Uncertain still as to when I should worry

[Buffy6956]

So I had my stent in March all other arteries fine except left circumflex which has a moderate blockage (around 60%) deemed insignificant with FFR wire study and I’ve been doing everything right... stopped smoking taking regular meds eating healthy excercising. Quite a lot of people I’ve noticed say they get the odd ache or pain and so do I but I’m still so unsure as to when I need to worry about it or not because for example last night I woke up at around four in the morning and noticed my inside elbow left arm was hurting.... (a new pain one which woke me up) I became alarmed as to what this was and propped myself up in bed... it went away after a few seconds then came back again and so on.... I then thought I felt a little nauseous but couldn’t work out if that was because I was scared or not and eventually I fell asleep and now I’m awake I’m left thinking well what was that? I’ve had a couple of chest twinges but nothing lasting more than a second and around two of them but it’s just so hard to know when to worry or not. I don’t know why I can’t practice what I preach either because I know that since my stent has opened up my artery then there are two things that could go wrong the first being restenosis and the second being occlusion... the first usually occurs around 3-6 months after stent if it’s going too but I can still excercise without pain? The second would be due to a clot forming which would be hard to happen given that I’m taking duel anti platelets and my other artery doesn’t have enough blockage to cause symptoms. I know all this I preach all this but was still a nervous wreck last night not knowing what to do or why u had this pain... please help x

[Zemer]

Hi Buffy, I had my stents August 2019. They do say that it is a known fact we will be more body conscious and pain aware and I certainly felt that I got pains and achiness that I never had before. It's an awful worry in the middle of the night. If you had got that ache in the daytime you might have got passed it more easy. That pain you describe, I think I've had that numerous times. Sometimes I rub the inside of my elbow and it goes away. It could be a nerve pain or sometimes even trapped gas pain. I hope that today you are ok and find it has gone away. I used to say to myself too that all these meds I should be ok. It's so much harder at night, I've sat up too many times and eventually relaxed and drifted off to sleep. If you have a smart watch, even inexpensive one, check heart rate and blood pressure. Sometimes when you see those are within your normal range, it can help to feel less anxious.

[Chappychap]

"I know that since my stent has opened up my artery then there are two things that could go wrong the first being restenosis and the second being occlusion... "

Buffy, you've missed the biggest risk of all. A stent doesn't cure our heart disease, and with the passage of time our arteries will come under increasing attack. But the good news is that you're doing the right things, quitting smoking, exercise, healthy diet, weight control, stress management. Along with your medication these are the initiatives that will buy you more years of healthy life.

I appreciate that it's hard, following any heart incident we all notice little twinges that we'd have previously ignored. But if you can focus on your amazing life style changes then that's putting your energies where they really can do some good.

Congratulations on quitting smoking by the way. That's an absolutely massive achievement that will deliver you an equally massive health premium!

[Andyd57]

Hi sorry about your worrying. I had my stent 19 years ago. I was sick with worry at first but then overcame it. I went the gym got a new job ETC. Only issues I've had since wasn't to do with the stent. Just dizzy spells Last couple of years. Had an ICM monitor fitted to look for arrythmias and have an Angiogram iin the morning. Keep your chin. turn up the music and keep as mailing x

[Buffy6956 in reply to Andyd57]

Made me smile ty.... would you let me know how your angiogram goes please I’d be so interested to know how things are fir you now ... oh and can I ask why they are doing one again? Tks so much Andy

[Andyd57 in reply to Buffy6956]

Cause I will. Had some more dizzy spells in April. I had what they call a MIBI test last November and it showed a couple of blockages. So the cardiologist is going to have another look inside. Take care 😎

[Buffy6956 in reply to Andyd57]

Ty hope all goes well today