I'm in A &E at the moment having started with short, sharp chest pains early this morning. My first lot of bloods come back ok, troponin just 6, awaiting results of second trop result.
I had Nstemi, angiogram and stent fitted December last year. Pain was nothing like I had today. I've been back to A&E twice, Feb and March since my stent was fitted, with chest pain, not as severe as today, but was told it was gastro problems. I do get wind coming up, but the chest pains today feel much worse.
I'm just worried if my trops come back ok, along with my chest x-ray, they will send me home and wondered if I should ask for an echocardiogram as I'm worried if my stent is failing?
Sorry for the long post, I'm really worried today
Thanks, Lily
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MrsSuzuki
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I’m dont think an echocardiogram will show if your stent is OK. But to be sure, why not ask what test they could do that could check if it’s OK.
Hello
No one knows their own body better than themselves so if you feel no matter what the blood tests come back as everything is not ok then yes ask and they may try to talk you out of it but stand your ground and let them know you feel no matter what the tests maybe coming back as you feel everything is not ok
Ask them and if they refuse question why they think it isnt necessary or important. In this world if we dont push for our own health no one else will. Please dont be fobbed off or sent home without answers and a plan of action.
Sometimes we have to dig our heels in. Best wishes.
I'm still waiting to see if a cardiologist will see me. Trop levels are ok but still have occasional pains . They may refer me to chest pain clinic so will have to wait for appointment, so might not get to see the cardiologist .
Worried that when I get home I will get pains again. It never ends.
Have they done an ECG yet? Its relatively easy to do assuming the equipment is at hand and there are those in A&E who are qualified to do it although interpreting the output is down to the cardio people (in my experience)
I'm no expert, I've had two echocardiograms and on both occasions I've had them done the person doing it was quite chatty, mine weren't done under stress.....I was led to believe that they could monitor the function of the heart...is it pumping ok and are the valves working correctly....but they couldn't actually see if an artery was blocked.....Whatever, I hope you're ok.
Yes two ECG s ok. Saw nurse cardiologist to try and reassure me. Doesn't think HA. Only thing not checked is liver function so waiting for blood results. Still a bit of pain, I'm nearly one hundred percent it's not a gastro problem but what can you do. Echocardiogram not on menu today unfortunately , but I'll keep taking the tablets.
You can't do much to find out whether it's your heart that's giving you problems without the intervention of health professionals, But there is quite a lot you can do for yourself to find out whether your chest pain is gastro related, especially if you are already being treated for it. So typically.....
First off keep a food and drink diary. Do you get discomfort after eating certain foods or drinks? Citrus fruits, spicy food, lots of strong coffee, alcohol especially spirits, lots of onions, chocolate could all be triggers and there may be others.
Do antacids help?
Do you get discomfort if you bend down a lot, as in say decorating? If so that could be a hiatus hernia.
Do you get problems if you eat large meals?
Do you feel choked after eating?
Do you regurgitate food and/or get an acidic taste in your mouth.
If you find that none of the above makes any difference then it may not be gastro related as you suspect, but you will have some evidence to present to the medics to support your view and perhaps challenge theirs.
Basically no to all your questions. I really struggle with PPI's and aspirin, my stomach is quite tender, so I am still thinking it could be gastro related with wind coming up. The pain was different this time, felt like more sharp pains in my heart, which made me go to A &E. Thanks for your reply.Lily
If you believe aspirin to be causing you stomach problems and you are taking dispersible aspirin switch to entero coated or gastro resistant. And if you have a sensitive stomach and take ibuprofen or any other NSAID for pain relief especially on a regular basis you should stop and use paracetamol instead. But as far as PPIs are concerned they are usually prescribed to settle things down if you have any form of reflux disease (like me) and/or take some forms of medication, so PPis shouldn't, as I understand it, be causing you gastro problems they should be making your situation better, although there may be other side effects to contend with.
"if ECG and trop levels are fine then the chances of anything cardiac are very low."
Your comment above isn't accurate.
Many patients who live with non obstructive coronary artery disease caused by microvascular or vasospastic angina can have normal ECGs with small rises in troponin blood levels.
Some people who have a heart attack have no or minimal ECG changes.
Microvascular and vasospastic angina are more common in women and are under recognised and difficult to diagnose.
Ongoing chest pain after stent insertion is not uncommon. The stent may treat the visible obstruction to reveal an underlying problem in the function of the coronary blood vessels due to microvascular dysfunction or vasospastic angina.
Thank you for that post. My ECG's were normal and trop levels quite low too when I had my Nstemi.
Yesterday ECG's were ok and trop levels very low too at 6, then 7. The cardiology nurse checked liver and the results came back ok, as did everything else.
She had another chat with me to try and reassure me that after consulting the cardiologist, they didn't think it was anything to do with my heart .
By this time, 8pm, my pains had gone, and she thought it could be a gastro problem, seeing as over the past few days my stomach we was tender and I'd been burping a lot with wind (nothing unusual for me there as I do have problems with PPI's and aspirin), so I was was sent home.
Normally I have bits of pain in my sternum which I am sure is wind related, but yesterday the pain was short, sharp and painful on the left hand side to my sternum, making me worried that it was my heart.
Tried sleeping sitting up last night, a bit uncomfortable but no pain today so far.
I'm still glad I insisted on seeing someone with cardio experience who did listen to me.
Just to say that my husband rang 999 when I was getting the pain and was told at least a 6 hour wait for an ambulance near Lincoln. Suffice to say he dropped me off at A& E an hour later and to be fair I was seen within 10 minutes.
I agree you did the right thing by going into hospital to be checked.
Perhaps keep a log of your symptoms? Chest pain at rest is a sign that there maybe a problem.
The latest research by Prof Nick Mills is suggesting that any troponin blood level above 5ng/L is significant. Women also have lower troponin blood levels when they have heart attacks.
There is also growing awareness that angina can occur after stent insertion even surgery.
Hi, I've had 22 srentd fitted and just completed s triple bypass and aortic valve replacement 10 weeks ago. All is great now, never felt better, but in all this time (1998 - 2022) all of the many ECG 's I've had have been normal.
If you are in a Hopsital surrounded by Doctors and people who know what they are talking about, i really cant see much point coming on here to ask for opinions, sorry to be blunt, hope you feel better soon,
That's a very 'old school' approach, and may suit you but it certainly doesn't suit me. Whereas medical professionals are usually right about their diagnosis when confronted with a health condition presented to them, everyone has a right to challenge that diagnosis if they believe it doesn't fit, especially since as we get older we all get to learn about our own bodies when something is wrong. Unfortunately I have been in A&E on several occasions in recent years and have observed how pressurised most of the staff are, and that leads to quick decisions, which may not necessarily be the right ones, especially if there is ambiguity involved. And the system is also under pressure through sheer weight of incoming numbers to get people processed and hopefully back out the front door, and that also leads to quick decisions. Finally I have had several conditions throughout my life where the medical professionals have not got it right or simply just didn't know, fortunately nothing majorly life threatening. the latest being a recent diagnosis of angina when presented at A&E, which as I am finding out turns out to be gastro related and nothing to do with my heart.
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