Hi. New on here and have some questions

[Denva]

How wonderful to find all you fellow hearties. ❤️❤️At last someone who can help me with some queries. Firstly I too was not made aware that the two stents I have been given would take some settling in. Hence when I experienced spasm pain I didn’t know what was going on. My first question: is it also normal to have the angina pain when exerting myself still? Am I naive to think this should all be gone? Second question: I have terrible back pain. When I am sitting down it is fine. It is just when I get up to do something the pain is severe and I have to sit down again. Could this be heart related. I went to my GP but as I suffer from Fibromyalgia she quickly connected it to this. But I question that. Any response would be wonderful. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be when the virus is all around you. I live in New Zealand and at this time we are doing well. Take care all of you.

[scotsrish]

HA and 2 stents April. Never had Angina before but sure have it now and after a few trips to ER was put on low dose nitro patch. My take is the ticagrelor (antiplatelet) is the worst for me for all kinds of side effects including chest pains, pressure, shortness of breath and sore back after walking or hiking usually around the center for me. We won't talk about the bruising, bleading and head aches. Combine that with a statin such as crestor and it caused me knee, back, hip, , elbow etc. pains. Not sure what meds you are on so thought i would put this out there for you.

[Jaynie13]

Hi Denva. Like you I had a HA out of the blue a little over 5 weeks ago. My main left artery was completely blocked but luckily I only had one stent fitted, though at the moment it's thought the HA has damaged my heart. I've had quite a lot of sharp twinges since the emergency angioplasty which shoot across my chest and shoulders, though they only tend to last for a few seconds. I've been assured this is the stent 'bedding in' and the inside bruising and tenderness healing. I now have lower back pain, and also pain in my hips when I've been standing a few minutes. I'm going to mention it to my cardiologist when I see him in a couple of weeks, but right now I'm putting it down to the meds, maybe the large dose of statins (I'm on 80mg of Atorvastatin) and the cardio-rehab exercises that I'm doing. In addition, if I start getting anxious, my aches and pains are always much worse, especially my back and shoulders, so I wonder if this could be exacerbating the pain in your back? Stay safe and take care.

[Denva in reply to Jaynie13]

Oh my. You have connected my sore back with heart. And I feel validated. 😂😂lol. I am going to see my cardiologist tomorrow so will let you know if it s heart related.

[The_Voice]

Stents take a while to settle, yes. Your body is still probably trying to fight the titanium in your heart - it doesn't "belong" there, after all. But it will subside after a while.

[KirstyDC300]

I have all the pain of a HA regularly post stent. Including back ache around the back of the left ribs. I’ve been thoroughly checked out including an angiogram and all is well. Lots of others on here having pains for a long time. I’ve resigned myself to using the spray regularly

[StupidDrugs]

Similar story here to others.

I have a had a few very minor back issues for years and the Atarovastatin I was originally put on (40g) made my lower back flare up worse than anything I have ever known. Not only were the spasms and muscle weakness worse than ever, it took weeks to get over the niggling pains and limp from the flare up. I switched to Pravastatin and the muscle issues vanished. I am now on Rosuvastatin (5mg) and it seems to exasperate any muscle or joint niggles that you may have, including for me in my knees, shoulders and back when getting up from a soft seat, but it is far (far!) better than the Atarovastatin.

Moreover, I also never had angina before the week I had my heart attack (I knew I'd had a heart attack but, being daft, didn't bother going straight to hospital) and I have not had it since my multiple stents (of which two were routine and one was horrendously painful at the time and for a day or three after). However, similar to 'scotsrish' I have had a lot of aches and pains and angina type symptoms from Ticagrelor which I cannot wait to finish!

Notably, the angina type symptoms from the Ticagrelor cause a bit of anxiety, which can also replicate angina symptoms, which creates a vicious circle of symptoms that 'feel' like the heart. I try not to use my GTN and instead tend to tell my self it is not my heart and/or go weightlifting or running and the symptoms usually disappear (disclaimer: use your GTN and call for help if concerned, don't copy my 'remedy'!).

Best wishes!

[Denva]

Went to cardiologist today. Back problems not related. Surprised I was still having angina after stents. He did say that there was an artery that was around 60% but because I had been given a sedative the artery relaxed and could give a false reading. Could have been more. Spasms hard to diagnose but did see them during angiogram so new meds diagnosed. He was very pleased my breathing was better after angiogram.