Hi all I’m new to the group and this is my first post. I had a mild heart attack last year. I had an angiogram in February we’re they discovered that I have coronary heart disease and that one of my arteries was completely blocked they needed to operate to put two stents in. I am now 4 months post op. Feeling a lot better than I was but still getting chest pain and tightness. I am only in my 40’s and I’m finding this all overwhelming and frustrating that I get tired easily and can’t do everything I could 12 months ago. Any advice or insight to what’s normal and how to live with heart problems would be gratefully appreciated.
Hi everyone!: Hi all I’m new to the... - British Heart Fou...
Hi everyone!
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Lucy-Roby
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Hello and Welcome 
I can see from your profile pic that even though you are new to this Community you have been a part of what was Healthunlocked years ago that went in a different name before they put us on here
I bet like me you never thought you would be joining this Community
I joined for anxiety and would skip quickly past this Community thinking I never want to end up on there yet here I am along with so many more and despite the nature of why we are here there are some lovely supportive members who will give you great advise and what a lovely Hello you introduced yourself with
I was in my late 50's a couple of years ago and felt it was not fair and a shock when I had my first heart attack so in your early 40's I can imagine you will feel the same but even more so you never expect anything like this to happen but it does
4 months is still early days , I think some get back up quicker than others and when we get to 4 months we get frustrated at not feeling as we did before but this is a life changing event and is going to take a while slowly building back to the fitness levels we once had or adapting to the new fitness levels now have
Turning this into a positive we are so lucky they found what was wrong and how advanced they are now in been able to make sure we can survive and I have to keep telling myself this as I still get low and frustrated
Are you in touch with any Rehab Nurses or looking at doing Rehab classes ?
I found the Rehab Nurses very reassuring when I had doubts so if you have one do phone them
I am pleased you are feeling a lot better even though frustrated at feeling tired some of the medications we are on can add to that feeling to
The chest pain and tightness can be due to the procedure we have had done again it can all take time to settle down , others will be able to give you more advice on this there are some really knowledgeable members
But speaking to your Doctor to get it checked out would be wise and I would just run that past them
I hope you will feel welcomed and as I said once you start getting replies I hope you will feel not so alone with all this and know you have somewhere you can come and talk and people will relate to you x
Lucy-Roby in reply to
Thank you so much, it’s comforting already to know that I’m not allow in how I’m feeling. It has been a shock and overwhelming and definitely frustrating.
I am under a cardiac rehab nurse but I suffered a lot of inflammation issues so we had to slow things down a little.
I saw the nurse yesterday and she said my pain could be angina and that I should use my spray.
Thank you for your kind words take care.
Hi LR - I think many of us who have had even minor heart attack or have Coronary Heart Disease struggle with fatigue - I think in time it improves but may be something we also have to live with and know our limits . 4 months post having stents in to my mind should mean chest pain and tightness going and would suggest you get this checked out - hoping you continue to improve and get back to what you could do previously.
I agree with Puffin. After my stent I had no further chest pain or tightness.
Thank you your right it is about learning limits. I spoke with the cardiac nurse yesterday and she’s told me it’s angina pain and that I should use my spray if I’m in pain.
Glad you’ve got some expert advice - take care
Thank you, you too. 😊
"I am only in my 40’s and I’m finding this all overwhelming and frustrating that I get tired easily and can’t do everything I could 12 months ago. Any advice or insight to what’s normal and how to live with heart problems would be gratefully appreciated."
Many people find they're tired following heart problems. For some it's getting used to their medication, for others it's because part of their heart was permanently damaged during the heart attack, and for another group it might be angina due to other arteries becoming blocked. If these feelings of lethargy persist for much longer you should raise it with your GP. Medication can be changed or doses amended, and further tests can be done to monitor the condition of your heart.
In terms of your question about living with heart problems, that's a big topic and there aren't simple responses.
The first thing to recognise is that atherosclerosis (often called CVD, cardiovascular disease, or just plain heart disease) is both incurable and progressive. We'll have it for life, and left to its own devices it'll just keep getting worse. Consequently we have to apply ourselves to slowing down the progress of this disease to an absolute crawl. The good news is that for most of us this really can be done!
We have three tools at our disposal. First is surgical interventions, such as stents or bypass surgery. Okay they won't actually cure us or prevent future heart attacks, but they can save our lives if administered during a heart attack, and they can also grant us a second chance. So this leaves the two real heavyweights in our tool box, medication and life style changes. These are in our hands so the challenge is to ensure we deploy these two to the absolute maximum.
This is why Cardio Rehab is so important. Cardio Rehab went online during the pandemic, but I'm hearing reports that it's now opening back up as a face to face service. Referral for Cardio Rehab comes from the hospital that treated you. I'd move heaven and earth to get on one of these programmes, as this is where we're given the skills and information to understand how and when to take our medication, and we're given tailored targets for key life style changes. Research from Canada showed that attendance on face to face Cardio Rehab reduced the risk of a subsequent fatal heart attack by nearly 40%. There are very few other initiatives that can deliver that kind of payback!
Cardio Rehab is doubly important for someone as young as yourself. The average age for men to have their first attack is 65, for women it's a little over 70. But someone in their 40's needs a strategy that can keep them well for another 30 or 40 years.
If face to face Cardio Rehab is simply not possible at the moment where you live, then explore the on-line version offered by BHF. But whatever you do the key is to take ownership and responsibility for your continued good health. Almost inevitably that will involve you conducting a root and branch review of your personal risk factors, and a determination to get each and every one of them sorted.
It's also important to recognise that even though some risk factors are blindingly obvious (smoking, obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc), others can be more subtle. For example gum disease can be a major cause of heart disease, as can sleep apnea or indeed disturbed sleep generally (for example shift workers run a higher risk of heart attacks), then there are about 17% of the population whose heart disease can be triggered by even small quantities of alcohol or dietary fats. And there are even more obscure risk factors, such as secondary smoking or take away food loaded with trans fats. A really big trigger for heart disease in today's world is high sugar/high carb snack foods, which over years may nudge us towards insulin resistance with heart disease as a common side effect. But rooting out our personal risk factors is the major challenge that confronts us all.
I won't pretend any of this is easy, it may require massive efforts and a big upheaval to your routine. But the prize for you is thirty or forty years of healthy, active life. For a prize that amazing surely any sacrifice is warranted?
Good luck!
Thank you, you certainly sound very knowledgeable and like you been through a lot and done your research. I am under the cardiac rehab nurse but I suffered a lot of inflammation issues so we had to slow things down a little. Although she rings me every couple of weeks to check in. I think she wants to wait for my MRI results before we push any further.
I am ready to do what I need to get my heart as healthy as I can so I am around to see my son grow up.
I am really glad I came across this group as it is making me feel a lot more positive than I have felt in a long while. Thank you 😊
Hi Lucy-Roby. I understand how you feel and reading your post (and others) puts me back to how I felt but also how far I feel I have come since. I had a heart attack, angiogram and 2 stents for an almost completely blocked RCA last August. It was a week after I turned 42. Completely shocked, overwhelmed, worried, alone with a form of PTSD. I found this group and others like me who shared wonderful advice and empathy. As others say you need some medical advice. It could be anxiety, angina, meds… 4 months is still early days, things are still settling after such a procedure. It does get better. Cardiac rehab for me was amazing and gave me confidence and was a big stepping stone to increase my fitness. It will always be with you though so you need to positively adjust and young enough to make it count for a long time to come. Take a day at a time, take care and good luck. PM me if it helps. Chris
Thank you so much. Sounds like you have been through it all yourself. I am under cardiac rehab but I had a lot of inflammation issues so we had to slow it down a little. I think what I’m hearing from everyone is time helps and listening to your body. I think it’s all about trying to get in the right mind set too. I think I need to stop focusing on what I can’t do and start looking at what I can.
Hi Lucy-Roby I had a HA in January and a stent fitted. Im 49 and have been left with moderate damage. Fatigue is my issue and im still not back to work. I know however I am getting better even though it’s slower than I would like. I’ve now been allocated a heart failure nurse who is amazing, she’s in the process of sorting my medication out. I’ve had all sorts of feelings in chest and between us we are working it out. The things I have found helpful is this group, the BHF rehab emails. Face to face rehab has finally started this week which is fab and much better than the dull BHF videos! I also discover a fabulous group on fb called pumping marvellous. Such a positive group dealing with heart failure. This week they have launched a patients charter which is brilliant and wish I had had it back in January because being in limbo and not knowing what pathway I was on was terrible. Here’s the linkpumpingmarvellous.org/heart...
I’ve lost almost 2 stones since January and that’s really helped mainly from eating healthy and walking. Still struggling with hills but it’s getting better. The hard thing for me is everything has to be planned around resting, spontaneity is out the window for now!
I wish you luck with your recovery and just know you’re not alone, there is some amazing people out there willing to help, sometimes it’s just knowing where to look.
Sarah x
Sounds like you are doing amazing after what you have been through. Well done on the weight loss that’s my next mission.A lot of what you are saying is very familiar to me. I go out walking most nights with the dog and hills are definitely a struggle. I had a good chat with one of the cardiac nurses yesterday and she’s given me some idea of what pain is my angina and when to use my spray and what pain I need to be concerned about.
I started cardiac rehab and ended up with a lot of inflammation problems so that set me back a little.
I am back at work full time after 6 weeks off and a phased return but thankfully I have the luxury of working from home which helps if I’m having a bad day.
Good luck with your recovery too sounds like your doing amazing x
Keep going Lucy we all have good days and bad. It’s amazing you are back at work full time that’s brilliant. Part of my struggle is the driving but I keep practicing it in hope I will get back soon. Someone suggested to me to write the small wins down because when we spiral we forget about the little things. I have a fit bit and when walking up hills I can see my heart rate is lower than previous weeks and I think my speed is slowly going up! Be kind to yourself you will get there slowly. xxx
Thank you I’m sure you will get back to driving. I suppose it’s all about patience and perseverance. That actually sounds like a good idea I keep telling myself that I should think about the things I can do instead of the things I can’t.
Sounds like your making progress each time baby steps you will get there.x 😊
I'm not back to work after my HA and stent 2 years ago, with the same issues. I've tried but I just can't do what I did before full-time anymore. I'm back in for bloods then a med review this week, yet the docs say I'm fit for work with the daily meds I take everyday, the govment is trying to push me into any job so I'm not a jobless statistic, and if I refuse they can reduce or stop my benefits? My doc has been great recently and has signed me off until this issue is sorted, which has lifted a huge weight of that stress and pressure. Take it easy pal, this is chance 2.. there's no rush 😉
Hi Lucy, and welcome to the forum, just to add to the excellent advice already given, do you think that these chest pains and tightness would have been something you would have worried about before your HA , we do tend to notice every little discomfort after suffering with cvd, if it will put your mind at rest mention it to your doctor or cardio nurse if you have one, I myself am new to this forum and I actually start my cardio rehab this morning, like you I suffered fatigue after HA and stent fitted in March this year but I’m now feeling much better after gradually building up my exercises. Please try not to worry too much as this causes anxiety and stress which is not good for you. I wish you well going forward and will post something after my rehab today. Dave.
Thank you so much. Sounds like you have been through it all yourself. I am under cardiac rehab but I had a lot of inflammation issues so we had to slow it down a little. Your are right though I now worry about every little twinge and pain. Hope your cardiac rehab went well today.
You are doing fine you are taking the right steps on here everyone can help it’s the mental knock that’s hard but you will rise and every day you do you will get stronger good luck
Hi LucyWelcome to the group. I was a week off my 44th birthday last year when i had a massive heart attack. Some days i'm full of the joys of Spring and others i feel like an old woman.
It really does get me down sometimes but i always try to remember, I'm still here to enjoy my family and make memories and so what if i have to do that a little slower than i used to...
Good luck. Julie x
Hi and welcome Lucy-Roby,I like you are 4 months post intervention after a significant heart attack, although just a little older (late 50s)! I still recall the amazing and knowledgeable advice I received from this forum members when I first joined. Chappychap was very honest and direct I recall but "says it how it is" when he first replied to my post, 4 months ago, but it was what was needed. We all on here are on our journeys, and across all the replies you get, I'm sure they'll be a support for you.
Our lives have changed, some very dramatically, some mildly, but they are different and we need to accept and embrace this change. No-one says it'll be easy.
I still have the occasional emotional moment, when the wrong tune plays or even just looking at the beautiful scenery on holiday............but I'm still here to have those moments and am damn lucky to be able to do so. What I really wish to say is, stick with it, the good will far outweigh the bad, the happy the sad, and the hopeful the hopeless, time for us really is a healer, in more ways than one. Good luck
Hi there and welcome!
I am 51 (F) and had a heart attack six weeks ago, followed by various (ongoing) complications which resulted in a second hospital admission. Like you, I am finding it all rather overwhelming and I’m tired much of the time which is frustrating, but if I look back I can see as the weeks go by, I am able to do a little more. Many of the things I had hoped I would be able to do in later life - long haul travel, having a large garden, becoming a grandmother one day etc seem like an impossible dream right now and I’m so scared I will die young. With the support of the cardiac rehab team I know I’ve got the best chance to live a long life, but I’m under no illusion that it will take enormous resolve and determination to kick the bad habits and stress that got me into this mess in the first place.
I wish you well and if I can be of any support, please let me know.
Lucy-Roby in reply to
Thank you I completely understand what your saying it is all so overwhelming. Good luck with your recovery x
All I can say is give it time. It's early days since the stents and your body is still adapting to your medication which could need tweaking. Do g o to see your GP , insist on face to face . Explain how you feel and ask his advice. It may need just a change of time of day for meds or a slight change of dosage or eve n an alternative. Have you asked for an explanation of your heart attack, ie how bad it was, how much damage was done? Have you started rehab yet? If not do chase it up. It will be the best thing you could ever do. I am guessing rehab didn't happen last year after your heart attack because of the situation ( We are not allowed to mention c***d on here). I'm also surprised you didn't have the stents right away.
Thank you. All I know was that it was a mild heart attack and that it was my LAD that was 100% blocked. I spoke with the cardiac nurse yesterday and she’s told me that pain I am getting is angina pain and that I should use my spray if I’m in pain. I did start cardiac rehab but ended up with alot of inflammation issues so we had to slow it down a little.
Do use the spray; there are side effects at first like a bad headache so sit down afterwards but they do wear off. I would still ask for a more detailed explanation as to why you st ill have angina.
I have used the spray a couple of times and I was expecting the bad headaches just because of what people had told me but to be honest it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Which was good.I think it’s maybe because I already take Isosorbide mononitrate daily so maybe I have built up some intolerance.
I definitely do need more detail although I had my stents in Feb and MRI in April I’m still waiting for my appointment to come through from my consultant to discuss everything further.
All they told me is I have narrowing in some of my other arteries which I think is causing the angina pain.
I would then ask, if the other narrowing is bad enough to cause anginia, why hasn't it had stents? I was given 2 stents right after my HA but also told i had more narrowing in 2 parts ofthe LAD.. I had to go back for another angiogram which showed it was about 65% narrowed b ut blood flow was good so they didn't do anything more. It's left me constantly worried about those 2 areas but I don't have any angina. I was given isosorbide at the start but then it w as stopped because I had no symptoms. I keep a bottle of GTN tablets rather than the spray but have never had to use them. They go under your tongue but you can remove them if side effects are bad.
Hey..you've had a massive operation and life isn't gonna be what it was before. I'm 2yrs post op and am still not feeling fit enough to go back to work. I've tried but I just haven't the stamina that I did before, and I'm not gonna push myself to end up having another heart attack..they hurt lol. Take all cardiac rehab offered (I missed out on it all due to covid closure..had to go it alone which hasn't been fun) maybe if I'd have had that I might be back working? Seriously tho.. kick back and take things slowly.. you've had a 2nd chance handed on a plate to you.. x
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Hi everyone I’m new to this. 8 weeks ago I had a heart attack. it’s ruined my life I’m 49. I’m scared and won’t go anywhere. Is this normal?
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Newbie - hello everyone
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