Pain in shoulders after heart stent surgery

[Pigeon019]

Why would I have so much pain in my shoulders after having heart stent surgery. Could it be because nerve damage durning surgery ? Does anyone have a similar problem and a diagnosis

[EgregiousReptile]

i had the same for a few days but then it went away.

[terrance43]

Hi I had a stent fitted in January 2018 and have had no problems .However,recently I have developed pain below theleft shoulder blade,ball and socket joint of the same and the base of the left thumb.

I am fit 5’9’’ and weight 10stones . I run /walk 5 miles a day.

Doctor just prescribed Co Codamol but NO effect.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thank you for any input.

[Hidden]

I had a pain in my right shoulder after the 'just in case' stent that I was given last October. The doctor went up through my right arm and since then I have either a dull ache or stabbing pain. It has eased off after 10 months, slightly. The doctors & HF nurse said stabbing pains are a side of muscular skeletal pain and to take pain killers and it will go away after 18 months or so.

I went to the GPs when it was at its worse rather than suffer in silence.

[Hidden]

Interesting point and also replies so far. I had really bad toothache in one of my wisdom teeth shortly after, to the point where I nearly had it taken out, even though the dentist could not find any problem at all. Eventually it went away and has not recurred. it was on the same side of my body (right) as the catheter that was used to fit the stents through my wrist. I reckon you may get some residual nerve damage personally, small price to pay though. Just see how it goes.

[Henry20]

I get pain sometimes between my shoulder blades. It is in one of the recognised areas, I believe, for angina pains in men. However, my chiropractor pointed out that it was almost certainly a posture problem, but won't rule out heart issues.

I do spend a lot of time fat fingering things on my computer! Chair and table at the wrong height can trigger it; so does standing in the kitchen chopping veg! (Could this be psychological?)

For me, it does seem to be unrelated to my heart issues (but the thought that it might be is always there!) The chiropractor also said that I was always very tense, muscles balled up etc when I see her.

Perhaps there is another explanation as pain of the sort you describe usually has a cause but doesn't have to be heart related. Could you be holding yourself slightly different now?

However, if it is heart related the medics need to be involved. Perhaps keep a record to show the docs if you do decide to go back - some like to see evidence recorded and the timeline.

Henry

[Hidden]

It could be the meds. Statins are known to cause muscle pains, and clopidogrel less so. I'm 4 months from my stent being fit and I get shoulder, back, chest and abdominal pains which come and go. I've had chest xrays, blood tests and ECGs and have been reassured that it's not my heart. I'm only on the clopidogrel and aspirin so I assume it's the former.

You could speak to your cardiologist about swapping out one or more medications, or whether they are all essential.

[Ageingfast in reply to Hidden]

Dear Supafil

Clopidogrel is mainly a blood thinner. When I stopped taking Clopi for a few weeks, I was taking low dose aspirin instead. In your position I would want a check done on my medications, Hopefully your GP could do this by phone.

Colin