I am still in a state of panic, got paramedics out last night due to back pain, had a panic attack, they didn’t find anything above and beyond what I know. I am so desperate for an echocardiogram, I am thinking of paying for one. I feel totally let down. To be told you’ve had a heart attack and then not to be seen by anyone seems neglectful. Yes, I’ve been put on beta blockers and blood thinners, but I don’t know what’s going on inside my body and am terrified I will have a major HA as I’ve had no treatment. If anyone out there can offer any words at all or had experienced similar please let me know. I am losing my mind with worry and don’t know what to do. I tried ringing the rapid access clinic to find out how my referral is going ,got an answer machine three times and they never got back. This is Plymouth by the way.
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Hello. I completely understand your worries. When you had a HA , was any treatment done (Stent etc) ?
You should have a echo scan within 2 weeks of HA.
Most of these cardiologists who work in hospitals see patients in private too. I went to see same cardiologist in private hospital who carried out stent procedure when I had HA. It was money well worth spending.
No, no stent fitted, not been looked at at all to find out where the issue is. I am frantic, the amount of time this is taking is ridiculous. The problem started because I was misdiagnosed and three weeks had elapsed before my doctors said I had had a HA as it showed up on a second ecg (first was normal). So in effect it’s one week since my referral, but four since the HA, it’s been a shambles all along. It’s the time elapsed that is worrying me sick. I keep thinking without stents or other treatment it is only a matter of time before something worse happens.
One of my friend's mother's had a heart attack had a heart attack in the seventies. She spent a few days in hospital. At the same time they diagnosed her with Type II diabetes. For her age (nineties) she is doing well andooking forward to visiting NT tearooms with her pensioner daughter. Her only treatment has been lifestyle and medication. Over the decades there have been changes in medication as ageing liver and kidneys cope less well with breaking them down and eliminating the byproducts. One thing she doesn't do is worry. So please stop worrying and listen to Hidden
I think reading all the posts on here where everyone seems to have been treated very quickly and straight to cardiology with echocardiograms,angiograms ,with stents fitted almost immediately etc, has mad me feel I have been cut adrift to just wait it out, which is what has happened and had put me at a much greater risk , especially as I don’t know the state of my heart or what is happening in there.
Hi, I had a heart attack on Dec 1st but was taken to hospital to have tests , which blood test showed I had . I was put on medication and sent home to wait for ohs to be done at Plymouth or maybe London. I really hope you can get some answers. Could your gp help ?. I know how worrying it is that we might have another heart attack , I find ringing cardiac nurses help with questions I have . Take care xx
The issue with me was the doubt the original paramedics and that it was a HA,as all the tests were perfectly normal. I was at home. One said there was no need to take me into hospital, the other said that it might be an idea to take me in for a blood test,but that there was a massive wait to be seen, so she left it up to me to decide. Weighing it all up I stayed home, which I now hugely regret. I went straight to my doctors but they didn’t run test for ten days, by which time the damage was done. I was then told three times my follow up ecg was normal. Then a week later was told that it wasn’t and I had ischemia , no action required, then to,d I’d had a heart attack and referred and put on tablets. Thanks for replying.
I agree with Milk Fairy. PALS are very helpful. Your phone messages should at least have been answered. They can get answers where you can’t .
Hi first of all no need to panic, stents are not always required after HA my brother had a massive one last year no stents he is on same medication as you are on still doing well. Panic can make your situation worse by elevating your BP and heart rate so first step is to realize that stents or medication can't save anyone from inevitable! However your echo and other tests should have been done in following 1-2 weeks. Nonetheless you are taking beta blockers ( cardio protective) blood thinners/ aspirin and if your BP and sugar is under control no need to panic or worry. Good luck
There are at least 2 sorts of heart attack. One where there is a partial blockage in a coronary artery (the ones which supply blood to the heart) they call that an NSTEMI. I assume when it was diagnosed initially (by paramedics doing an ECG? or by your GP?) they can tell the difference between an NSTEMI and a STEMI. A STEMI is where a coronary artery is blocked completely and is a medical emergency. I had one last year and they blue lighted me immediately into a cath. lab where they performed an emergency angioplasty.It sounds like you had the first sort.
A doctor clearly thought that the most appropriate treatment in the short term was something like Bisoprolol and Rivaroxaban until they can diagnose it better with an echocardiogram .
The problem is lack of communication. When I was discharged, it was at least 2 months before I even got a phone call from a cardiologist.
In your case, I think you should pester your GP politely until he/she actually gets some action from a cardiologist.
Remember that the paramedics can diagnose a heart attack, if there is any doubt they will take you to A&E. It's happened 6 times to me, but each time the tests done by A&E (bloods, Heart X Ray and more comprehensive ECG) have been the same as at discharge. I went to A&E basically because I was scared like you. Like you I had strange pains which were not heart related in my case.
Thanks, but the paramedics in both cases of coming out have left it up to me whether I wanted to go and have a blood test. As they seemed convinced I was ok, I didn’t go. Mostly due to my chronic back ache and having to sit around for six hours plus to be seen. They also took nearly two hours to get out to me so weighing up the amount of time elapsed it seemed a bit pointless. I am medical phobic anyway and should never be given a choice.
Hi, I had a similar experience to you with the paramedics who did an echo and said it was normal, almost as an afterthought one of them said, might be a good idea to get the blood test at the hospital - but you will have a 4 hour wait as they have to repeat it. If my neighbour hadnt been listening in I probably wouldnt have bothered - this was July last year so the NHS was still backed up, and I really didnt want to go near sick people. However, she insisted, and drove me there so I didnt have much choice. Turns out the Trop levels went from normal to over 1000 so I was admitted, sent for a stent - which it turns out I didnt need and spent 5 days in hospital partly because I was admitted on the Friday evening, and all the drs vanish over the weekend. After all the tests it seems that there was something that partially blocked an artery which had cleared by the time they did the angio so I am on all the usual drugs and waiting for a final cardiac appointment in July. Like many of us who have suffered this during the past 15 months, any follow up has been very patchy with no rehab, and not much support nor any assistance from my GP who is almost impossible to contact let alone actually see! As a result, along with others, this has led to me feeling very anxious and hyper alert about what is happening in my body. However this has faded a bit over the 11 months since it happened, I am still anxious, although not so debilitatingly as at first.
When I was discharged I was given the contact details of the cardiac nurse team. They were helpful in pushing to get my test appointments prioritised - it may be worth seeing if you can contact them.
It can be even more complicated.Some heart attacks are caused by a lack of supply of blood to the heart muscle for other reasons.
Coronary vasospasms, microvascular dysfunction and spontaneous coronary artery dissection SCAD can all lead to heart attacks without any permanent narrowing of the coronary arteries.
Known as MINOCA
Myocardial infarction non obstructive coronary artery.
For the agreed definition of the many different types of a heart attacks see the link below published by the European Society of Cardiology
To diagnose a heart attack certain ECG changes are seen( sometimes there are none). There is a rise then fall of troponin an enzyme that is released by the damaged heart muscle, finally the way the heart muscle wall moves changes.
All usually accompanied by the person feeling chest pain, sometimes neck, jaw, throat, arm, stomach or back pain, breathlessness, feeling sick and light headed.
Or none of the above.
Women often have extreme tiredness and other symptoms.
Hi - I know how you feel, but the lack of a follow-up yet isn’t unusual. I had a STEMI (a massive heart attack) in April and I have a consultant follow up in July. I’m told that permanent damage isn’t known until six months after a heart attack.
Are you under the cardiac rehab team? If not, your GP should be able to refer you. Do you know the name of the consultant you’re under? If so Google their secretary and call them to ask when you’ll be having your follow-up appointment.
Call/email your GP tomorrow and ask about the pain. Don’t ever feel like you’re being a bother. It’s your health and life and you need reassurance.
I totally agree that the problem is lack of communication. My attack was on March 9th and I was admitted to hospital for four days. Since then I’ve not spoken to anyone from the cardiology department, though I do have a telephone call booked next week. With the way things have changed over the last year, cardiology are obviously v busy, but are also creating extra problems for themselves. A quick phone call or text from someone administrative outlining the way forward would have been reassuring. Or details of a local support group that could advise you. Their alternative seems to be to leave you to worry and create extra stress, which it’s definitely done in my case.
Go private if you can afford it. Its the only way at the moment. We're all waiting for cardiologists I'm afraid. In my case urgent referral means a 10 month wait at our hospital. Very frustrating and scary. Best of luck.
I called the ambulance and had an ECG at home but it didn’t show any problem, so I was referred , believing it to be angina. I didn’t get an appointment for 6 weeks, but wasn’t unduly worried, as I believed I would be given a spray. The Stress Echo showed a HT and severe heart failure. No blockage , so no surgery. I was put on a cocktail of drugs, two of which were aspirin and beta blockers. I started the online rehab and still continue with the exercises and trying to make the necessary lifestyle adjustments. Wishing you all the very best. I too know to ring 999 if the symptoms start again. Trying to keep calm is how I deal with it. We are in good hands.
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what’s the longest anyone has been on here since heart attack? 
Feel like a different person since HA
Ha ha - you still can’t kill me off 
One month after the stent - better 
Its now 6 months since CRT D op and feeling amazing
