Good evening everyone. I'm Alex and I'm new here. I really need your help regarding my situation. I can't get any answers from the doctors and maybe you can help.
Last week I had a heart attack and a stent fitted. since I got discharged from the hospital I had to call the ambulance twice because I had palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and pain in my chest and I'm still having them now. Any ideas why? at the a&e blood pressure, egc normal, etc.. Is it normal to have this pain and symptoms? Thank you.
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alex1232
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I can't give you a medical answer but the problems are understandable. You have to remember they would have had to stretch the arteries to put the catheter and stent in, you also had a heart attack your heart has been battered about so there will be some pain.I had 2 stents fitted in October which needed the arteries to be drilled first, I felt dreadful for a while after. I had a bypass in 2017 and I thought recovery from the stents would be a breeze, I was wrong.
If in doubt you do right in calling an ambulance but do expect pain, and some other effects depending on medication.
It is likely you were put on some blood thinners if you had a stent fitted and this can cause a few problems initially.
Keep a diary on side effects and pain just to see if there is an improvement over time.
Thank you for your reply, I'm just wondering why I have all of this pains and why even after 2 A&E trips I am still on paracetamol as a pain killer and they didn't give me anything stronger. If the chest pain is understable why the powerful headaches?
I don't know about the headaches but I phoned my GP after I returned home and asked to be put on co-codomol which they did prescribe. Do you use the GTN spray? That can cause headaches. It could very well be your medication, chat to your GP or look them up for side effects.
Hi alex1232, you could phone the bhf nurses they should be able to give you some good advice. Hope everything settles down soon all the best Sheena
Hi alex1232 I had a couple of stents fitted last June after having a HA....the following morning, there were four of us who'd stayed in overnight all got up, three of them said that they felt brilliant with no chest pain....my heart still ached.I had an echocardiogram done and an ECG and was told everything was fine.
For a couple of weeks I felt pretty rough and still had chest pains....I was readmitted into hospital and after lots of tests I was given a clean bill of health.
It took me a few months to get used to my meds which needed a couple of changes and I continued to feel my heart for about three months.
The Dr put my heart ache down to the procedure.
Don't forget that anxiety after what we have been through can play a big part in how you physically feel, the symptoms of which are common with having a heart attack.
I'm fine now, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I am just about to be qualified as a counsellor and psychological, some years ago now had a stent and like yourself after my procedure had two further investigations due to chest pain and not feeling right, but after a couple of A and E visits physically given clean bill of health.
I know now psychologically how the body is effected in a way that the physical feeling is so real it is scary. If you have had all the checks then that's a positive. My experiences I found from a flutter, a twinge to spasms was really scary but every time it was all checked out.
The medicines I took was two years before I got the balance right from dizziness to feeling ill, if you need any support please get in touch.
I'm not sure you will see this message, but I'm wondering if the "flutter" you spoke of was a feeling in you heart or sometimes in your throat? In whatever area, how often did it happen? I'm two weeks out from having one stent placed, no heart attack, but a blockage. Thank you so much.
Hi Alex, I had a HA and stent fitted two years ago. Also like you I had chest pains etc resulting in a trip back to A&E. All tests and observations normal I am glad to say. However, the cardiologist did say that it would take a while for the stent to settle, and “the heart does not like being messed with”. After six weeks all my symptoms disappeared. Long May this continue.
You’ve had good replies. It takes time for your body to recover and the meds to settle in and they may need tweaking. But I don’t think anyone has mentioned panic attacks. I had a couple and they present as you describe (no pain). Worth looking for mindfulness techniques to deal with them when/if you have another.
Dear alex1232
Take a little time out to understand what has happened to both your body and mind. You both have had a massive shock and that is a time thing, time to mend, time to get your head around things and time to realise that you have had a warning.
So many times we hear on here, oh it was only a short simple procedure, before I knew it it was over etc etc. That is the plus side of a procedure that is performed so often. The negative side is that it seems to take away the skills that is needed and trained for to perform it.
What you have had done is far from just a routine operation it is an amazing life saving thing that not long ago many died from not having.
So why am I writing all these words to you? Just to tell you that you are not alone and we have your back.
Any bump, squeak, or pain that you don’t understand then contact your heart team/ Gp/111 for those answers, a complex procedure hiding as a common one, needs complex answers.
Medically it would be wrong to offer answers, although medications can cause issues.
A couple of others have mentioned ANXIETY which leads to lots of feelings both mentally and physical. One problem you mention is palpitations and quite often your heart rate will be affected by worry.
Stents are put in place to help and of course poking around May affect some people more than others.
So the more you allow yourself to constantly listen to your heart is likely to ha ve an ad verse effect.
I found wearing headphones concentrates your mind on that and not your heart beat. It’s simple and I recommend you give it a try. To the medical profession the procedure around stents is now common practice so it’s a bit like flying. You have more chance getting knocked down crossing the road. But you go out without a second thought, whereas flying is a lot safer. It’s all in the mind.
Best wishes.
Hi Alex,
Aches and pains are normal with stents. I'm 2 years, 5 stents in. Also, be kind to yourself.. You've been through a lot physically and emotionally. I was having panic attacks and they were similar to heart problems.
Use your gtn spray when you get pain and if it clears then you know it was angina. If it doesn't, phone 999.
Over time, things will settle and you'll get used to it 👍.
Hi Alex - i can relate as i had (and continue to have) some of the symptoms and have been back to A&E several times in the weeks after i was discharged. For what its worth, as everyones situation is different, there were several things that caused it
- my chest pains were stent pains but also turns out with all the medication they gave me, gave me awful heartburn
- dizziness/light headedness was down to meds and my body coping with a different blood pressure due to the meds (i'm still having it)
- difficulty breathing - still trying to sort it. i'm an asthmatic as well and i'm still on bisoprolol. They decreased the dosage. upped my inhalers and that improved. I developed an ACE cough so they changed the meds and that also helped. But this is still my main problem. I've started rehab classes and i can get through them fine.
-palpitations - i had a night where iti was constant and i panicked and the next night when it nearly started again, i called the ambulance. The hypothesis was that as i reduced my bisorpolol, the heart didn't like it so overreacted for a day or two.
last but not least, anxiety & the shock of what happened also doesn't help with all the meds & side effects & also your heart trying to recover. So i'm getting weekly psychologist help through rehab and it helps.
I know i'm still ealry in my journey but i take positives every day and i tell myself one day at a time. Hope this may help you.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer. I'm a bit concerned regarding the pain in my chest, I only received paracetamol as a pain killer but it doesn't help. What should I do? What pain killer should I take? And maybe I'm just allergic to some of the medicines. About that how can I find out at what I'm allergic?
Hi Alex, you could ask your GP for a medication review, to tweak what you are on. Good luck.
Hi Alex, try not to worry, I had a stent and balloon angiography, I was in fact told to expect pain for a few weeks due to the stretching of the arteries, after all you will be bruised inside, because you can't see it, say like a bruise on your skin, it's hard to think of it being the same. I did have pain but after a few weeks it faded like bruises do. You will be fine, the palpitations etc are understandable, you've been through a lot and worrying anxiety can be overwhelming.
Hi Alex, I also had a minor HA and 1 stent fitted in May 2019, it took me three months to get my mind I to the right place and stop the fear that it would happen again (although I think for all of us it's always at the back of our minds) I did get chest pains but it looks like it was Anxiety, I also went back to A&E 3 times I a similar light,chest discomfort, shortness of breath, it turns out all was in my head worried about every twinge, I am not saying you don't have something but we do become extra vigilant about every pain and some times our minds can play a big part. I was also dosed upon Paracetamol. One thing that could be causing dizziness is the other meds you will be on, it took a year to balance out the correct doses and which ones I didn't need. the BP ones were causing dizziness as I didn't have an issue with BP sonic was dropping it too low. Good luck its a long haul but you will get there.
Hi Alex, I am just wondering if they have put you on Clopidogeral or another platelet drug, in the same category, after having a stent put in I had a terrible time with Clopidogeral, this back in 2008, there are rare side effects which can occur with many medications, my problem with Clopidogeral, was weakness in my muscles, debilitated me so much I could not even walk, or do anything, had no option but to stop taking it.
worth looking at any rare side effects of any medication you are on.
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