Complicated but if anyone can help?

[Froggy]

Hello everyone - I will try to be brief 🙂

Background - I come from a large family, Mam & Dad, 8 brothers and me. 4 of my brothers, aged 56, 58 and 61 , Mam and Dad (73 and 74) died from Heart attacks. The other 4 brothers died from various cancers and also had CVDs ( 18, 72 and 68 -one at 3 days old). My youngest brother (68) died just a few weeks ago with lung, brain and bone cancer.

I have had difficulty managing my breathing when walking - especially on even the smallest incline for a while but the last few months this has got a lot worse and feels like I am wearing a tight corset! A few odd sharp pains on my upper left hand side have been coming up too. I have permanent AF, which I thought was the cause but it has become steadily worse. I also suffer from type 2 diabetes and because of a delayed diagnosis 15 years ago I also have CKD 3.

So, I took myself to the doctors about 8 weeks ago and he ordered a cardiograph. In between seeing the doctor and having the cardiograph I took myself off to A&E feeling like I was having a bad / different episode of AF. Kept me in overnight. Consultant telephone appointment followed and he has ordered an angiogram which is due imminently. The last one I had, almost 10 years ago, showed mild to moderate atherosclerosis and nothing to worry about.

I had my cardiograph- the radiologist can’t say much but is doing a report. She did mention my AF and that my heart chambers are thicker than normal. I would be really fateful if anyone else has had these experiences and answer a few questions?

How was your angina diagnosis made? Those of you that had/have a GNT spray - was this a step towards a bypass or for life? What determines whether someone needs a stent or bypass?

Hey! And this was short! By the way, I am 70 years old and have had 2 pulmonary artery ablations for AF.

Thank you for any help that you can give xxx

[Hidden]

My Dad gained his angel wings at 65 due to heart failure and my twin brother gained his at 61 with heart failure.......I'm still here at 69 and feeling good, in fact better than Ive felt in quite a long while.I was diagnosed with angina at 61 years old, I didnt have an angiogram, I was diagnosed at a rapid access chest pain clinic, and given a cocktail of medicine and that magical GTN spray.

It was a wake up call, I shed a few stone and upped my exercise levels.

After about a year I rarely needed the GTN spray, I used it proactively before strenuos activity to avoid angina.

Then last June out of the blue I had a heart attack.....I guess when you've got angina your odds of having a heart attack are pretty short.

Luckily the blockages were cured by stenting rather than me needing a bypass.

[Froggy in reply to Hidden]

Thank you JohnH. I am glad you got sorted and are feeling good. It certainly is a wake up call when things start going wrong. I am losing weight slowly but surely - a lot more difficult when older but not using that as an excuse.I appreciate your reply, thanks again.

[Hidden]

Dear Froggy

Well after reading your post my heart {its on the mend} go out to you. You have seen so much sorrow and have seen so many of your family die and yet there is a tone of fight in your post that fills me with hope.

Now please remember that I am not medically trained so can only base my answers on my experiences .

With your family history and of course yours, I am so surprised that you are not more closely monitored, the only history of heart problems in our family was Mum who had the famous enlarged heart diagnosis due to her diabetes, she died at 59.

The GTN spray I found was a god send and it was the beginning of my journey, once I was prescribed it and used it for the first time I realised how ill i was, skip forward and I have had a heart bypass due to blockage { the plumbing part} and now need a pace maker with defibrillator fitted { the electrical part}

The spray remains near by and I am pleased to say that I have not needed it since, but would not hesitate in using it if I did.

It seems that you are now back on track with them monitoring you. You just need to wait for results to see what the next step is.

You come across as a strong individual {all you have already gone through} and I hope that will help you get on with your extraordinary life.

Take care.

[Toasty-McToast-Face]

Hi Froggy,

my dad was one of eight children. All bar one have passed away due to heart failure/attacks/disease including his parents.

This year I've finally been diagnosed with hereditary hypertrophic cadiomyopathy which presented with many of the symptoms you described including thickening of the septum (the heart wall between the left and right chamber).

A perfusion test indicates that the blood supply to my heart is okay so no angina currently, although my dad did with his.

I know it's hard but try and wait to see your cardiologist for diagnosis etc as we're just people with good intentions but not necessarily expertise.

Good luck and fingers crossed for you