40 year old husband, previously fit and well, admitted with unstable angina / ACS and awaiting cath lab and further interventions as needed.

[Flamingobrain]

Has anybody had experience of unstable angina and then having to go to the cath lab? My husband, 40 years old and previously fit and well he just yesterday been admitted to CCU with new onset ACS / unstable angina (no history of angina!) and is waiting for a transfer to the cath lab in a few days, where they want to do an angiogram and then unblock any vessels if and as they find them. In the meantime he will remain in the hospital on the CCU before being transferred when they have availability to the other hospital that has the cath lab. I am terrified. We have three young children, the youngest of whom is 2, and I am so so so so worried about him, I don’t know what to do or what the prognosis may be. If anyone has experienced similar or has any advice I would very much love to hear from you. Thank you.

[Prada47]

Not easy but try to relax, We are all different but I have a couple of Stents, Circumflex and LAD Bypassed RCA 100% blocked and to top it all Heart Failure. I started off early on this road and I have now got 4 Grandchildren and I am sure the Medics will be working flat out to ensure You and your Husband get to enjoy grandchildren in the future.

Medication and Cardiac Surgery are pretty routine, and becoming more advanced by the day.

Should your Husband need any work doing he will be in excellent hands.

Take Care and I wish you all the very best.

[Heather1957]

Easy for me to say but the angiogram will show if he needs a bypass, stents or he can be treated by meds.The wonders they can do now and once it has been done they'll have him back home and under your feet again.

In 2017 I had a bypass and was 'thrown out' after 4 days as they needed the bed in ITU. In all honesty I was feeling fine and felt so much better at home.

In October last year I had angina pain again and had 2 stents fitted, the artery was rather blocked up so they had to drill first, I was home the next day.

I had to be transferred to a different hospital as my local hospital only did angiograms so it was felt I would be better off going to the main teaching hospital.

Sometimes it is felt that there is no need to do anything medically and just control things with medication.

As I said, easy for me to say but the unknown is far worse as your mind always tends to go to the worse case scenario.

Your husband is in the very best place and all being well once they have done the angiogram you will know where you stand.

Hopefully in a short time he'll be playing with the children again and getting back to a normal as possible life.

Whatever they find out, keep in touch as there is more than likely someone who has been through the same as your husband and tell you their experiences which hopefully will reassure you both.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello,

My husband was admitted to CCU in his 40's when his treadmill test showed up ECG changes.

This was many years ago. His family has a strong history of heart disease. He didn't have any angina beforehand.

He was found to have an almost completely blocked main coronary artery which was stented.

He has been well ever since and has regular check ups.

It was a wake up call with an opportunity for us as a family to reassess our lifestyle and diet, including how we manage stress.

Our 3 children were in their teens at the time.

Once the shock was over, I was relieved that he was in the best place with his heart being monitored until his angiogram. He also had to be transferred to a different hospital for his procedure.

Be reassured that the doctors and nurses are very experienced about caring for heart patients. If you have any worries ask to speak to the staff.

Another option is to give the BHF helpline a call and speak to one of the Cardiac nurses.

I hope all goes well tomorrow.

PS

I also have angina which becomes unstable leading me to be admitted to CCU about once a year.

I know my husband and family worry about me too. But after 10 years I am still here!

[Flamingobrain]

I cannot thank all of you enough for such wonderful, positive, and honest, helpful replies. I was ‘all cried out’ about 5 hours ago (funny how that’s actually a ‘thing’), and when I was, with the help of your replies I was able to assess the situation a little better and almost…accept it? That it’s better than the alternative…my mum has cone round to help with the kids, and they are all in bed now, happy and blissfully unaware of what’s going on (I’ve told them Daddy has a belly bug and so they are keeping him in hospital so they don’t catch it because they have to go to school), and I felt stronger for my husband when I went to drop him off some clothes and toiletries. I feel that he also felt more acceptance, and less scared. I think now I’m just trying to get to that place that guess what, these things DO happen and it’s not just something that happens to someone else. I feel we have got big changes coming up, or at least I’d like to hope so - already husband is concerned that I’m cancelling clients (I started my own business a few years ago, beauty), and I’ve told him that’s not the priority. Of course I’m going to cancel, until if and when he is well, and I am confident enough to leave him with the children (my business is based an hour and a half drive away from home). But, that’s something that I feel we can address down the line…I can’t help but thinking that this happened to him because he was the one responsible for the lions share of the childcare etc, whilst I was barely ever here trying to expand the relatively new but successful business. I feel like I didn’t help enough, wasn’t a good enough wife or a good enough mother, and that I am at the very least, partly responsible. I’m trying NOT to listen to that voice. But again, thanks you all so much for the hope and inspiration and I will definately stay in touch on here with progress x

[Tilly62]

Hi hope your hubby gets home soon I had unstable angina last year was took to A&E I knew what it was as I had stable angina the year before and had a stent fitted I was fine he will be ok he is in the best place - it can be frightening for you both but the cardiologists know their stuff x good luck he will home doing x

[Flamingobrain]

They have changed their minds and decided they want him to have a stress test before cath lab…don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing

[Heather1957 in reply to Flamingobrain]

It was the stress test that led to my angiogram, I had Angina pain so was sent an appointment. I couldn't mange to complete it but the nurse said, 'it's okay we've seen enough', I knew then there was a problem. The Angiogram showed exactly how bad the problem was,All sounds quite normal so far.

[Hidden]

If he can twist their arm to have an angiogram he should, it's a brilliant procedure that will paint a much better picture of the condition of the blood vessels around his heart.I wish they'd have given me one years ago, if they had I might not have suffered a HA.

[Flamingobrain]

He just failed the stress test. Pain as soon as pace slightly increased and inclined with visible ecg changes 🥲