Hello I’m new to this as have only been diagnosed with narrowing of mid LAD diagonal branch of 90%
I feel in shock and have cried I don’t feel unwell ( well the meds he give me made me feel awful )
Been told the consultant will review me in 6 months i am. Scared as 90% seems bad
Any comments welcome
Hi Kei and welcome to the forum. It is a real shock when you are told something like that....... I remember it made me feel terribly mortal, and still does!
But I am reassured (for what it’s worth!) that you have a Consultant aware of what’s happening and you have a follow up appointment with them.
Were you getting a lot of symptoms before? Are you getting less (in spite of feeling rough] on the new pills?
Hi thanks for reply
I had a one off at work with a lot of pain but thought it was my hiatus hernia turns out it was my heart.
I now have a strange feeling in my back between shoulders like pressing
I am only on statins and aspirin this is one of the reason i feel worried but i am more reassured .
Hope you don’t mind but what has happened to you ?
My mid LAD was 95% blocked and the adjacent opening of the first diagonal (which is what I assume you are referring to) was also 95% blocked when I finally had them done. I'd been running around happily with no issues whatsoever.
Indeed, admittedly to the displeasure of my rehab nurse, after a week or so of rest I was running daily as part of my rehab from a 99% blocked RCA and mild MI - which was, by the way, 0% blocked when I had an angiogram four years previous. Any feelings of not being well, for me, were caused by the drugs I was prescribed after flukily finding I had severe CHD (finally just stopped Bisoprolol - one down, two to go!).
Everybody is different but the only advice I can give is, if you are not suffering any issues, don't worry and trust the cardiologist. Among a couple of other things, a build up of work/life stress is what finally 'popped' one of my many lesions!
Out of interest, being nosy, how did they find the blockage if you are not feeling unwell?
Hi thanks for your reply ,sounds like you have Cracked it.
I have a hiatus hernia and had been having problems with pain after a lot of tests the consultant thought it best to have other tests due to him not really seeing any changes in my hernia, had referral to cardiologist and he sent me for CT angiogram then for angiogram via my groin ( which after 6 weeks is still giving me pain ).
So from hernia to heart which was a shock for me I am happy to see how well you are doing gives me hope but don’t think I will be as active as you walking is my exercise when i feel up to it.
Hiya, Kit, and welcome to the forum. It is a huge emotional blow to most people to be told they have what sounds like a life-long life-threatening condition, especially a heart one. And it doesn't help the meds are making you feel unwell just when you've been diagnosed with this condition.
A 90% blockage does sound dire but if the cardiologist felt you were in imminent danger he would have booked you for stents - he feels your condition is safe for the next six months so that's a good reassurance.
However - were you given any advice on managing during the next six months, for example, diet and exercise, telephone or email details of someone to contact should you feel your medications want dosage adjustments? Were you told one or more of the medications were prescribed to reduce the blockage? Were your medication prescriptions explained at all?
It is completely standard for someone sitting in an exam room listening to a consultant inform of a major health issue to go into a condition we call 'brain fogged over' - you see the lips moving, you hear some sort of sounds coming from the consultant but you're not really taking in what the consultant is saying.
Now you've had a bit of time to come out of the fog, see if you can get your questions answered by telephoning your GP - or the cardiologist if you've been given contact details for him or his nurses. Your GP should be able to quickly answer over the phone but see if you can email instead so you have the answers to refer back to rather than relying on memory during a phone discussion. You need to know the following:
Who do I call when I have questions?
What symptoms should I be alert to for potential worsening?
What changes should I make to my diet?
What exercise can/should I take?
What are all these medications for?
What is the short and long term prognosis for my specific condition(s)?
Scary times - but we merry band of Hearties welcome you and are here to support you through those scary times
Hi thank you for your reply
I felt I didn’t have a clue to be honest when i had the angiogram i had been given something to calm me as i was so nervous, after I was informed to stay flat and not to lift my head as this could cause bleeding , the consultant came to talk to me but i have no memory of it, when i got home i just took the medication feeling he wouldn’t have issued it if not needed but no idea what it was for .
I checked it out on the internet I didn’t fare well on the meds headaches fainting off my food My GP took me off one but asked me to contact the consultant to check what his plans were for me re treatment
Consultant phone after 1 week waiting he told me to stop all of the meds apart from aspirin and statin he said he had planned on doing a stent in approx 3 months due to list but decided to wait for 6 months saying he felt i would be ok bit to work with GP with any problem i had .
I had to visit consultant at our hospital due to the unbearable pain in my groin he sent name for ultra sound i had infection in the site area 3 weeks of antibiotics and still have pain but less and manageable .
GP has said to build up my exercise when i feel better and to eat healthy and that she feels that the consultant would not of decided to leave me for 6 months if he felt i was in danger
I feel anxious and hope nothing bad happens in the mean time
Sorry for long post
Not at all long, so no worries! And LOL - I begged for all the 'anxiety relieving' medication they could give me before my angio and it took three days for the meds to wear off and the fog to lift! I had the double-whammy, angio through my wrist and right-heart study through the groin but luckily I didn't have infection at either site - good to hear yours is now showing some improvement after the antibiotics kicked in.
It does sound as though your GP and cardiologist are 'on it' in your case, that's great but it's those wee hours worries that leave you anxious during the day. I think everyone here knows what it's like to feel quite anxious so don't hesitate to ask for tips on coping with it.
Hi I hope you don’t mind me asking what treatment did you have and for what diagnosis .
I have multiple heart conditions - all mild and so far well controlled with medication and a 'heart-smart' lifestyle.
*Rheumatic Heart Syndrome (RHS, after a childhood bout with rheumatic fever, also left me with what my rheumatologist calls 'the mildest case of rheumatoid arthritis ever'; managed by lifestyle)
*Aortic valve scarring (from the RHS, managed by lifestyle and regular scans to monitor progression)
*Recurrent pericarditis (with pericardial effusion managed by regular scans to monitor amount, scarring, thickening; as I am intolerant to the commonly prescribed medications for acute flares, this too is managed by lifestyle and being alert to signs of imminent flare)
*'Angina with normal coronaries' - and that's the condition I take a low-dose beta blocker and an aspirin tablet for every morning (Bisoprolol 1.25mg+300mg aspirin). I also have a GTN spray I use mostly just before doing a warm-up for morning and afternoon walking-for-fitness)
I also have non-heart conditions (PCOS and Essential Tremor). Ain't life grand? 
Oh my word you have so much strength thanks for telling me .
Hi Kit and welcome.
You’ve already had some excellent advice. My D1 artery was diagnosed with a “mild “ narrowing in January via a CT angiogram. I assume your diagnosis was from an angiogram? Were there any other blockages? What medication are you on?
I think the first point is that your reaction is perfectly natural and shared by the vast majority of people here when first diagnosed. A diagnosis of any serious disease brings our mortality to the front of our minds - rather than bobbing around in the background.
I advise you to find out all you can about your condition via your GP, cardiologist, BHF (via the nurses on the helpline) but avoid too much googling. There is a lot of information online but please stick to trusted sources. Also find out why you have been prescribed your medication, what are the objectives for taking it, and what possible side effects.
My main reason for posting is this. If your consultant thought you needed immediate treatment, you would have got it. In my experience, cardiologists don’t tend to sugar coat it.
Once you come to terms with the initial shock, there are positives. You haven’t had a heart attack and are now at less risk of having one than before you found out. You have an opportunity, with medication and any relevant lifestyle changes, to dramatically slow or even stop the progress of the atherosclerosis causing the blockage.
You are also in the “system” and will be monitored and treated proactively rather than reactively. Should any surgery be required in the future, this can be done on a planned basis.
Trust the professionals - many decades of knowledge and experience underpin you’re treatment advice. Everything they say and do is with your best interest in mind. The treatment of heart conditions is developing all the time.
This forum and the BHF website is full of examples of people leading full, happy and long lives with heart disease. Your life may be different going forward, but use this news to make it different in a positive way.
It may not seem so at the moment, but it really is better to know.
Angiogram is the gold standard diagnostic test so that’s reassuring. My CT angiogram indicated two 25-49% blockages so I didn’t go for an angiogram.
Sounds like your original consultant was on the ball in referring you to the cardiologist.
As you probably know, the statin will lower your cholesterol and over time reduce the amount of plaque (made up of cholesterol) in your arteries. It will also reduce inflammation in your arteries and work to stabilise the plaque. Different people seem to tolerate different statins. So don’t be afraid to raise this with your GP. If you have side affects, you can try another brand.
The aspirin thins the blood making a blood clot in the artery less likely.
So ironically, whilst you’re probably currently finding it difficult to think of anything other than the health of your heart; you’re at less risk of having a heart attack now than you were a few months ago - when the thought probably never occurred to you.
You’ve had a shock and it will take time to come to terms with it but you will. Try and stay positive and remember, things could have been much worse. The mind is very powerful and can create lots of physical symptoms so try and relax to help you stay positive.
Whilst no surgery involving something as delicate as your heart is minor, stents are routine surgery happening daily across the UK. You really have nothing to fear from it.
It might be an idea on Monday to call the free BHF helpline and speak to one of the nurses. I’m sure they can help ease your mind.
Best wishes
I had 100% blockage of LAD and subsequent 2 stents fitted- when I enquired “was this drastic” my cardiologist said that often the heart finds new routes around the blockage. I am a few years down the line and still get angina - have you considered high dose thiamin - I am sure this has helped me
I had a HA in April this year and had one stent in for a blocked coronary artery.
I am getting there now after 4 months but I was honesty plagued by anxiety when it initially happened .
I had breast ca 1 year ago and thankfully ok after the lumpectomy.
I caught the virus whilst having the stent in so I really thought this the
Very end of my life .
But with family support and cadiac rehab physio / nurses I am doing well . Just started the couch to 5k
And the anxiety is less now .
I’m sure you will be ok . I think mine was all
In the mind that I was going to die etc and I’m still here thank god !
I think I have become a stronger person for what life has sprung soon me and I’m sure you will too .
Your anxiety is normal and this forum is really good to see how others are coping with what is a major event in your life .
Wishing you well,
Sheila x
Thanks , the mind is very powerful .
I had an Angiogram that told Dr I had 95% LAD blockage. Was a bit stunned and thought a stent imminent but 3 months later I had one . Feel ok now . That was 8 years ago . You’ll be ok . Trust the Drs . I also think it’s a wake up to review lifestyle and welcome to the club !
Thanks for reply
Eight years ago that’s great news have you had any problems in those years?
Are you on medication still ?
In the tree month wait did you do normal things or did you act differently I don’t really mean diet as i know that has to change if it was not so good before i mean things like gardening driving etc.
I am interested due to having a waiting time of 6 months to see the consultant as before my diagnosis i had been in Rome pushing my grandson up and down hills in the Pram
Weeding the garden now I’m nervous .
Thanks for reply
Eight years ago that’s great news have you had any problems in those years?
Are you on medication still ?
In the tree month wait did you do normal things or did you act differently I don’t really mean diet as i know that has to change if it was not so good before i mean things like gardening driving etc.
I am interested due to having a waiting time of 6 months to see the consultant as before my diagnosis i had been in Rome pushing my grandson up and down hills in the Pram
Weeding the garden now I’m nervous .
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