Living with Unstable Angina

[Jazzyjas]

I am a young 57 year old woman but I have unstable angina. I had a heart attack in 2018 and had a stent fitted.

I am finding it very difficult to cope with unstable angina. I am taking a copious amount of medication and have been hospitalised to try and sort this out. I find I can only walk a few metres before the pain starts and my body slows down to an almost standstill. I have constant mild pain all the time. I am being monitored by the cardiac team and my doctor. I am told to ring 999 if the pain doesn’t go after taking my gtn spray 3 times but it is always just angina so now I don’t bother. And I have started putting on weight due to lack of activity

[Hidden]

hi have your cardiac team and doctor mapped out a pathway to treat you? Have they determined next steps or just leaving you in this state? It’s hard waiting while your in pain, but if you know what next step is May give you some hope? I’m not sure what your asking here on forum but hope helps and things improve soon.

[Jazzyjas in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. There is no clear pathway at the moment. I am seeing my cardiologist on 24 November so hopefully I will have a clearer idea. I wasn’t really asking anything - just venting

[Hidden in reply to Jazzyjas]

no worries, good place to vent. Hope 24/11 is fruitful, lack of clarity definitely fuels venting!

[Zbignieva]

hi, I am so sorry you are in so much pain.

I dealt with my unstable angina by taking very slow walks and copious amounts of GTN spray.

Most of my issues ended when they stented me, but I also still have chest pain that is either from my shoulder or microvascular disease.

I have gone to my GP to ask for more investigations.

Milk fairy has more information about microvascular and vasospastic disease, which can cause serious chest pain and even a heart attack.

Are the cardiology team not going to stent again or are all your main arteries clear?

We are almost the same age, a young 57, I’m 56.

I was training and running with angina then unstable angina for ages, I kept being told it was musculoskeletal.

Unstable angina is a medical emergency and people with it are meant to be treated the same as those having a heart attack.

Please keep going to AE and get admitted until they figure this out.

[Jazzyjas in reply to Zbignieva]

Thank you Zbignieva. I have two arteries at the back of my heart that are 50-60 % blocked but they are not stenting at the moment because they’re not blocked enough. Good luck with your pain management.

[Myrtledene]

I have unstable angina 2stents I n 2020But I have pain in shoulder and leftside

Pain in chest doctor said anxiety but i dont

Think it is

Im worried aswell

[Jazzyjas in reply to Myrtledene]

keep going Myrtledene - make them listen x

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello Jazzypas,

I agree living with the uncertainty of unstable angina is challenging .

Unstable angina is certainly something that shouldn't be ignored as ' just angina'. It can progress to acute coronary syndrome or even a heart attack.

It's important to go to A&E to check you are okay.

It's good to hear that your condition is being monitored.

Have you been offered any further tests to check whether your obstructive coronary artery disease has progressed and your stents are still clear?

Another possible cause of your on going problems could be microvascular or vasospastic angina. These are types of non obstructive coronary artery disease.

These conditions can occur at the sametime as obstructive coronary artery disease which are treated with stent.

Perhaps ask your Cardiologist to consider whether this maybe the cause of your ongoing issues?

Maybe keep a diary of your symptoms and how you respond to your medication. See if you can spot any possible triggers of your symptoms.

Discuss your findings with your Cardiologist.

Zbignieva has given you good advice too.

Sometimes you have to be persistent.

[Jazzyjas in reply to Milkfairy]

thank you so much Milkfairy. Great idea about diary. I am seeing my cardiologist on 24 November so I will ask him about the other possible causes you mentioned. My stent is clear but I have two 50-60% blockages at the back of my heart that aren’t blocked enough to stent x

[Hidden]

Unstable angina is usually random attacks at any moment wether its at rest or asleep or walking. There usually isnt a trigger. As you say when you are walking it gets worse. This would indicate that it is stable angina caused possibly by arteries that are clogging up with plaque. Either way its something that needs investigating before its too late and as mentioned i would call 999 to explain your getting chest pains and to be admitted this way.

[Jazzyjas in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. The pain gets worse on exertion but I have can have severe pain when I’m just sitting down doing nothing.

[Jazzyjas]

Thank you everyone for replying. I really appreciate your help and advice x