Tight chest

[Harrysgran]

Hi, i had an AVR in Nov 2016. Havent had a good recovery for the past 3 yrs with breathlessness, fatigue, dizziness and pre- syncope. After seeing ENT specialists, Neurologist, had another TOE, 2trips to A&E and numerous other tests And discussions re- further surgery with aortic root enlargement ( very scary) a new Registrar realised that i was chronically dehydrated due to being on both frusemide and co - amylofruse daily. No one had noticed in over 3 years! Since taking only co- amylofruse every other day ive felt a lot better. However 2 days ago i was rushing to get to an appointment ( dont normaly rush but the phone had rung as i was leaving) and i became breathless with a tight feeling in the left side of my chest which extended up into my neck and jaw, no pain and it resolved after 10 mins or so once i rested. Is this how angina starts? Im going to try to phone cardiology today but its not easy to get through to the relevent people in the nhs even when theyve told you to get in touch if you have any problems!

[Henry20]

Harrysgran

You've had to put up with so much, and clearly need to talk to the doctors somewhere in the system. I'm so sorry to read about these events in your life.

Angina is a catch-all word, I think; it seems to describe a whole raft of symptoms. (One thing that I have read is that men and women are often different with the way they present a heart attack; so perhaps angina is different too? I don't know.) Anyway, I'm over 70 and a man.

My angina crept up on me, slowly. It wasn't a sudden event. I had noticed breathlessness at certain times and a lack of energy, put down to old age (I thought that bit was normal, but it wasn't!). It went away and returned. I put it down to other things I was doing. I drank then, not a huge amount, but regular. (I now haven't touched alcohol for over 2 years, Feel a lot better for it, and richer!). That often got the blame, or it was a bug/virus pick up from the grandchildren.

Eventually my tiny mind worked out that I needed to go to the GP. And so I started down the statins-angiogram-stents pathway (horrible word) with high blood pressure etc.

So for me, there never was an event, but it was a realisation I needed to get medical help. But you are already at that point and well past it. New symptoms seem to be occurring, so they must start new discussions with GP/consultants etc. Hopefully, they will take them seriously and investigate. I'd suggest keeping a record - it's too easy to forget what actually happened and in what order.

Good luck and best wishes, I hope you get some answers and quickly

Henry

[Harrysgran in reply to Henry20]

Thank you. Ive found out that i should be getting a fillow up tel appt next month and the plan is for a CT angiogram to see if my coronary arteries are still ok ( im on statins too!) otherwise i think it will be the valve but a TOE at the beginning of the year found it to be functioning ok. So i’ll just have to wait and see.

Well done to you for giving up the demon drink! I wish you well xx

[Mikedabike]

I hope things improve for you. I would certainly not be afraid to seek second opinions from other cardiologists and possibly GP’s. It doesn’t bode well how your current medical practitioners have dealt with you so far. I have to stress that I have no medical qualifications whatsoever, but I find it odd that only now are they considering treating your aortic root. I would have thought that this would have been dealt with at the time of your AVR. If this has happened since your AVR then it suggests to me as a layman that your replacement valve may not be large enough to cope with the work it has to do. Good luck with your progress.

[Hermanm in reply to Mikedabike]

Hi ,

Regarding your comment on the valve sizes,

It's your heart that pumps the blood through the valve,

The valve just stops the blood flowing back into the heart.

The valves are pretty much guaranteed for at least your life!

Mines not even made of metal , it's made of carbon,

Much smoother than stainless steel, so I dont need as much Warfarin,

Cheers

[Mikedabike in reply to Hermanm]

Hi Hermanm thanks for your reply. Like I say I’m not a medical expert. I didn’t know precisely how the valves function. I wasn’t aware of their durability (mechanical ones that is) until I’ve read some of the remarkable stories on this site.

[Harrysgran in reply to Mikedabike]

Thanks for replying. Yes i have ppm which is patient prosthesis mismatch. I was told post procedure that my “ pipework” was small so they had to put in a small valve. I knew nothing about aortic root enlargement untill i had problems and it was discussed as a very high risk procedure that should be avoided if at all possible. I was quite upset as i thought my pre- op work up ( i was in hosp for 3weeks pre op with pulmonary oedema) should have shown this. Im embarrassed to say that ive never asked my surgeon why when he saw my small anatomy he didnt do a root enlargement there and then.

So i think your assumption may be right. My coronary arteries were ok 3 yrs ago but i think a CT angiogram may be requested as i spoke to the cardiac secretary yest and she read my notes and said im on the list for another tel consult next month and a Ct angio was mentioned if symptoms persist.

[Hermanm]

Hi ,

I had the same OP in ,dec 2015,

Felt like crap at first, same as everyone does ,

Then you turn the " corner" and away you go!

Well that's how it was for me,

I was 57/58 at the time ,

went back to my job as a landscape gardener, part time.

Everything was fine until January this year ,

I too ,started to feel very tired, aches and pains everywhere,

I developed a dry cough, and had a couple of weird deja vu type experiences!

Most strange , I was also very depressed

and my gout which I've suffered from, for years,

became almost constant.

As the c19 thing was at its height,

And my GP probably had better things to worry about,

I decided to stop taking my BP medication for a week or two.

I was on Bisoprolol and Ramipril, at the time ,and had done a lot of reading about them.

I wouldn't say it happened over night, but after a couple of days,

I stopped feeling depressed, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders,

All the other things ,apart from my gout! Seemed to get better too.

I've since seen my GP ,

had several bloods take , (all ok )

and I've changed my medication over to Losartan,

My BP is fine ,and I do feel a lot better,

So maybe I'd became allergic to the drugs,

Anyway that's my story,

Just to let you know you are not alone!

Let's hope it's just your meds.

Take care

Paul

[Harrysgran in reply to Hermanm]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, if not monitored properly who can end up with lots of problems from the medications that are supposed to be helping you ! I too Have had a few weird De ja vous Episodes and an episode of global amnesia!

Im pleased to hear that youre feeling better.