I had a heart attack in July and after being released had another also after that release had ended up with blood clots . I've had stwnts fitted but I am not doing well I keep getting pain in chest and mind starts to worry and won't stop , been that bad had to phone 999 and been taken few times to gosp to check and and bloods and ecg ok , but why am I still getting the pain , spoke to gp and she said I've stress and anxiety issues , put me on meds to help but they hVe not helped, also trying to get some help from hospital but they passed aftercare to my local authority but had nothing don't know who to speak to or get referred back to at least have a scan or some sort , sorry to everyone I feel like I wast the hospital time when I phone for advise and they send me to Aand E for checks , As had a few horrid time with nurses and a doctor who basically thought I was wasting there time so I try to get through the pain , I wake through the night hands numb calves hurt and chest pain and bloating felling , am I going mad and my brain is just making it all up as that is what the hosp think , just thank you to everyone out there I am trying just finding hard to get that reassuring speech to say heart looks OK and pressure now normal
Pain and stress after heart attacks a... - British Heart Fou...
Pain and stress after heart attacks and stents fitted
Hello 
I do feel for you reading your post in some ways reminded me of myself
I had a heart attack in Oct 2020 then another in Feb 2021 and yet another in March 2021 but unlike you I did not have an angiogram till after the March one and I kept been told I was doing well !!!!
But the angiogram said different I needed a triple Bypass which I had in Aug 2021
But don't think you need a Bypass they had to do that as stenting was not an option where like you stenting was
I also had some bad experiences in the Hospital while going through these heart attacks does leave us anxious and lacking confidence and it is an awful way to be left feeling
Even now I am so tuned in to any aches or pains I get in my chest area and feel myself going into panic mode and I am over a year post Bypass so you are still in the early days and could get some sensations as things could still be settling down
However this is your body and I am a big believer in know one knows their own body better than themselves so if you feel things are not as they should be and you feel a scan and some x-rays are needed then keep pushing for it ask your GP for another referral and don't take no for an answer and if they say it is your anxiety and you do not believe it is all down to that tell them yes I know I am anxious but I also know my own body to !
You could give the BHF Nurses a ring and ask for advice that is something I would do the more advice we can get the better
I hope you get the support you need and will let us know how you get on x
Heart Helpline team on 0300 330 3311 Mon-Fri 9-5pm
Hi Bekind28 thank you for your response, I will give the BHF nurse a quick ring and see what they say , but it has been horrid and my poor parter is suffering as a result of me and my depression , just trying to be happy again but not getting very far with it , many thanks again
Hello
I do understand my poor Husband has to listen to me everyday as well as the tears and I have cried many but he tries to support me the best he can and just think if it were the other way round you would do the same
I think they get a little lost not knowing what to do to help
Good luck with making your call to the Nurses I hope you get some feedback that will help and update us when you do x
Dear Cosmo2000
A warm welcome to you, I hope that you find all the support and advice that I and many others have in joining this forum.
I am so sorry that you have had such a horrible time over the recent diagnosis and treatment that you have had for your heart problems.
I am afraid that your treatment by the NHS staff is not unusual and seems to be echoed by many of the members on here,
They can put any excuse that they want on that, but at the end of the day it has affected you badly and has added to your stress all of which is not your fault.
All I can tell you, as I am not medically trained, is that you are not alone and this early stage of yours, getting some support is again a very common problem.
Please return to your DR { yes I know } to try and get some after care that you need.
We are here to help in anyway we can
Hello Blue1958 thankyou for your words of wisdom and support , I will get back to the doctors and see what she can do but the aftercare which was suppose to be in place according to the hospital that had looked after me and also Installed my stents , but nothing just a shambles , just quick one just got a letter today to say a cardic nurse will ring me in December huh , but hanks again for the support , I will keep you all updated with any developments
Can I suggest that, in readiness for the phone call from the cardiac nurse, you keep a diary so that you can give them full details of the problems you are experiencing (what and when). Also write a list of questions you want to ask them. That way you will not forget to tell them/ask them anything. I have in the past, at the end of the phone call, read them back the notes I have made during the call to check that I have understood fully what they have told me
Best wishes.
Hello Cosmo2000. I am going through pretty much exactly what you are going through with regards to unexplained chest pains and a couple of trips to A&E, where ECG's, chest xrays and Troponin levels were all fine and was also informed that it wasn't heart related.
I am also still very anxious and finding normality extremely difficult.
One big difference though is that on my second trip to A&E a senior nurse told me never to worry about coming in to the hospital to get myself checked out when having any pains that I or anyone else might consider heart related.
Her parting words were, take care and remember better safe than sorry.
I know how busy they are but please don't think that you are wasting their time, after all we are not on about a sprained ankle here. Hopefully we will both get back to normal soon.
Hi I had one stent fitted in may I didn't have a heart attack a CT scan picked it up, my anxiety went through the roof, I was still in severe pain, went to a@e loads of times to say all normal, my cardiologist gave me a provocative angiogram and found I had microvascular disease(small arteries in the heart) which was a relief as I thought it was all in my head as I think everyone else did 😫😫😫 I was lucky it was all diagnosed within 6 months, what medication you on? Could be stretch pain which doctors dont mention, talk to your cardiac rehabilitation team, you know your body and know if something is not right, try and get an appointment with your cardiologist (probably take months), keep onto doctor, rehabilitation team, over the years in a@e doctors always said its muscular and now here I am 50 years of age with severe heart disease and microvascular disease a@e has never picked up on anything until I had a CT scan good luck and big hugs ❤❤❤❤
Hi thank you for the support and advise , 2 blood thinners and ramipril for blood pressure and beta blocker and statin , bit like u I know small blood vessels are blocked but unable to stent as to small , just that had no pain before my heart attacks , but I will keep pushing doctors to see what is what, as u say I think A and E think I am time waster , thank you again and good luck too
I Had stents fitted after a Heart Attack and had this same issue , i got questioned about did i always not go far from a hopital when out and about and actually was mentioned it was all in my head . You feel pains you know your own body dont ignore it . I didnt i got a treadmill test and then an angiogram . Which proved i was right and the stents had closed over . Which resulted in a Bypass op but , Dont worry about showing at A&E tell them you know things arent right .
Hi and thank you for the support and comments, yes like you tried to tell them but finding hard to get it across to them , I even had two consultants rubbishing each other in regards to meds I was taking , just a nightmare this year , thank you again and all the best and take care
I had horrible anxiety issues after having 2 heart attacks not long after receiving 2 stents and being told everything was fine. I wound up in the emergency room 3 times with what I was convinced was new heart problems. I could tell that the doctors thought I was delusional. I went through therapy (a good investment if you can afford it and it should be mandatory for all HA survivors), and learned some strategies for coping with anxiety.
I still get what I call "pre-anxiety" attacks, and I just have to keep repeating to myself that all my recent tests have not shown issues, that I'm on the proper meds etc. It is like having PTSD, is what I've been told. The problem is that anxiety and panic can result in heart-attack-like symptoms.
I hope this helps -- to know that many of us have had the exact same issues.
Another thing Anxiety is natural im 6 years down the line it took about 2 years to Have the i actually feel good today feeling . You will get there but be insistant you know you better than anyone . All the Best.
HelloI had HA in may 20,and stent fitted.
6 months later started getting chest pains upper left side and told muscular,by AE and GP. MSK team haven't solved it so had myocardial perfusion and angiogram.
Couldn't find anything obvious so I'm back to square one.
Starting to think it could be a hernia so having to get back GP which is an effort in itself.
Can you contact your cardiologists secretary by phone or email and explain your predicament?
It seems to be affecting your quality of life and probably employment as well.
Please keep trying.
Good luck.
Hi I will try the only problem was I was passed back to another Authority for my aftercare , I've spoke to the hospital who done the work but because outside of there area no luck , huh rubbish , but thank you for the reply and will keep u informed if I have any luck
Hello Cosmo2000, please don’t think you are going mad and imagining your aches and pains. Like most on here have advised you already, you know your body and you know when something doesn’t feel right. I had a HA just over two weeks ago and during the very brutal angiogram (performed by a student doctor) they decided they wouldn’t stent me as the artery was too small. Like you I have issues with aches and pains in my chest and back area and after being admitted again to hospital last week overnight (which again was another traumatic experience) the docs said it was likely to be side effects of the prescribed medication. I felt that the Bisoprolol was making me breathless whilst the Rampiral makes me feel dizzy, my arms ache and as if my throat is closing up at the back as the evening progresses. I feel worse now than before the HA where I didn’t have many of these awful symptoms. They won’t change the Rampiral just yet until I see if the bisoprolol is the issue. They have already changed the tricagrelor to clopidogrel so seeing how that goes also. What I’m trying to say - could it be side effects of your medication? There are alternatives but please don’t be fobbed off. We know our bodies so persevere, try and be calm but do get answers and perhaps discuss with a good GP. I wish you luck ❤️🧚🏼♀️
Hi Heartfairy , thank you for those words and support , sorry to hear you are having issues as well ,but seems comon place in NHS , yes I've asked about my meds and side affects but they say different in everyone which I understand , but when they won't even get a scan done to make sure it's not the sents or something else I struggle and mind wonders , but will keep at the doctors and see where it takes me , thank you again the the advise and support , good luck and take care
Hi Cosmo2000 - really sorry to hear about what you're experiencing.
I wonder if the calf pain etc may be down to medication? Also, re the chest pain, is it the same pain as you had for the heart attack or is it different? I sometimes get very sharp pain on right hand side and, sometimes, in the middle of the chest but it's quite different to what I experienced re the HA. Also, do you take the spray and does it help? It didn't help me which made me feel this pain was down to something else - medication effects, effects of the angiogram, etc. And the pain has not stopped me doing anything (except worrying, it has increased that!) though I appreciate that you may be in a different situation. I went back into A&E with it about 2 months after original HA in Nov 2019 and was told "we don't know what it is but we know what it isn't" - which is fine, as all tests were very "normal". They gave me Lansoprozle which has helped massively though I still get these pains - rarely - in the chest.
I would stress that I am not at all medically qualified and am only sharing my experience where I can see some things in common with your experiences. What you're experiencing may be related to after effects of the procedure and the medication, as well the inevitable road that our mind takes us down. But, as I say, I've only got my experiences to draw on and no wider knowledge/experience.
I hope you begin to feel a bit better.
Hello Jamesb141106 , thankyou and yes it could be my meds and so.etimes the pain is the same as when I had my HA and other times more a Sharpe pain , I know whennive been to AandE they say u are not having a heart attack but they they don't do further test they just keep saying go to your doctor and they will try refere you , where I live the hosp is more of just a big Aand E no outpatients deptment so normally if life threatening they get u stable then transfer to a specific hospital for the treatment , but once that treatment is done , aftercare reverts back to where you life but as I said before they don't do aftercare another hosp would do that but again they have never been in touch , so I am chasing as well as doctor , but thankyou for sharing your experience and I hope you are OK and getting better to thankyou again best regards cosmo
I also get the sharp pains in the right side of the chest and I also get that same sharp pain in the left side, like being poked with a finger on the outside of the chest behind the breastbone. No clue what it is though, but spray doesn't help me either.
Hi Becdan - yeah, I wonder if it was something to do with the angiogram and that's why I thought it might have been what Cosmo2000 was feeling. You describe the pain well - I must admit, it doesn't stop me doing anything and (though always a concern) it certainly hasn't seemed to get worse. I hope that's the same for Cosmo - if it's getting worse, there's maybe something else going on.
It's always reassuring to know someone is feeling/has felt something similar to you so thanks for posting, Becdan.
Hello JamesB141106.My sharp pain hasn't got worse either.
As you say, it's reassuring that someone else has the same type of pain and doesn't seem too serious. Hopefully Cosmo is the same.
hi Cosmo2000
I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve had such a bad experience with the hospital. Guess I was lucky - I had really good experiences with two hospitals, though it did take a while to get treatment. The suggestion that you phone the BHF helpline is great. Didn’t know there was one! Now a year after my second stent, I keep getting feelings of pressure (slight) in my chest. What upsets me is that there are no checks. I have a telephone appointment in a couple of weeks, but what good is that? Anyway, this is not a place for me to moan. Good luck with the BHF and let us know how you get on.
Sorry I have no comfort for you, our NHS has reached third world standards. You could go to your GP and ask to be referred to a private consultant for a second opinion but that of course will likely set you back a couple of hundred just for the opinion.
Hi, sorry to hear about your struggle s. I can identify with some of what you’ve been going through. I had/ have heart failure 5 months go as result of haematomachrisis. I collapsed nearly unable to breathe and was exhausted. In hospital for 2weeks. About a month or so later I after I got out, I had bad chest pains, and went to hospital on the advice of dialing 111, they said go asap withinin the next hour or so.. After lots of tests on the day, the Dr said it is stress. So I’m now de stressing and I am now using a lot different mobile phone apps and they are really helping. I use one called “Calm” a lot. Another called “headspace” and a “ sound” one for helping with sleep. Another good one for general mind and body and spiritual well-being is called “I am”. It’s very inspiring for me at least. There are various prices for subscription but some have free versions. It’s all about managing anxiety using slow breathing and mindfulness and I try whatever works. I am getting better at managing stress and anxiety and being overwhelmed now. I still get heart pain occasionally but this is now a warning that I need to do some self care. So I stop and get priorities right. My health. So it’s straight in the apps for me. I hope some of this is useful.
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