so shocked

[momander]

I have been in hospital for 10 days after suffering from a second heart attack. the first one was on 17 April last year. Since then I have stopped smoking and drinking and have lost weight too. I have completely overhauled my diet and lifestyle only to suffer another heart attack!!?? I feel I am right back to the start again!! I am tired and my chest feels a bit strange due to everything settling down. some of my medications have been changed also. Clopidogrel has been changed to prasugrel and my statin has been changed from 40mg to 80mg. I am in disbelief that this has happened when I have invested a whole 14 months being as healthy as I can

[GFFF]

Sorry to hear your news, wishing you a speedy recovery x

[momander in reply to GFFF]

thank you GFFF

[Chappychap]

If you hadn't invested that 14 months in a healthier lifestyle you might not have survived this latest heart attack, or it might have resulted in far more permanent damage to your heart.

The other thing to remember is that previous poor life style choices took many years to drive your heart disease to the point where you had a heart attack, 14 months isn't that long in the scheme of things.

Heart disease is incurable and progressive, so we've got it for life and left to itself it will just keep getting worse. The best we can hope for is that a combination of medication and a healthier life style will slow the future progress of our heart disease to an absolute crawl.

There's only one sensible decision going forward, and that's to double down on your new healthier lifestyle.

Best wishes for a quick recovery and good luck for the future!

[momander in reply to Chappychap]

thank you Chappychap

[CarlGreen]

Really sorry to hear this has happened to you again! Take heart (excuse the pun ) that had you NOT stopped drinking and smoking, it might have been a lot worse and you might not have been able to post this is the first place! - Sounds like your doing all the right things, don't get discouraged, it will get better

👍

[momander in reply to CarlGreen]

thank you so much CarlGreen

[Hidden]

Hello

My first heart attack was Oct 2020 sent home on medications and tried to do everything right but only 4 months later Feb 2021 I was back I had another heart attack and then within 4 weeks in March 2021 another small heart attack and I was gutted and worried and wondering why to

I did have an angiogram between Oct and Feb and it was found I needed a triple bypass which I had done last August

I presume you have had a angiogram ?

What are they saying with the results from your tests you have had done have they given you an explanation ?

Please do not think it is anything you have done wrong sometimes we are unlucky and this can happen but if you keep doing as you were before you may never have another heart attack again

I do feel for you and know how you will be feeling as I felt the same

I know sometimes it can be when we get home we think of loads of questions we want answering yet never asked while we were in Hospital

Start making a list if you have questions you need answering ready for your follow up appointment

I wish you a speedy recovery and there is always someone to talk to on here so you are not alone which helps to know that x

[momander in reply to Hidden]

thank you so much BeKind. Yes, I did have an angiogram which is so unpleasant!! they found the small tail end of the artery that had been stented last year had a tiny little bit of plaque in it!!! when I was shown it on the x ray it was hard to understand how a miniscule thing like this hardly visible to the naked eye, could cause so much pain!!?? they covered the original stent with another one which also covered the end of the artery. I have a history of heart disease in my family on my mothers side where all the women on that side of the family died of heart related illness!!! I was told that the likelihood of this latest heart attack was down to genetics and bad luck. It ha given me a fright and has n=made me aware of how important it is is for me to continue top eat as healthy as I can.

[Hidden in reply to momander]

Hello

Try and stay positive they have had a good look round found the problem and fixed it and if there was anything else they would have fixed that to while you were in there

Heart attacks run in my family but on the male side I broke that mould been female !

They will keep a close eye on you and things now have changed so much from when our relatives went through this they are so much more advanced and medications are so much better to

Stay positive x

[momander in reply to Hidden]

thank you so much BeKind28, this is exactly what I needed to hear!!! sometimes we need a wee boost of positivity instead of being told negative things that are only based on assumption!!! You are right, they did have a jolly god look round for an hour and a half during my angiogram!!! My original lifestyle was that of a smoker of only a few years, a moderate drinker and a healthy eater. I have re visited my eating habits and further tweaked my diet to be mindful of eating foods low in cholesterol whilst still enjoying food!!!

[Heather1957]

While you have done very very well making these changes you have to remember that some of the damage your original lifestyle caused maybe irreparable, I had my bypass in 2017 and even though I was a reformed smoker, my smoking was nearly 30 years while my non smoking was 11 years. My GP told me that the damage cannot be undone so while these changes will help for the future you have to accept there is damage already done. It will be easy for me to say but in some ways you have to accept what was done and let the medication work along side the changes you are making, this should help a lot.

In October last year I had 2 stents fitted and they needed to drill to get them in, I am now on 80 mgs of Statins plus an enhancer.

Hopefully an angiogram will show exactly what is going on and they will carry out any procedures necessary.

You have made some amazing changes don't give up and try not to be too despondent.

[momander in reply to Heather1957]

thank you Heather1957. luckily I only smoked for a few years and did not eat unhealthy foods. Also I drank in moderation which is why I was told that is more likely this is a combination of bad luck and genetics.

[Heather1957 in reply to momander]

I had a combination of bad living and genetics, I didn't have any hope!! We think we are invincible when we are young!!

Hopefully that is the last of the shocks and it is onward and upwards from now on.

[momander]

I can agree with feeling invincible!!! I think we all do when we are younger!!! we can only do our best now and hope it is enough!!?? i was told that the original artery that had been stented was not properly covered? in other words the stent was too short?? so the we tail end of the artery had a bit of plaque on it and that was what was causing pain.

[Heather1957 in reply to momander]

Now they know what is the problem they can sort it out. 🤞

[momander in reply to Heather1957]

Hi Heather, it's all dine and dusted!! Sorted! Just to recover now.

[Pitt12345]

Same happened to my husband after 20 months. Then few months after second ha needed more intervention (breathless) and another stent . It is a year since the latest intervention and is 21 months since his second ha. He is on Ticagelor for three years from his latest intervention so that is until 2024. He like you did everything he was advised so it all came as a shock. He copes better with it than I do, and l hope you will learn to ‘relax’ more as time goes on. Take Care

[pasigal]

momander Please know that you are not alone.

I had 2 stents in my LAD July 2020, was told "all's well."

April 2021, massive coronary arrest -- briefly "no flow" -- plus another heart attack in hospital after plaque broke off in circumflex artery. I nearly hit rock bottom mentally. Still digging out of that hole.

Yes, it's miserable to think you did everything right and you're back to square 1. I just keep reminding myself how much my family will miss me when I'm gone. At least I hope they will!

All we can do is take meds, stay healthy and monitor our health as best we can.

[SRDS]

Dear Momander Please do not lose heart over this. It is easier said than done, I know. But let us think about if you did not change your lifestyle , what could have happened. This second heart attack may have resulted in something worse. It is hard to think like this, I know. I myself find it hard to do so. But we have got to try and be logical and rational about our situations I suppose.

Keep doing what you are doing. It is working since it is giving your body the strength to fight.

Take care

Shaivi

[Frenchbulldogsx]

Hiya ,I conclude with other comments. I have had 2 MI the first resulted in a quadruple bypass at the age of 52 .I then had another a couple of years after as apparently one of the grafts disappeared! So I now have 3 grafts. The second MI damaged part of my 💔 so I had to claw myself back with perseverance and rehabilitation.

I take medication but only aspirin for blood thinning now.

I walk daily, and try to live a healthy lifestyle.

My issue is hereditary and I'm walking in my dad's footsteps! I never smoked or drank alcohol and was gluten free so if its in the genes its gonna get you.

My life now 4 years post op,is relatively back to normal, however I have occasionally angina especially when stressed, hot or cold.

I work and enjoy life.I do suffer from anxiety and and undiagnosed ptsd but I tried therapy and it was useless but tbh it was probably not up to par as was a work referral.

Anyway continue living your best life, without making those changes already you may have not survived this MI.

They have fixed the issue and with medication and lifestyle changes you can expect to continue living a good life xx

[Ewloe]

I feel for you. Getting a knock back is hard. But you’ve done all the right things. Apparently statistically if you’re going to have a secondary cardiac event it’s more likely to occur within 12 months of the first. You’ve had your secondary event so now you can only move forwards. They told me if I hadn’t been so fit when I had my STEMI/arrest/stent in their words- I wouldn’t be mentally or physically intact. So it’s worth doing what you’ve been doing as your here to fight another day.

[Chinkoflight]

Hi, I am so sorry to hear of your distress, and that initial shock of an event is extremely difficult to get your head round. My event was a severe stroke and my lifestyle contributing factors were being old (70) and overweight. Like you, I have set about a real regime of health change and I know I am now fitter and stronger, especially my cardiovascular, than I have been since probably a teenager. I do this in the knowledge of the probability that I will have another event at some time, and I doubt I'll get any warning. What I will know is that my body will be in a stronger fitter state to help deal with that event especially if I need the intervention of a medical procedure. I'm sure I will still feel very negative when that event happens, resentful even after all my efforts but I'm sure you are in a better place than if you had not made those lifestyle changes. Small consolation but keep in touch with the rational as well as emotional. Kind regards.

[Lizbeth61]

Hi Momander, I am so sorry to hear you have suffered a second heart event, wishing you a speedy recovery. life is just not fair at times. Its what we all fear, thinking we are doing the best we can only to find its not enough. I hope now that they have completely stented your artery you can now move forward to a long healthy life. Like you I didn't have an unhealthy lifestyle before my event. Wishing you well x

[Cookie2020]

Get well soon Momander and remember one thing we are all your side 👍

[Maythyme]

I had a heart attack in 2013 and like you decided to make lifestyle changes such as diet, losing weight and most importantly exercise. Earlier this year though I ended up having a triple bypass. I found this hard to take as I felt I had done everything right. However, although there are things you can control like lifestyle and taking meds there are also other things you can’t like genetics, family history etc. The physio at Royal Papworth hospital told me I would recover much more quickly because I had been fit before my latest cardiac event. At a recent appointment my GP told the reason for my good recovery progress was because of my general state of fitness in the first place.

So, you should continue all those good things you have been doing and this will aid your recovery. I have particularly found gradually increasing my walking has really helped. Getting out amongst nature is also great for mental health.

Wishing you all the best for your recovery!

[momander in reply to Maythyme]

thank you so much Maythyme, my cardiologist told me it was a combination of bad luck and genetics. Its hard to take in though. I also have a chronic back condition which makes it very difficult for me to exercise. I would love to get out and walk but sadly I can only walk for about 5 minutes then I become really sore. I do chair exercises, chair yoga and stretching exercises too. Once I am allowed to, I intend to go back to the swimming pool and do some gentle walking up and down.

[Villagelife]

Well done on making such big changes in your lifestyle over the past 14 months. Im sure it will have helped prevent a worse outcome and hopefully will help you make a quicker recovery. Lifestyle isn't the only contributing factor genetics play their part. Keep up those healthy changes, hope you make a good recovery .

[nilmonisikdar40]

Hi Momander, So sorry to hear about your second heart attack despite all the positive changes you have made. What do the medics think about it? Wish you a speedy recovery.

[momander in reply to nilmonisikdar40]

The professionals said it was a mix of bad luck and genetics. I'm just trying to get my head round it just now. I still can't quite believe its happened to be honest

[Soni123]

Arghh I feel so uncomfortable reading this. I recently had a heart attack myself ( at 33) and its had such an impact on me mentally, I think a mixture of exhaustion along with the various medications really impacted me. I used to enjoy the gym, swimming etc but since the heart attack in Oct21 I cant get to 100%. Unfortunately because of the above issues the only thing I was able to do was stop smoking but I have spent 8 months at home and my diet has been thr poorest ever as in normal circumstances I would go gym and eat well but since I have been unable to do this all I have done is eat crap. I think we all feel yout pain especially when its happened again, best of luck with your recovery and just be glad you made it through both ...super strong!

[Chriswood79 in reply to Soni123]

Soni123 it does get better. I had STEMI at 42 11 months ago. Mentally you take a battering and the meds don’t help. I appreciate how frustrating and shocking it must be at your age as at my age it’s been bad enough. I’m physically and mentally much stronger although it’s still not easy, and probably never will be. Make some small positive changes to break your habit cycles and you’ll see some incremental improvement to get you back to close to 100%. Good luck 🤞

[Soni123 in reply to Chriswood79]

Thanks Chris...I sure hope so 🙏

[Chriswood79]

Momander - reading your post and everyone’s kind comments of support makes me realise it could happen again to any of us. Good on you for making the positive changes and keep going. This is just a small setback in the scheme of things and you’ve got through it. It’s made me reflect on how far I have come on my 11 month journey recognising my mortality - we’re all still here and need to continue to live a better life and be in the moment. Good luck with your recovery ❤️‍🩹

[GardeningFlowers]

Hi momander. Sorry to hear what you are going through. I hope things will soon get better for you. You have done so much to improve your health and now with the cardiologist s help you are on the mend. Sending you best wishes. ❤️Liz