husband heart attack looking for help

[Pebbles111]

hi so last week my husband had a heart attack he has had 3 stents fitted over the week he was in hospital and released on Friday , I am so worried he still seems to get odd pains and breathless and looks so pale and tierd is this normal he did call hospital and they said if the spray takes away pain not to worry , but I can’t help but worry

[Lowerfield_no_more]

A heart attack can be a major trauma to the body, and the procedure that goes with stents can be be draining as well, so it is not surprising that your your husband looks tired (!), but over the next week or two he should start to improve. However he should have been given instructions about how much rest he needs vs. the need to get slowly get going again. If you are both unsure of how to progress in the short term, I suggest you talk to the BHF Heart Helpline nurse, contact details below. Longer term your husband should receive an invitation from your local hospital to join a cardio rehab course. These usually take place a few weeks post HA and they are run by a cardio specialist team and the general objective is to help heart attack victims come to terms with their situation and give them guidance on the way forward. Finally your husband has now joined the hearties club, something that we would not rather belong to, but provided he follows the general guidance about lifestyle including diet and exercise the outlook is far from gloomy. I wish you well, both of you.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[Nikinromantic]

Hi. Tell him not to worry, as I have been through same. Only 6 weeks he will have little trouble, like feverish feeling, chills , little breathless, all side effects of medications and stents 🌹👍

[Chriswood79]

Hi. Sorry to hear about your husbands HA and stents. It’s a real system shock physically and mentally and will take a lot of time to recover. So it’s normal and appreciate for you it’s difficult to watch and to take it all in. I had a heart attack and 2 stents 2 years ago completely unexpected. I was in hospital 3 days but then on returning home it was really difficult to process what had happened and get any energy back. I was off work for months but was really helped out by this group and by undergoing cardiac rehab. Every ache or pain is worrying but it was a major event for him. Time is key and taking it step by step. It will get better but it seems like early days. I am now fitter than I’ve ever been and a testament (I hope) that we can move forward from it. I’m still only 44 so have a lot to live for. My bio has more info on me. Good luck. Your next step is probably cardiac rehab but that may take a few months to get booked on. Educate yourselves through forums. Talk to and connect with others - you’ll be surprised how many people go through the same thing - and take care. Chris

[irishwife93]

So sorry that you and your husband are going through this! It will take an average of 12 weeks to recover fully, although depending on the severity of the heart attack it could be upto several months. Have you been given much information or resources from the hospital about recovery? With regards to the pale complexion, it would be worth checking his haemaglobin and iron levels to see if he is anaemic. Heart problems can sometimes cause anaemia and that will contribute to breathlessness and paleness. Book in with your GP and push for them to do a blood test, in the meantime encourage your husband to take it easy. It’s also important to reintroduce activity slowly, hopefully your hospital has given you resources on his? We were given a booklet with guidance on what to do for week 1 onwards and what activities you should reintroduce. If you haven’t been given this information I’d advise to call the BHF nurse phone line for help on 0300 330 3322

[Deack]

Hi I tell a lot of people but it's true

I had bypass 10yrs ago at the age of 48.

I have work in the building game all my life.

A change of life style will come and things will get better bother physically and mentally .

Do exactly as they say at cardiac rehab and you ll be up and at in no time.

Good luck 👍

[Harefieldfan]

hi Pebbles. Not a lot to add — just that when they insert the stents, they stretch the arteries and it takes quite a while to settle. He should rest and take it easy; eventually, hopefully, he’ll be offered cardiac rehab. I hope he feels better day by day.

[lizzieloo2]

My husband had a heart attack in April 22 (completely out of the blue) and had a stent fitted because his RCA was 95% blocked. He was told that his heart was as good as new so no need for a follow-up apart from a referral to a lipid specialist to get his cholesterol down. This referral took about 4-5 months before he was put on fortnightly injections to reduce cholesterol ( couldn't tolerate statins) and these have worked. That aside, at first he was overjoyed to be home. Then he became very angry so be prepared for this. He attended an appointment with the cardiac rehab nurse about a week following release from hospital but this was very disappointing and he was offered a place on the course about 8 weeks later. He refused to attend this and decided he would get himself back to fitness which he did very slowly. He has COPD and got very breathless after about 15-20mins walk to begin with and was frightened to be on his own so it took a few weeks before we were back to the usual 2-3 miles. During this time, he began to experience chest discomfort similar to those when he had the heart attack and had to start using his GTN spray and after several trips to A&E, he was told that about 15% of people develop angina after having stents fitted so he was given Amlodipine. This worked and stopped him having to use his GTN spray every day. He has had a lot of ups and down since with other problems and still gets unexplained chest aches/discomfort and recently had to increase his Amlodipine as he started to get breakthrough angina. His anger has gone (thank goodness) but he is still very moody and quick to get stressed but some of the meds can cause irritability (Bisoprolol, Losartan and Amlodipine). I don't know if cardiac rehab would have helped with this but certainly, he has had little if any help from his GP and nothing from the hospital. Have you been offered any back up from the hospital or GP?

[Sullyskye in reply to lizzieloo2]

I had a heart attack four and a half months ago like most people it was totally out of the blue at first after having a stent had a 99%blockage felt fine went home then found out that the tiredness and anxiety set in could not understand why this had happened to me was offered rehabilitation went for eight weeks but still couldn’t find the answers to the questions going on in my head I also lost my sense of taste found eating a effort as could smell my food but no taste lost a lot of weight nobody could give me any answers (GPS or cardiologist) so not wanting to lose anymore weight had to convince myself to eat this was not easy but am slowly gaining weight again thankfully.All this time my BP was very low making me very dizzy unable to function eventually ended up in A&E my sodium levels was dangerously low admitted to hospital found out one of my tablets I’d been taking since my HA was affecting my sodium levels stopped it levels now going back up

[lizzieloo2 in reply to Sullyskye]

Sorry to hear what you had to endure but glad to know you are feeling better now. However, I think it just proves that in reality there is very little follow-up or help from either GPs or the hospital and it seems you have to keep going to A&E to get things sorted. Obviously, this is not ideal as more often than not you don't see a doctor in A&E just nurse practitioners who relay information back and forth from medical registrars who are not really cardiologists. I think there should be a 3 or 6 month follow-up with the cardiologist as a matter of course following a HA and/or stent insertion. Any queries could be ironed out then with the people who actually might know how medication is going to make you feel and how it might interact with anything else you're taking. Apart from the lipid specialist, no other doctor, GP or A&E have even heard of Evolocumab which my husband takes for cholesterol as he cannot tolerate statins

[Qualipop]

It's a p ity to have to welcome your husband to the hearties club but there are hundreds of us on here so you see we can survive. What helped me most 5 years ago was to look on my HA as a warning and a whole new healthier start. I was lucky; diet, exercise and smoking it wasn't worse and caused very little damage to my heart so I needed to take all the advice I was given. Without trying and just by changing our diet I lost 2 stones. I had never realised how unhealthy our diet was but my husband would live on pies and fries, cakes and biscuits. They all became very occasional treats. I went from 20 cigarettes a day to one. Exercise was impossible as I'm in a wheelchair but I did seated exercise. It took around 6 weeks to either get used to he tablets or to get them changed because of side effects. Bisopralol dropped my BP so low I slept 24/7. Rehab wouldn't accept me because of the wheelchair. They claimed I wouldn't be able to do it without even letting me try. It would have done wonders for my confidence. There are delays now but if he hasn't heard from them in 4 weeks or so, chase it up. I needed another angiogram as they saw two more blockages but they weren't bad enough to stent. It's early days yet for your husband but he WILL recover and if he takes it slowly and builds u p exercise gradually he could be better than he was. It does take a while to get used to the medication so contact your GP if any are obviously causing problems. Cardiology usually hand you straight over to your GP . Your husband will go through worry and anger before his confidence comes back( don't take it to heart) but it will. Don't be afraid to ask for counselling if he needs it.

[Miocardial_1]

Sorry to hear about your husband and I hope he feels himself soon. This is a big thing and it takes us all different amounts of time to come to terms. I had a HA in December aged 43. Total shock to the system.

The twitches and pains are normal. It’s also normal to think about them more and more. I also carry a GTN spray and have used it a few times.

Little by little your husband will get there. He will soon have rehab and after that I guess the key is to taking lots of little steps in changing things that need changing for the future. 9 months on I feel much better than I did when I came home from hospital. I do most things normally and love fruit these days.

Remember you need to take it easy too as it’s normal to worry.

keep smiling 😊