Hi everyone,
I posted on here for the first time a few days ago, I’ve recently had my MRI results back and have been told it was myocarditis but a heart attack that I’ve had.
I’m only 24 and my head is all over the place I don’t know what to do right now
Hi Jed,
It's no surprise you're feeling that way - it's a lot to process, especially so young. As a heads up, a lot of people do feel anxious when they've been diagnosed. Take everything as it comes, write things down if it helps (including questions for your doctor) and ask for support when you are ready.
Your cardiology team will advise you on next steps, treatments, medication, etc. British Heart Foundation has a helpline where you can call and get specialised cardiac advice.
This forum is full of lovely people ready to share their experiences and offer moral support. I doubt there's a procedure, medication or condition that someone hasn't gone through already and they are here to share that with you.
Try to take things easy, you're still here and there's help available.
Let us know how you are getting on, and if you have questions or need a vent, you'll be welcome here anytime.
Hello 
I can only imagine how you must be feeling at any age been told we have had a heart attack is a shock and hard to come to terms with never mind at your age though as I suppose I can just about think back as far as 24 only just seems a while now but you sort of think I am to young to have a heart attack it is something that happens maybe to some as they get older but sadly it can happen at any age
But this is not a life sentence like we think it is because with the right medications if needed a healthy lifestyle we can have the same life as everyone else !
Has anyone spoken to you yet ?
Have they said if it was mild , medications needed ?
It will be ok even if it takes time to adjust and I hope you have family and friends about that are supporting you x
Hi Jed
Just what the others have said, when you next see your cardiologist take a list of questions, write the question down as soon as you think of it. The cardiologist shouldn't mind answering these questions. I'm sure they been asked before.
Keep posting on here and as I've said feel free to keep messaging me.
V x
Hello JedG.
I am not surprised you are so shocked.
Have your Cardiology team been able to say why you had a heart attack?
About 10% of heart attacks occur when there are no permanent blockages of the coronary arteries.
Known as a Myocardial Infarction non obstructive coronary arteries MINOCA.
The usual cause of this type of heart attack is microvascular dysfunction, coronary vasospasms, spontaneous coronary artery dissection SCAD or a clot forming.
The toughest part of becoming a heart patient is how it makes us feel.
Do you feel you need some support to help you ' process' what has happened?
If so, perhaps talk to your GP or the Cardiac Rehab team to see how they can help you further.
As Valentina says, write down a list of questions, and I would add, make a note of important information in the answers! My mother used to come away saying she couldn't remember what she had been told about "X", thus wasting an awful lot of time.
Hello JedG. At 23 and 6 months pregnant with my first child I developed very high blood pressure and spent the last 3 months of pregnancy in a hospital room not allowed to get out of bed. At first, like you doctors thought of the obvious and more common pre eclampsia. But when that was ruled out they announced the scary condition of cardio myopathy. But qualified that with telling me that it should heal itself after birth. A year later my GP who had supported me so much with trying many different combinations of medications sat me down and said, I need to settle for a slow careful life on a lifetime cocktail of beta blockers etc. and then I could easily see the next 20 years. Like you this hit me like a brick wall and I admit. I struggled and refused to take on board his all his advice. However, 40 years later …… my heart finally started to fight back. Yes I’ve now had a heart attack and gone through a triple bypass, brilliant treatment for the next 7 years. Now just had a defib implanted following recent cardiac arrest. But still out there and fighting to get fit again. What I’m trying to say to you is. Take heart, if you excuse the expression. Listen and accept the medical advice to get fit again and it is possible and you will. But live your life, you have many many many years of it to come. By the time your heart decides to fight you back the advances in technology will be so far advanced who knows what they will be able to do. All you have to do, is be just a little more mindful of looking after your heart than others do. Happy long life to you and if ever you have a wobble of confidence just send us a message there’s always someone here to listen and try and help.
⁸I can understand the overwhelm. That's such a lot to take in at 24.I haven't been what you've been through so cannot relate directly but I was in my late 20s learning I had a heart condition.I've more recently...nearly 20 years on... had lots of interventions and hospital stays and each time it can feel overwhelming and scary.
When you are in a hospital setting you feel like a heart patient and the negative sides get magnified. Try and remember that what you are feeling now both physically and mentally is not a fixed state. Your body will go through a healing/ recovery period and you can/ will adapt.
As others have said ask questions and listen to advice but don't stress about taking it all in...you might not right now. But you can ask things later.
Completely understand. I had a heart attack in December and still getting my head around it all and will be for a while I'm sure. I can only echo what has already been said, ask questions and keep asking them. Hopefully you have friends and family to support you, let them do it. You'll also find friends on this forum with experience of what you are going through. Don't underestimate the mental side of this. I've been offered mental health support as part of my rehab (in UK), if you are too make sure you accept all the help offered.
I'm discovering through this group that things can get better and maybe even back to normal. I'm holding tight to that at the moment.
Jed
Presumably your first sentence should have read "it was NOT myocarditis but a heart attack that I’ve had?" This was obviously a shock as your cardiologist had given you the impression it was the former condition. Presumably they have set out some sort of action plan. Surgery? Medication? Lifestyle changes? You are very young and there will be many options available that will enable you to lead a full and healthy life but without more details of the MRI it is difficult to give advice.
Being informed you’ve had a heart attack is shocking and especially so when you are so young. I had mine 17 months ago.
Despite me telling the paramedics I’ve had a heart attack all their machines tests came back clear and were going to leave me at home, they said only way to know for sure was an in hospital blood test so I went as I suspected strongly that what they could see on their machines was not the full picture. (Was a first aid trainer) at hospital it was shown I’d had a heart attack.
I am told I am an anomaly a mystery - my cardiologist can’t explain why I had my heart attack - all machines MRI angiogram, Echo, CT scan,ECGs all came back clear. Given loads of meds at first which really shook me as I didn’t even take paracetamol before but now I am just on aspirin.
As I am an unknown risk (whether it would happen again given no identified cause) it was not conducive with my job so I am now semi retired. This felt like a death sentence, I went through all stages of grieve - took me at least 6 months to get my head around it.
But some positives did come out in the early days - I went back to pool swimming (I now had the time) and this year have gone back to cold water sea swimming with a local mermaids group and feel so much better in myself
It takes time to get your head around what’s happened and for me I had a lot of anxiety as to whether this could happen again as there was no cause there was no known prevention. I was active and healthy, blood pressure normal, ate healthily with no cholesterol as my angiogram showed with very clean arteries, my heart was fully functioning as shown by MRI and with good flow as my Echo showed. Heart rhythm was good as shown by ECGs yet I had a heart attack.
What ever your cause (hopefully they will find one) be kind to yourself as you go through your recovery journey, we all have different journeys but one thing we do have in common is we can relate to and we understand anxieties, frustrations, limitations, and can let you know our survival tales as we are here to say something similar happened to us and we here thanks to good medical care and their advice
Take care and use this group as you need to, we respond to anxieties but we also respond to achievements - we are all linked by our hearts and this group exudes kindness x
Hi, what a shock for you. So surprising too as no tropinin level recorded so lets really hope it was very mild 🙏🏼
Whichever diagnosis you might have had recovery will probably be similar, particularly if you don't need a stent.
Take time to accept this diagnosis if you can and prepare to ask as many questions as you need, both here & of your cardiology dept.
Now you have a definite diagnosis you can get appropriate treatment, advice and guidance. Please ensure you are kind to yourself and lookafter your mental health too its a scarey/anxious time but with support you will get through this 💪🏽
Jed , check your messages please .
jedG
Bless you
I was always told I was the healthy one in the family
And then boom a heart attack came into my life
Shook me shook my family and friends but I guess since 2016 medications and NHS have kept me ticking along
This year they diagnosed me with familiar hyper cholesterolemia which is genetic
So it can take a while to find out why but try not too stress too much but I do feel for you I really do and accepting why me takes a long time so if you get offered any form of counselling take it
Friends family really don’t know what to say some times but this forum is so good for our mental health I’m a new girl to this kind of thing but I’ve found it absolutely marvellous
Thinking of you jed2
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