As I write this my heart feels heavy accompanied by a dull ache and a small 'buzz' every so often. If it follows its normal progression it will start to feel squeezed during the next 24 hours & as though it has over done it at the gym and now feeling sore. This combination has seen me in A&E over 5 times since last November - sent there after speaking to 111 and/or Paramedics. I am now on Bisprodol 2 5mg and a GTN spray, awaiting a calcium and heart scan with dye. Nothing else significant showing up so far apart from high cholestrol (on 80g Antorvastin). After being checked over, it's back home & carry on until the next time. It's so cyclical that it's predictable. Yes, l am menopausal (53) & it is prefaced by a bout of 'superhot' flashes ending with a spot on my face that erupts on que, no I am not on HRT. No other female I know has anything like this.
What do I do ... follow the A & E routine, try to ignore it - it will settle back down (longest has been 4 days of discomfort) or ? Earliest chance for a scan will be April - no private options available in this area.
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Laurab101
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I am really sorry you are going through this again
I had 3 heart attacks and quite a few false alarms even though I was grateful they were before I had my Bypass op
But if I was in any doubt I would always take myself to A&E as it is better to be safe than sorry
So if you are unsure I would go and be checked over
Just a thought and the answer possibly will be no but could you afford to pay private to get these tests done as April is a while to wait and keep going through this
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have looked into private scans but the closest to me (Cornwall) is Bournemouth & as it's two scans it is beyond my budget.
April will soon come around & everyone has to wait their turn as appropriate & the care & treatment I have received to date has been very good. It's not the systems fault that I am proving to be my normal tricky self!
I remind myself that the medicines / diagnosis tools / knowledge & treatment now are amazing compared to my grandparents day & will continue to improve. I am in a better position with the addition of the meds than when this all started (during the first lockdown when I look back) so I just need to keep on , keeping on. Keep well yourself. Laura
hi Milkfairy. I just wondered if your symptoms of microvascular angina were/are at all like Laurab’s? I realise it can be a diagnosis missed, and also can present at menopause, so very well worth mentioning. But I did wonder if you recognised the very clear symptom sequence she described,
I live with coronary vasospasms, vasospastic angina. My blood vessels go into transient contrictions. This happens in my small and large blood vessels.
I have a delayed response to exercise. A feeling like my heart is bruised and sore for sometimes a day or more. I feel my symptoms at rest. This happens in particular after I have had a coronary vasospasm.
Any symptoms that sound like they could be related to the heart should be investigated properly. Some people use different words to describe what's happening in their body.
A 'squeeze' could be a spasm.
There is now an awareness that women's heart disease isn't always recognised by women themselves and healthcare professionals alike.
Thank you for your informative replies. I strongly suspect it is one of these varieties causing the angina.
This morning my heart is sore & stiff - just like an overworked muscle and as this usually comes at the end of the phase I am hopeful of avoiding a trip to A&E this week.
I had to have a scan with dye during a TIA incident earlier this summer & all went well as the dye was injected but when it went through my heart the pain made me clutch my chest & I could not move myself off the scanner bed. Unfortuantly they were only looking at my head at the time. I understand after further research that the dye process is often used to provoke a spasm response when this is suspected. I will keep this in mind to discuss with the team when I go for this procedure.
I’m sorry you’re having such a rotten time. 😕 I have a relative who had similar symptoms - without the spot on the face - and she was diagnosed with something called syndrome X. She’s managed it for almost 30 years now. Here is the link to the BHF description in case of interest
The link you posted is also giving out dated information too. It was published in 2014. The information on the BHF website has been updated and replaces this information leaflet.
Microvascular angina can increase an individual's chances of having a heart attack, stroke or other major cardiac events. It is with vasospastic angina a type of non obstructive coronary artery disease, NOCAD.
HRT has not been shown by research to be affective in treating this type of angina without blocked coronary arteries.
Thanks. She is. It’s been horrible & so difficult to manage. She’s now older & I think handles it better but you’ve my sympathy if you’re suffering with it.
Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, so cardiac care is good with Basildon Cardiothoracic Centre and Bart’s close by. I do think the medics like stenting A LOT at C2C.
I am going to have to give the physio for my shoulder a really solid effort first, I don’t think I will get very far with any other diagnosis until I do, or I have another cardiac event.
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Would you go private?
Muscular pain again!
Pains
Part of heart NOT WORKING 😳😢
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