Heart Attack with stent

[Kittenheels]

I had a heart attack less than 2 weeks ag and have had a stent fitted. My heart stopped so I had one shock to bring me back. I am so grateful to the doctors who saved my life. I am feeling a bit nervy and anxious and cold and achy is this normal.

[Qualipop]

Oh goodness, that's absolutely completely normal. It's exactly how I felt when I had a heart attack out of the blue and stents fitted. It's an incredible shock and you are bound to feel anxious and worried and scared. Anyone suddenly faced with their own mortality feels like that. You must remember, you are very lucky. Think about it- you survived and they have fixed the immediate problem. You are better and safer now than you were before. You are on medication to help prevent it happening again and to keep you safe. You may have side effects from some of the tablets; don't hesitate to talk to your GP about any problems or worries. I'm afraid once the hospital has fixed your plumbing that's generally the last you hear from them and you will be passed on to your GP. In a few weeks you will hear from the Cardiac rehab team. If they have started rehab again after Covid, do go for it. It's a tremendous help not just for fitness but also for your confidence. The rest is now up to you to make yourself as healthy as possible. Lose weight if necessary; change your diet ( Lots of recipes and advice on the Brit Heart Foundation website), stop smoking if you do and start with gentle walking exercise. Good luck. You will panic at every bit of chest pain, every ache, every shortness of breath. It's normal but it will get better.

[Kittenheels in reply to Qualipop]

Thankyou for your helpful reply, made me feel a little better. Tonight I felt like I wanted to be sick, but wasn’t. Also feeling cold all the time and not very much appetite but maybe this is normal too.

[Qualipop in reply to Kittenheels]

Could be your tablets; give it time for them to settle down but if really worried, phone your GP. Alternatively he BHF nurses are really helpful. You can ring them on 0300 330 3311; 9 to 5 weekdays and 10 - 4pm Saturdays

[Kittenheels in reply to Qualipop]

Thankyou very much for your help.

[gcdonaldson]

I had pretty much the same in Feb 2020 but it was an out-of-hospital arrest so lucky that a defib and doctor were to hand at my rowing club. I lost conciousness after 20 min on a rowing macine. I understand the nerves - going for a walk in a wood and realizing that there is nobody around did make me panic - I was so pleased to get out of those woods. Any odd feeling in the body at this stage will cause concern but don't worry you have been fixed and on meds and therefore in a better position than before. I went for walks to starts, and then on a bicycle. Rowing will restart post-covid in August and I can go back to seeing my mates at the weekend. Find a type of exercise - class or group that you enjoy and that will keep your interest - start very slowly. Just walking up the hill to Sainsbury's was a big achievement at the time. There is no hurry - indeed - in a few weeks you will need to hold youself back. I also gave up the fags - miss it so much - but its got to be done. I guess with the name Kittenheels - you are a women and a heart attack even more unexpected but if you read some of the stories here you will realize that you are not alone.

[Golfgirl3]

Good morning Kittenheels. Yes, absolutely normal to feel anxious and have odd twinges and twangs but it’s also possible to pick up bugs which make you feel ill. I thought my nausea was a side effect of the heart attack/stent or a reaction to the medication. Turns out it was neither and I needed a couple of days on anti- sickness meds till the bug cleared. It may be worth having a chat with your GP or the out of hours service.

[Henry20]

Kittenheels

Well done for still being here. Thanks also for writing about what happened, it helps others to know they are not alone.

You don't say whether this was a surprise event, or if you knew already that there were some health issues. Can I assume that this was a total surprise?

I didn't have a HA, just needed stents, first one stent and then another about 8 weeks later. That was a shock. I didn't know any longer what my body was doing - at times it led me a merry dance of aches and pains. Could I ignore them? Well, there was no right answer. It's really for the medics to tell you. We can say what happened to us, but we are each unique. What can be ignored by me may well be important in your case. You should listen to your body, try to learn the patterns of aches and pains. If you're like me, you will seek medics to discuss events with initially, and then it will decline in frequency as you learn what is normal for you.

One thing I was totally unprepared for was the effect on my mind and how I interacted with my family. I needed to talk to them, needed them to understand how I felt, depressed one moment, happy and full of beans the next.

I also felt nervous being out on my own. What if something happened? Would anyone think to get to the defib on the wall just across the road.? Maybe, maybe not. So I decided not to hide my condition. I didn't overtly tell everyone, but I didn't hide it either. If there was a suitable moment, it was just a quick mention. People I knew, they too knew I had heart issues.

It's been mentioned above, Rehab. Do take it up. I now pay for my classes, it's not a lot, but it helps tremendously.

Good luck, take things easy now at the start. Do write again, about yourself or in reply to others. Just doing this is a sort of therapy.

Henry

[Kittenheels in reply to Henry20]

Thankyou so very much. Yes for me this was totally unexpected normally fit and healthy or so I thought, we never know what is round that corner.

[Pollypuss]

Do they normally tell you if your heart stopped during cardio surgery

[Henry20]

Kittenheels

Just thought of something that I did. First stent was inserted the day before I went on holiday (still in this country) for a family celebration. It was a bit out of the way, nothing near by except sheep and a few humans. Kept my GTN spray with me. Doctors happy for me to go a day late. Needless to say, I didn't drive at all for the whole holiday.

I was in the local village, not big, but, it turned out, it was well prepared with first aiders etc. Anyway, I collapsed, passed out - cold. First aiders were there within 5 mins - over an hour to A&E though. As I was being loaded into the ambulance, another in the party thrust something in my hand - my medical notes given to me by the hospital were in there. They were in our car.

The doctor at A&E was so grateful to see those notes - they told her all she needed to know to treat me. My memory during her examination of me was dreadful, I wasn't certain of anything. Her comment - why doesn't everyone do this?

As it turned out, there was nothing seriously wrong that taking it a bit easier wouldn't fix.

It's just a thought, no matter where you go. A copy of those notes and the list of your medication as photos on your phone (or on paper)should be with you.

I've never needed them again and hope you never need yours ....

Keep well

Henry

[Simonrainbow]

Hiya, the good news is that is the absolute normal way to feel. My MI was in April 2015, and had 3 shocks over 8 minutes to get me back to the light.

The interesting effect, which you may want to watch out for is that there is a chance you will feel similar aches and pains ( through muscle memory and mental re - occurrence for quite a while, this can lead to some nervousness , again very normal. However the biggest challenge is the mental changes you will go through, especially the opportunity to develop PTSD, watch out for this, it can be a combination of the anti rejection drugs and the physical symptoms of the MI, but just be conscious that your attitude to those around you can change. Talk to them, dont bottle it up, It will help

[Juksey]

didnt realise your post is 2 years old.. _ hope you are well recovered now.

I'm 5 weeks on from Angioplasty with complications of having a a rupture just as they finished. so had to have CPR and 3 shocks. and then they had to fix the rupture with more stents - ( levelled up to 9 stents now)

had to stop the Dihydrocodeine after 2 weeks due to side effects of Anxiety and itchiness.

so definitely get your meds checked.

I think having your Blood flow improved can cause your body to recalibrate your temperature senses... I especially hate feeling cold..