Symptoms post HA.

[HomerJSimpson]

Had a very mild HA in May, 2 stents, apparently no heart damage. I get on occasions a 'sensation' in my left arm (this can be anywhere on the arm) that lasts for various amounts of time. I also notice other sensations in my chest and on the left side of my face. The ones on my face don't go down the jawline, they go over my cheek and towards the nose. Any test I've had says everything is OK, I just wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences post HA. None of it is painful or dull aches, just purely a sensation. It's not after any exertion either.

[Chappychap]

All of us are experiencing random sensations all over our bodies throughout the day and night.

As I sit here typing this reply, if I run an "audit" of current bodily sensations, there's a tightness in my left cheek that might be precursor to an itch, there's a strange "flutter" in my left calf, and the little finger of my right hand is slightly stiff.

In ten minutes time all of these sensations will have been replaced by something different.

In the course of your everyday life you filter out this barrage of sensory signals, it's just background noise that you ignore, or deal with via an unconscious scratch or itch.

But following a heart attack these old rules for managing your body get completely re-written. You're now hyper-vigilant, any sensations that could remotely be interpreted as heart related will command your absolute and undivided attention.

It will take a long time before your old nonchalance will return, but eventually you'll get there. In the meantime it might help to "audit" your own sensations in a more systematic and meditative way, focus on your left foot, then your left leg, then your right foot, etc. In other words try to balance out all the heart/chest related sensations by paying equal attention to the other signals from other parts of your body. You'll soon realise that your entire body is sending you a constant symphony of messages, but the vast, vast majority of these can be safely ignored.

[Nettekin in reply to Chappychap]

Hi chappychap. I really liked this answer you gave, it struck a chord with me. When I saw a very forward thinking chiropractor for Cognitive Functional Therapy (a cousin of the more conventional CBT) for a long term back issue he likened this over sensitivity to physical cues to a smoke alarm. For some people the point at which the alarm 'goes off' is much earlier and louder than others. There is no suggestion the pain or sensation doesn't exist, just that some are more aware than others.

[Ageingfast in reply to Chappychap]

Five star reply. Well done chappychap. And thank you .

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Chappychap]

Chappychap,I agree with Nettekin's comments.Your phrase below resonates with me .

'You'll soon realise that your entire body is sending you a constant symphony of messages, but the vast, vast majority of these can be safely ignored.'

I live with chronic pain and have learned techniques to ' turn down' the volume on my pain.

I try and keep the symphony of messages as quiet as possible.

[peterjones105 in reply to Chappychap]

I really have to entirely agree with "Chappychap"; since my hypertension crisis last November I am aware of every sensation that my body throws at me: symptoms that I would have totally ignored or not even been aware of prior to November; when I ignore them or get on with something else that is absorbing ..... guess what? They disappear ...!

[Qualipop]

Sounds more like a trapped nerve than heart . I get a lot of sensations like that from a dodgy disc in my neck.

[Snowdrops_17]

Na, not experienced anything like that after my heart attack! Got 3 stents now since February 2019 🙏