I had a heart attack in 2021 where a atent was fitted, another heart attack in 2022 where another stent was put in. Last Thursday I has another heart attack and the angiogram showed that the stents had collapsed and hadn't worked. I was told i needed bypass surgery . I'm.just in total shock and am utterly petrified!! I'm a really calm person and I'm not an anxious person at all. This has totally pulled the rug from under my feet. I feel as if someone e else has taken over my brain? Someone I don't recognise or like!? I'm angry!! Ive been in gospital 9 days now and I resent everyone who, to me, is fit and healthy!! The doctors talk amongst themselves about you and make decisions to reduce or withdraw medications!! They do rhis at the bottom of your bed!! No one tells you what us happening , or explains anything!! This just raises my anxiety even more. Has anyone here had a bypass? I'm watching the patients who are recovering and they look amazing. I'm just sitting here waiting!!
In shock: I had a heart attack in 202... - British Heart Fou...
In shock
Hello 
I am so sorry that you have been through all this with having stents to find yourself needing Bypasses and I can only imagine the shock and anger you are feeling and I so relate to that feeling of been envious towards people that are fit and well not that you do not want them to be well but you cannot help but feel down thinking why has this happened to me and why could I not be like them
I had 3 heart attacks very close to each other
One in Oct 2020 then another Feb 2021 and another March 2021
After the Oct one when the Nursing staff were saying look after yourself I never imagined within a few months I would be in there again and I was so distraught
Eventually a angiogram was arranged and I needed a triple Bypass , stents would not have been suitable I think where the blockages were was the reason why stents would not have worked
At first I was quite upset at that not been able to have stents as I knew people that had and thought why do I have to go through a triple Bypass !
But I did and so I had to try and deal with it and I struggled and 17 months after I am still struggling with the effects mentally it has had on me
I am an anxious person by nature so this was a nightmare and again still is but I went through with it and all I can say if I did it then you can
It really is not as bad as your mind thinks it is going to be and that is saying something if I am saying that and thinking positive when this is done you will be in a lot better place than it has worked out for you with stenting
I understand when they are all huddled on a corner talking and you know it is about you and wondering what are they saying ?
But what I would do is write a list of questions and when they come round ask them I would like these answering would you please answer them all for me as I am struggling
I hope they get the op done soon and you will be on the road to recovery once and for all
Please try not to worry you will be well looked after
Keep looking at those patients that have had it done looking amazing as that will be you soon
Keep us updated when you can x
Thank you so much. That means a lot to me
Hello
Come and talk to us anytime and I look forward to your post when you are on the road to recovery and telling us how well you are doing x
I hate it when on discharge the nurses say look after yourself, this maybe a warning.!!!
Id been having missed beats for years and never had I caught on ecg. and one day I was kept in for tests and it came back normal BP, normal cholesterol, BMI normal, fit muscular male, veins visible through skin with keeping fit etc etc, 6 pack. How more of a healthy person could present at A+E .? but I was still made to think that I wasn’t looking after myself.!!!
Hi Momander
I don’t have any personal experience with what you’re going through but I just wanted to say that you’ve been given a lot of information that wasn’t expected, I think it’s understandable how you’re currently feeling and this is still very fresh and raw for you!
I sincerely hope that you get your questions answered and start feeling better very soon. Sending you best wishes for your operation and hope all goes well. Be kind to yourself, take each day at a time and focus on your recovery (don’t worry about what anyone else coz they’re not you and right now the most important person for you to think about is you)!
sending healing thoughts and best wishes
Soap 💛
Hello Mosander, I am so sorry to hear of the situation you find yourself in. It is scary and frightening. I had a bypass 15 months ago. Please try and concentrate on the fact that you will be in the hands of experts, they do these surgeries every day, it really is routine for them. The main thing for you will be to be kind to yourself, take you medications, very gently take some exercise step by step.
A lot of hearties on this site have been through similar surgeries and have gone from strength to strength. For a lot of us the physical part of the experience can seem easier to progress than the psychological part of the recovery, after your surgery please seek out the rehab options. I am not sure what area you are in but the cardio rehab in my area has made an enormous positive difference to me. Please do keep talking to us, we are all here to provide support and understanding. Take good care, Judi
"Its not fair why me?" is the common refrain and that messes with your head. A lot of comments on this forum are from people suffering various degrees of anxiety that is often in direct relation to how fit they believed themselves to be previously and how unfair that they need surgery.
I unexpectedly had a quadruple bypass last May after previously having had not especially problematic angina for 10 years.
The bypass procedure is surprisingly un-scary as this is now a routine procedure carried out by people at the top of their powers with the waiting being the worst part.
You will be in hospital after the operation for around 4 days and it is the weeks following your discharge that to me needs the most attention as basically when in hospital you don't have much time to think as you are carried along with the mechanics of the procedure.
Have you made arrangements for when you are discharged and is there someone at home to provide substantial support?
Hi Thank you so much for your reply.
Yes, I have a wonderful husband at home who will most definitely take good care of me. I just want this procedure done now even though I'm petrified!!! These peoplecare experts who do this surgery every day!! It's very daunting but I will be glad when it's over!! Baby steps.
Don't be petrified. Its a routine procedure and the sheer momentum of the operation and the tests and checks afterwards will carry you along. Emergencies always come in, so you may find you don't have the operation exactly when scheduled. You will likely be out in 4 or 5 days. I found hospital food awful so you may need alternatives.
Check list for your return-this will obviously depend greatly on your age and fitness and we all react differently.
Partacetemol. I took the maximum dose for 4 weeks then all of a sudden didn't need it any more
You will likely be very emotional and up and down in mood and cry a lot and also be anxious at every twinge. That's normal
Chairs-have several available as you will find what is comfortable one day isn't the next
Easy access to loo
Lots of entertainment options from tablet to books to tv to radio. As regards books, try to have some lightweight ones in all senses of the word-you will find it difficult to lift large books
lots of snacks-eat when you feel like it-it will be one of your pleasures.
Take medicines when specified
Have quiet times and don't be surprised to doze a lot
Severely ration visits from others. You likely won't feel very sociable
Follow doctors instructions regarding getting out and about and exercise. If you try to do too much you will pay for it the next day
Keep a health diary so you can see your improvements-it tends to be over a week rather than daily, so at times you will feel disappointed with your progress.
After a few weeks you may feel like going further afield in the car to say a garden centre with a coffee shop. I wore a padded gilet to stop the seat belts hurting my sternum.
Do not raise your hands above your head-I wore lots of zip up jumpers.
I found myself very restless and preferred to sleep by myself for some weeks so i could get up in the night, move around, listen to the radio and generally get comfy. Having your husband sleeping next to you might be uncomfortable to you both
Have lots of cushions and pillows of various size and thicknesses for use on the chairs and beds
I was walking 50 yards or so at first and found after a week it was 100 yards then several hundred yards. I chose routes that were flat and had convenient benches.
Good luck
Thanks
I haven’t had bypass surgery but I have had open heart surgery for leaky valves. It does all come as a shock and you feel as though you are no longer in control of your own life.
Have a pencil and paper next to you so you can jot down all the questions you want answers to and don’t be afraid to ask. Honestly, the doctors will spend time with you if you need to know anything.
Try not to feel angry. Be grateful that this has all been discovered in time and there are people who can do something for you. This is major surgery but bread and butter to those who perform it. I’m sure that by Easter you will be back to something like normal.
I AM extremely grateful this has been discovered!! and with thevgreatest rrspect ai do not need to be told to be grateful!?l am grateful for absolutely every person involved in the excellent care I have had and will have during the operation . I firmly believe that it is ok to have certain negative thoughts and emotions, including anger!! as long as it does not manifest and you do not hold on to it!! To me it is part of the brain processing everything and of you moving through each stage of the journey. We are all different and I appreciate that but i would never tell another person to " be grateful" ? It came across as an order?? and a form of chastisement?
Sorry you feel like that, I was only trying to help . I have been through plenty in the last few years, breast cancer, major heart surgery and the removal of a kidney. I have never wondered Why Me. We’re clearly different sorts of people.
I wish you well as you continue your journey.
Thank you. I'm sure you were trying in your own way to help. We are indeed different people, but we all are. I'm so sorry you have been through so much in the last few years. I do hope you are much improved and living a wonderful life. Kind regards and take care.
Hi I didn't have a by pass it was a transplant just over two years ago I was 61, the wait was much worse than the op itself, I spent 7 weeks in the golden jubilee in Glasgow, the staff were absolutely amazing so kind and as for the surgeon's they are nothing short of brilliant looking back it seems unreal, two days after op the physio had me up and got me doing more and more each day, I live alone and she had me going up and down the stairs in jig time. I am sure you will be well looked after and home very soon. I am able to do an awful lot more than I could but at times I look at people and think why me, why I am I not normal (I was born with a faulty gene) but in the end I am so thankful what our NHS can do. I wish you well and I really hope you don't have to wait much longer, take care char
hi. I can completely relate to how you are feeling. I had a terrible experience after my first OHS, the aftercare was appalling. The doctors and nursing staff were uncaring and rude on occasion. There was zero confidentiality and they spoke at me rather than with me. My second OHS experience was completely different and I couldn’t have asked for better care. I did complain via Pals after my first OHS and it meant that when I had further surgery I didn’t have to go back onto the same ward. I am very grateful to the NHS for saving my life but that doesn’t mean that i had to put up with poor care. If you feel able please have a word with one of the more approachable members of staff and explain how you feel. I hope you feel better soon. Best wishes x
Lots of us have had bypass surgery, all kinds of bypass surgery. I myself had a single bypass in 2017, then in October 2021 I had 2 stents fitted which required drilling! Although the recovery time was longer with bypass surgery, I found the stents and drilling worse as obviously you are awake.
I had to have bypass surgery as the blockage was in a difficult position I wonder if your stents collapsed because of the position they were inserted.
I can't say I had the same feelings you had, but again my circumstances were different, I didn't have a heart attack, and I hadn't had stents that had failed.
Bypass surgery is quite commonplace in this day and age although all surgery comes with risks, but statistically the bypass will be done and the results better than you are currently having.
It may be you need some kind of professional support when you are recovering but for now ask us anything!
It is quite normal to have the thoughts you are having, keep talking about your feelings though as most of us find that quite helpful.
Thank.you so much!!
We are all different aren't we! I've met people who are the same as me and I've met people that take the whole thing with a pinch of salt!! I was told its quite common for double stenting to fail, but at the same time it's quite common.practice.
I work as a private counsellor and practice body language analysis and behavioural psychology so I know exactly how I would work with clients experiencing trauma or an impending major opeion
Its quite something else when it's yourself though!!
I'm.looking forward to getting home and resuming my life with a nice new healthy heart.
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