recovery he was doing great having long walks and everything. But for the last few months.. he has been having severe pains in his shoulders and getting breathless a lot.. mainly at night time. So he has been using Glyceryl Trinitrate spray and it works but I thought it was for angina and he hasn't been told he has that. Also he's now using it a lot more (probably about 3 times a day) is this ok? He never see's the same doctor or consultant it just doesn't seem right to me please can someone put my mind to rest

[Hidden]

Hi Tilly. Sorry to hear about your husband. Has your husband been prescribed a GTN spray by a GP since he started getting these symptoms or is it a spray he has had from before his bypass? I had a double bypass in Feb and have not used my GTN spray since. However, if I had the symptoms your husband has and was using my spray three times a day I would go and see the GP or contact the cardiac department I had my surgery in to discuss my symptoms.

[Hidden]

Contact his gp immediately.

[Hidden]

I agree with seeing someone, ideally a cardio doc from his previous treatment. I can’t offer medical advice obviously, but my tuppence for what it’s worth.

I had pain in shoulders, back, neck and was unusually breathless, even going up the stairs. GP suspected angina but it turned out I had pericarditis.

That is where there is inflammation & possibly fluid in the sac around the heart. It is typically benign but can have a serious complication (tamponade, where heart contraction is restricted). So it’s important to get it checked out.

You may need to ask about pericarditis specifically, not many Dr’s have experience of it. Symptoms include:

Pain in back/neck/shoulders (referred pain from heart). Shortness of breath. Tightness, constriction, discomfort or pain on inhalation. Pain & tightness changes with body position, with lying on back typically worst and sitting up & forward sometimes easier. Doc could listen to your chest & may hear a “rub”, either pleural (lungs, where fluid may also gather) or pericardial (around heart). These two are hard to distinguish, but if heard, ask for other tests. Some also have changes on ECG or have fluid seen on echocardiogram. But tests unclear sometimes.

I believe angina and pericarditis symptoms are similar. Describing what happens on breathing may help Dr determine. But definitely need to see a doc. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

PS pericarditis can come as a result of heart surgery, (which is obviously worth discussing with doc in your husband’s case), as well as from the body’s response to a virus, or an autoimmune condition like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Another typical and easy test is called CRP, or C-reactive protein. This can help identify if he has inflammation or an infection/virus. It’s just a simple blood test.

[Ianc2]

Go to casualty if your symptoms start up again .