Can anyone explain this to me and how bad is it

[theclark]

Stenosis

[Ageingfast]

I am no medic. I was first told about stenosis building up about 2017. Annual echo gram done.In 2019 I started to get excessive fatigue. Feb 2020 annual Echo test showed severe stenosis and immediate surgery required. Then pandemic got in the way, but April /May I had AVR so now have a nice clean aortic valve.

I hope this might put things in to some perspective for you.

Best wishes

Colin

[theclark in reply to Ageingfast]

I’m so pleased you got sorted. Ty for replying and your input. On a different note we used to have a black cat called sooty

[Ageingfast in reply to theclark]

My large black cat adopted us after I had a stroke. He has been so much good company whilst I have been laid up. He is Sooty Oscarthemagnificent. Sooty for short. To say my wife and I adore him is the understatement of the century. He is nocturnal. With the cooler weather approaching he will, hopefully, spend much more time indoors. We have a long garden so he has lots of territory to enjoy. Whilst I was in hospital for OHS he was wonderful towards my wife.

He is the only pet we have ever had. I hope he outlives us.

Colin

[Cleo1984 in reply to Ageingfast]

I have had chest pain since my stent in Oct 2020 almost daily, its always on my left side, sometimes centre, lately aches in left arm and across back, I have a GTN spray which helps, I have finally got back to the cardiac investigations unit after nearly a year of professionals not taking me seriously, and them thinking it was gastric, anyway nurse said its possibly micro vascular angina.

[Chappychap]

It's not the best letter that you'll ever receive, but you need to keep a sense of perspective, it's certainly not a death sentence.

The letter says that you have cardiovascular disease, otherwise known as atherosclerosis. There are two main risks that you need to be aware of.

Firstly there's the risk of angina, where physical exercise is increasingly accompanied by chest pains. Atherosclerosis is incurable, but with medication and life style changes we can hopefully slow the progress of the disease and therefore postpone both the onset and severity of angina. And that's before thinking about surgical interventions which can be a complete game changer for angina.

Secondly there's the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Something that isn't widely appreciated is that this risk is only loosely related to the degree to which the arteries are blocked. For example over half of heart attacks occur in patients with less than 50% blockage, and there are plenty of people on this forum with over 90% blockage but who have never had a heart attack. Again, medication and lifestyle changes can materially reduce the risks.

You mention Type 2 diabetes, that adds to your personal risk factors, but unlike atherosclerosis T2 Diabetes is reversible, especially if caught early enough. The key is weight loss. According to my HbA1c scores I was drifting towards T2 Diabetes, but exercise and losing a couple of stones turned my scores around and got me back into the safe zone. Maybe that's something for you to think about?

Your letter also mentions that you're an ex smoker. Smoking is generally seen as a cancer risk, but it's also a major heart disease risk. For cancer the big problem seems to be the tars and other chemicals that are in cigarettes, but for heart disease nicotine itself is also a problem. Consequently, if you've quit smoking (and congratulations on that, I know it isn't easy!) but taken up vaping or nicotine patches/lozenges, then you may want to think about quitting them too.

Bottom line is that there's lots that you can do to lower your risks and improve your prospects. It would be worth discussing your options further during your forthcoming stress test.

Good luck!

[theclark in reply to Chappychap]

Ty that’s great advice. What I can’t get my head around is I have constant chest and jaw pain whether it be at rest or exercise. Gtn or painkillers doesn’t take it away. I just don’t get it. I didn’t think angina pains were constant. I have been to casualty 8 times with it and troponin and ecg all come back normal. It’s a head scratcher

[mathematics]

My husband is exactly the same at mo with similar problems pain in his jaw chest radiating from his neck and down his arm. He has been to casualty once and tests came back inconclusive. He now refuses to go not good. He has recently seen a cardiologist and as he has had 2 stents 15 years a go apparently they can cause problems so hes having an angiogram and chest scan soon. Hope you get sorted soon.