I struggled with what to put as the title for this!
I was just curious, I know there are various levels of angina and from what I've read of other people's experiences here consider myself very lucky and wondered of my mild angina was unusual.
My diagnosis of 'suspected angina' was because I was getting pain now and then when walking up hill but that was it - or I just didn't notice anything else like breathlessness. I was given meds and referred and have since had an x-ray which was 'normal' - though I have no idea exactly what that means in relation to me - and have an echo tomorrow.
I used my spray 3-4 times in the first 3 days - for tightness at home not pain - and ended up in A&E after calling 111 (all was fine) but since then I've only used it twice as an experiment to see if taking it before going out allows me to do a very up and down hill walk better - it does! I have since been told by a friend who trained as a nurse, including cardiac, that I shouldn't do this, only take it when I get pain, but have read differently here I can take it before I go out as a preventative? I do slow down when going uphill but that is getting better and I am going quicker, I do up to an hour aerobic exercises most days without any issue. I do get days when I feel lacking in energy - but I get that if I get a migraine, I'm on a preventative so don't get the headache but do think I get other symptoms like lethargy - and get a little out of breath on occasion but nothing like I was when I first started the meds, I think my joint pain may be med related too but could just be old age! I'm also on Atorvastatin for high cholesterol.
Like I said, compared to what other people are going through I seem to be doing great and was just wondering if anyone else was the same as I feel a bit of a fraud here!
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I wouldn't personally use the spray like you have been, was told by my cardio rehab team not to do that, i have have never needed to use one after HA and 4 stents, so count myself lucky as never had any pain, and am on the usual cardiac meds,
I've not had to use it at all since November, just the couple of times to see if it made a difference for that walk as Milkfairy below quotes from the BHF website I can use it if I know I'm going to have a problem, which I know when I do that particular walk I will. This is why it's confusing as I hear different things.
"You can use your GTN spray preventatively if you know an activity will bring on your angina, but be aware of how often you are using it, as overuse can reduce its effectiveness."
I suggest you speak to your Cardiology team. Advice and guidance often changes.
The most usual cause of angina is due to permanent narrowing in the coronary arteries, Coronary artery disease CAD . However women tend to be effected more by non obstructive coronary artery disease NOCAD.
I've only used it the twice since November and just for that particular walk as it's very hilly and I wanted to see if it helped, I don't do that walk often.
I have no idea if I even have a team! I was referred to the cardiac unit of our hospital by a doctor and have spoken to a nurse there once just to gather my details. Thank you, I've read that info. 🙂
I've also been told to use the spray as a preventive, unfortunately they don't always agree. Cardiac nurse who recommended it as preventive, said my body could get used to it, but 2 cardiologists said no, I should use it as often as needed. Slight headache every so often. Hope you're problems get resolved. Take care.
It is confusing when you get differing opinions isn't it. trouble is I've not spoken to a cardiologist yet and not had any discussion with any doctor either!
It sounds confusing....so how about just working out exactly what works for you?My Cardio said ‘I don’t like you getting any angina, it shows the heart is strained’. So I will try anything to avoid it.
Another bit of advice (living in a hilly area) was to walk round slowly on the flat first, then getting quicker and quicker, until my heart was going faster and I would then head up the hill much more easily.
At the moment I don't need my spray except for walking up in the woods - it starts up hill just 2 mins from our door! - so it made sense if I go that way to take it while still at home and sitting down, luckily it has very little effect on me and I'm fine after a minute or two. That's interesting on both comments. Years ago a doctor was discussing my migraines and said to take a tablet as soon as I thought I was going to have one as it was bad to allow it to develop and put my body under stress, I wondered if it was the same for taking the spray sooner to stop any heart strain hence thinking it was better to take it before I did the hilly walk.
Second thing, I remember saying to hubby months ago I was finding it easier towards the end of a walk and not getting the pre-pain feelings as soon as I started going uphill like at the beginning of a walk so getting 'up to speed' makes sense!
I've had the same experience. I explained it to my cardiologist as "pushing through" when it seemed to get harder and then all of a sudden, it wasn't hard anymore. I typically walk 4 miles and by mile 2.5 or 3, I was doing much better. He said when my heart works harder, it works better. I used to be afraid to continue when it seemed my angina was coming from the exercise, but now I feel confident that I can manage it better by using exercise as part of my treatment. I clearly feel better at the end of my walk.
I found I didn’t have to take a preparatory spray to walk uphill, if I got my heart pumping slowly, at first on the flat, then gradually quickening up (by the walking regimen I suggested, above). The advice was that it gets the heart muscle working steadily faster, and the arteries opening up ...which is what the GTN spray does. So it’s a substitute.
Maybe I need to do a few laps of the garden first seeing as we go uphill almost from the word go! 😉 I'd much prefer a natural solution to using the spray so will be trying this as much as I can, thanks for the tip.
I have microvascular dysfunction so my angina tends to only occur on exercise. My cardiologist told me to use it as a preventative and again during exercise if the angina occurs. He said I will be reordering it a lot more frequently than usual and my GP may pick up on this, but just tell them I've been advised by the cardiologist. It makes a massive difference to me and has allowed me to start back up running.
Mine is just when walking up hill, I do exercises in a morning but never have a problem then. I'm hoping I get to talk to a cardiologist soon as it's all a bit of a mystery! Taking the spray before I did the hilly walk certainly made a difference to me so I'm hoping I can keep doing that, it would only be once maybe twice a week so not frequently.
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