Unstable Angina - Male 53 years old

[Daddio70]

On Easter Sunday I attended church with my wife and about midway through mass I started to get a tight sensation in the middle of my chest. At first I thought it was just a bit of nasty heartburn and waited for it to pass, but the pain got worse and started to feel like something was being forced into my chest and throat. I then started to get a cold sweat and felt faint with blurry vision. My wife noticed my hand shaking and when she looked at my face and saw the beads of sweat as well as what she described as my skin being a deathly shade of grey, she took me out of church to the car and called 111. They immediately sent an ambulance when they heard what my symptoms were. They took results of 135/97 and my temperature was 35.5C.

I was taken to the local hospital and had an ECG taken as well as bloods and a chest x-ray. All of which the Dr said were normal. He diagnosed it as being an unstable angina attack and sent me home with glyceryl trinitrate spray and was going to refer me to the local chest pain clinic. They called me today and have made an appointment for the 26th April.

My risk factors are :- Granddad died of heart attack in sleep at 54 Chronic snorer, was prescribed a CPAP machine even though not diagnosed as apnea.

I've been suffering with ongoing fatigue for the past few months and have had blood tests taken for this a few weeks ago but they all came back normal. Could this fatigue potentially be caused by an underlying heart issue all along.

I've been looking online since for any more info so I can ask the right questions when I have my appointment at the chest pain clinic on the 26th.

Also any tips would be gratefully appreciated as two weeks is quite a while to wait for the appointment.

[Hidden]

Dear Daddio70

A warm welcome to this part of the site, Im sorry to hear that you have to visit us after a horrible incident that had you visit A&E.

It seems like you are beginning your heart journey and there will be a few more tests in the pipe line.

Write down { keep a diary } when/how and for how long you feel that something is not right, also write down any question you feel that only a medical expert can answer.

Your past history on this site is interesting, just make sure that you tell them all about your gut health problems because there can be a link there with some of the symptoms that you are experiencing .

Most of all remember you are not alone, I think personally that you need some answers to what is going on and it seems that you are starting on that journey.

Like the other help you have had on this site, { IBS } we will also support you as best we can.

Take care

[Daddio70 in reply to Hidden]

Dear Blue, thankyou for your warm welcome and advice. You look like you've had a bit of a health journey yourself hopefully it is going well for you. When the chest pain first started that morning I just put it down to gut issues but as it got worse I thought that it was a bit more serious and I was going to turn to my wife and whisper to her that I had this pain and if anything happens to me suddenly it'll be heart related. I didn't get the chance as it suddenly ramped up into a crushing pain with the cold sweats and faintness, luckily she noticed my hand shaking. I literally found it hard to get my words out. I'm pretty sure it wasn't gut related and my wife, who had witnessed her father have a heart attack, recognised similarities in the way I looked.

I was due to return to work today but called in sick for the rest of the week as I'm still feeling fatigued. I called the chest pain clinic for advice and the nurse there just told me to wait for my appointment on the 26th April and just take the medication if I experience the pain again, and also that most people that they see end up not being heart related.

I did have a spray of the glyceryl trinitrate earlier as i had a mild chest tightness and it took about 3 minutes to subside. I wasn't expecting to do anything as I've still got it in my head that it's just a gut issue even though what I felt on Sunday I'm pretty darn sure wasn't anything to do with my gut, I thought the priest was going to have to read me my last rites, and I've got a strong pain threshold.

Thankyou again for your welcome.

[Hidden in reply to Daddio70]

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that you were suffering from gut problems this time and certainly I agree that your symptoms seem heart related { remember I am not medically trained }

There is a school of thought that is linking gut health and heart health . Like the one linking mouth hygiene and heart problems.

I think that at long last these depts are talking to each other and realising that there are links .

I wish you all the best

[Daddio70 in reply to Hidden]

Bless you, that's ok. I did just have a look into the link between gut and heart health and actually hadn't heard about it before. It is fascinating, it's amazing how much our guts affect us including the way our gut links to our brain as well which can also affect things such as mental health.Thankyou again for your advice.

Wishing you all the best too.

[cappachina]

Hi Sorry to hear about how ill you were in church (bizarrely I have always thought that if I had to go apart from being at home my church would be a good place )You are at the start of your heart journey but hopefully it will not be as bad as you and your wife are imagining at the moment I am glad the use of spray helped My advice is until your appointment stay off work Don't overdo it just short walk exercise is good for your heart use spray if needed and rest Tiredness is something we all suffer from and you just have to give in to it I find it the worst part

,Keep us all updated on your journey and ask any questions you need Between us we know lots Good Luck

[Daddio70 in reply to cappachina]

Hi Cappachina, thankyou for your welcome and advice. Unfortunately the priest at the church wasn't helpful at all and wasn't interested when my wife spoke to him after the service while we were waiting in the car park for the paramedics to arrive. He was more interested in saying goodbye to his congregation as they left.I was due to return to work yesterday after being off as holiday. I called in sick for the rest of the week and explained what had happened and that I still wasn't feeling too good, they were very understanding.

I ended up going to the out of hours surgery last night as I noticed all my toes had turned dark blue nearly black. It lasted about half an hour. The Dr checked the pulse in my feet and they were ok. Said that hopefully I'll get answers at my appointment on the 26th. She took my blood pressure which was 140/90, there's definitely something not right as previously it's been around 130/70.

[cappachina in reply to Daddio70]

That's awful if it had been my church I am a Methodist by the way you and your wife would have got all the help you needed. We even have a defibrilator on site Sorry you didn't both get the support you needed

[Daddio70 in reply to cappachina]

Funny thing is that whilst we were waiting for the paramedics I noticed a yellow box on the wall of the church. I checked online later that night and saw that it was a defibrillator.

[cappachina in reply to Daddio70]

I still can't quite believe your priest stood and said goodbye to people Our minister would have been alerting the congregation to see if there was any people with medical knowledge around. and coming to support your wife If you are regular attenders has he been in touch to see how you are. At least they have a defib and the 999 people would have given a code to open it if you had needed it Take care and don't overdo till you have seen the cardiologist

[Hidden]

Hello there. yes i believe the fatigue definitely could have been a heart issue all along. it certainly explained alot of things in my life for sure. Even the cold hands and feet, tingling in fingers and pins and needles. Weeks and months leading up to a heart attack i was extremely fatigued but i was working shifts so it went unnoticed. anyways all the best and glad they got it when it hasnt been a full blown attack. Your gonna be alright mate

[Daddio70 in reply to Hidden]

Hi theonethatgotaway, I went to my GP about the fatigue a few weeks before the incident and all tests came back ok. I also had trouble with aching legs and an on off tightening of muscle on my left thigh. My fatigue has hit even worse since my angina attack.

[Hidden]

Well thats good for the tests coming back clear. Good sign that its probably nothing major. I have also gone in with chest pains and all the symptoms for the tests to come back clear. They just put it down to heart damage and heart failure.Could your fatigue be side effects to meds that you started since angina? Or maybe it could be mind related trauma/aniexity? I also get this from the whole experience of being in ICU on my death bed. Triggers all sorts of symptoms and makes me aware of every sensation.

[Daddio70 in reply to Hidden]

The fatigue has been ongoing for the past couple of months and has got worse since my angina attack last Sunday, I've only taken the angina spray 4 times so I'm sure it's not that causing it. And don't really suffer from anxiety apart from when shopping. Even straight after my angina attack I was making light of it and was fairly positive in the ambulance and at the hospital, which probably didn't work in my favour.Ended up returning to work today and ended up having a spray as I developed a tight chest in the afternoon, luckily it cleared up in about 3 minutes. I think I overworked a bit, I just don't have the strength I had before last week.