Hi I’m 48 and had a heart attack, 1 stent and diagnosed with diffuse CAD in July last year.
Prior to that the only symptoms I had were multiple fainting episodes and esophagus pain. I had loads of coronary tests done that all came back ok with no abnormalities. I was then discharged from cardiology in May to which I had my HA 6 weeks later.
Fast forward to recently and I’ve been feeling great until last weekend where again I fainted in hospital twice and was kept in over the weekend. (I originally went to A&E with chest pain that was diagnosed as costochondritis) Again all tests done and all came back ok; nothing wrong with my heart I’m told. I asked if a CT coronary angiogram could be done to check the arteries with me having CAD and was told no by two consultants and my GP as all other test are ok and they couldn’t warrant doing it.
I feel like I’m having the exact same symptoms all over again and no one is taking me serious and it’s effecting my confidence & self esteem. I’m just waiting for it to happen again.
Has anybody else had a similar experience?
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DefLep74
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sorry to hear about your experiences. I guess the only thing you could do is keep on at your gp and hopefully they send you for the tests you are after.
So before your heart attack did you only have the fainting and throat pain did you say? Then they picked up on the CAD?
Yes just fainting & throat pain pre heart attack, No other symptoms. They picked up on the CAD when I had my HA and had to have the angiogram & stent done.
ah ok. I’ve been diagnosed with costochondritis as I’ve had chest pains for 5 years now and had loads of tests. Ecg, echocardiogram, chest X-rays. Although my latest echo came back with slightly elevated lower right side chamfer pressure which I’m now waiting for a follow up. I do tend to go lightheaded at times but have never fainted. I’ve been in and out of the doctors and A&E for the past 5 years with it and told each time it’s ok. Anxiety is not helping either
Hopefully you can get back in to have the further tests you want.
Medical science can't predict an imminent heart attack. Your GP can compute the generalised risk of a heart attack or stroke during the next ten years for an abstract individual with your risk factors (and do this with a high level of actuarial accuracy). But no one can say DefLep74 is going to have a heart attack tomorrow or at some point during the next week (or the opposite, that DefLep74 is NOT going to have heart attack tomorrow or during the next week).
You and I both have a kind of acne in the arteries throughout our bodies. Some of those "spots" of plaque might be big (big enough to almost block an artery on their own), some might be small (too small to even be detected by an angiogram), but any one of them can burst without warning at any time and cause a heart attack.
You say, "I’m just waiting for it to happen again". And your post suggests that you want a test or a consultation that will definitively tell you, "no, it's not going to happen again".
But that's simply not possible.
An angiogram involves a small degree of risk, so no one will sanction an angiogram without other supporting evidence. Furthermore, an angiogram can't even spot the smallest plaques, but these small plaques are every bit as capable as their larger brethren of bursting and causing a heart attack. However, far from having any supporting evidence all your tests are coming back clear. So why would anyone agree to an angiogram that carries a level of risk and can't even give you the reassurance you want?
The hard truth for all of us with heart disease is that there are two things, and only two things, that can reduce our risk of a heart attack or stroke. They are medication and life style changes.
We have no choice but to live with the risk of a heart attack (we're not special in this respect, everyone on the planet lives with a multitude of risks, from car crashes to cancer). But what we can do is materially reduce our own personal heart risks by investing in the medication and life style changes that really will make a difference.
Personally that's where I direct my energies, and I find it very re-assuring to know that I'm doing everything in my power to tilt the playing field in my favour.
Hi Chappychap and thanks for honest reply, It’s genuinely given me food for thought. Maybe I’m directing my concerns in the wrong direction with the health professionals regarding asking for a CT angiogram. On saying that I don’t think I’m being unreasonable asking them to investigate further (in whatever direction they think) regarding me fainting a dozen times over the last 2+ years. All I get though is ‘your heart looks ok’, then passed back and forth. It’s worrying and frustrating for me and my family.
As for the two reduction factors I too think like you. Meds are a must & I’ve completely changed my diet (losing 3 stone) and I’m now in the green for the first time in years as far as a healthy BMI is concerned. I eat a well balanced diet and feel great for it. I started running 3 miles a day and don’t smoke or drink either. This is ingrained in me and now I don’t think I’ll ever change back.
The life style changes that you've implemented are seriously impressive. And I recognise just how much blood, sweat, and tears you spent making those changes. So full credit to you for that Herculean achievement!
But as well as saluting your discipline and determination, let's spend a moment reflecting on the hard data that quantifies just what your efforts have brought you.
There was a massive piece of research conducted on over 7000 British men. I believe you're 48 years old, so let's look at the findings for 50 year old men.
The research took two matched groups of 50 year old men. The first group was obese, smoked, and didn't exercise. The second group was a healthy weight, didn't smoke, and exercised regularly. The research followed these two groups for the next fifteen years up to the age of 65. The results make it blindingly clear just how important life style changes really are.
Of the first group, the ones who made bad life style choices, only 42% made it through to 65 without experiencing a stroke or heart attack.
Of the second group, the ones who made good life style choices, 89% made it through to 65 without a stroke or heart attack.
So the choices we make are the difference between having less than a 50:50 chance of surviving to retirement without a serious problem, and a virtually 90% chance of making it unscathed.
There are no guarantees in this life, but congratulations to you for gritting your teeth and dragging yourself into the smart group, the group that's chosen life!
I never thought I’d even see my name and herculean mentioned in the same comment, so thanks for that. It made me laugh.
Yes the stats are impressive for a good lifestyle and one I realized very early on, on my journey. While lying in hospital after my heart attack (then later cardiac arrest), there was a gent in his early eighties in the bed next to me who had a HA around the same age as me. He explained the similar changes he’d made at my age and it was only now 30+ years later he was starting to have problems again. The guy opposite on the other hand couldn’t wait to get out and go to the pub and have a fry up etc. It was pretty easy to chose which route to go down.
Although I’ve got worries regarding my fainting etc thanks very much for giving a boost tonight; it’s really helped
Hello Chappychap, the advice and information you have provided to DefLep74 are brilliant and provides many of us with reassurance and education, especially around the angiogram. I’ve had two and didn’t know it couldn’t guarantee to identify those tiny spots of plaque (obviously didn’t spot them on my first angiogram last March as went on to have a HA 11 weeks ago after being told I was low risk) hence that’s why I was very shocked when it did happen so now I don’t really trust the medics but by what you said about the angiogram I can now see why he thought I was low risk as I was okay with the tests resulting in all the right numbers (troponin was 16, cholesterol, thyroid, kidneys, liver and BMI all within normal range) and although I was told I had a <50% narrowing in my main LAD as well as tiny narrowings in another two small branches I was told the statins and aspirin would stabilise the plaque. He put it down to genetics. The blockage was in one of the tiny branches which was too small to stent. So 11 wks ago I was put on the usual cocktail of meds. I’ve been vegetarian since last March when ninjas my original scare but I must admit when I go on holiday I do have the odd chicken sandwich or a sausage at breakfast. A piece of cake with a cuppa tea as surely treats on holiday are allowed……aren’t they? You mentioned a study on the 50yr old men but do you know of any carried out on women? Most heart studies over the years have been carried out on men and as us ladies have smaller hearts than men I would be interested to read a positive and encouraging study. Thank you for your detailed replies. I know you’re not a doc but you can really educate and help others who are walking in the shoes of having experienced a HA. Many thanks ❤️🧚🏼♀️
"You mentioned a study on the 50yr old men but do you know of any carried out on women? "
Hello Heartfairy, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm not aware of comparable studies on British women. That's especially disappointing as there is evidence to show there are significant differences for heart disease risk factors between men and women. Yes, smoking, obesity, poor diet, and inactivity are all major risk factors for both men and women. But menopause and pregnancy complications are additional risk factors unique to women. Then there's the little known fact that even though T2 diabetes is a risk factor for both men and women, it's actually a significantly greater risk factor for women.
Consequently women should pay particularly attention to the HbA1c scores in their annual cardio blood tests. Incidentally, there seems to be quite a difference in how doctors respond to those HbA1c scores. Some ignore any score below 42mmol/mol, saying that's below the pre-diabetes threshold. While others say any trend of increasing scores over time is a warning signal, no matter what the absolute number.
The good news is that most of us have quite a large degree of control over our HbA1c scores, personally I found exercise, weight loss, and a low carb diet allowed me to dramatically reduce my HbA1c scores and keep them both low and stable.
good morning. I’ve read the previous replies with much admiration and interest. Plenty of food for my thoughts as I need to change my diet and lose weight. I did wonder about the fainting and a thought arose: did they test for narcolepsy? If the fainting isn’t part of your heart symptoms at all it might be treatable by other means. Just a thought.
hi deflep74 I had a ha 19 months ago and 2 stents fitted and I’ve been absolutely fine till the last couple of months. Now I keep going light headed and dizzy, really bad pains in the centre of my back and shoulder blades and a pressure feeling on my chest. And like you I’ve had every thing done all coming back ok I actually have a doctors appointment tonight to see if I can bring my cardiologist appointment forward to see if I can have a stress test and also go into rehab weather it changes anything will have to wait and see
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slight faint and palpitations 
Fainting/dizzy spells/syncope
Coronary artery spasm, did it cause me to have heart attacks?
Coronary spasm duration
