Post HA breathing and rehabilitation

[Healing_Heart]

hello again,

So as I wrote in another post, I’m now facing the fact of having had a “minor” HA (and NOT Myocarditis as I was told for 2,5 months).

Anyway, I’ve been resting as much as possible for weeks - not that I had the choice for I wasn’t able to walk much due to poor breathing.

I’m finally starting to walk a little but still not breathing normally (even at rest) and I’m getting worried about possible long term damage / heart failure. Sometimes my dyspnea is partly due to anxiety as a low dose of Xanax helps. But not always.

A friend who had a HA with stent said he was breathing ok post surgery.

I did not need surgery (nothing found in my arteries) and still not recovered.

Is it normal to take so long to recover in your opinion?

Something else: I’m going to try to get a place at a rehabilitation hospital, which luckily happens to be located near my town. Has anyone tried rehabilitation? How good is it?

Thanks for reading 😌

[Dessert]

I had breathing problems after a stent and two HAs. I still have it. I had Cardio Rehab at Barnet Hospital and it was rubbish . They forgot to put me on the list . There were two types of CR One for fitter people and one for not so fit people

I had to go to Barnet Hospital and get assessed . The nurse said I had to go in the group for not fit people . When I got home and tried to register they would not accept me , They said I was too poorly I told them how could I get better if they didn’t accept me . Anyway they finally accepted me . They said it was 3 hours long session each week for 8 weeks.l 1hour would be spent on a topic and Q&A, 1 hour on exercise , 1 hour relaxation

When I got to my session it was all women . About 10 women. The main nurse talked for few minutes . Then we had posters on the wall and chairs around the room and we had to sit on a chair and do the exercise on the poster . After we’d done it , we moved to another chair and poster. After everyone had finished the nurse asked us about the difficulty of each exercise which she wrote down .

The session lasted 45 mins

By the 3 rd week . There were 4 women left. There was no supervision regarding the exercise . There was no stretching before and after the exercises as they said there was going to be . The nurse was too busy chatting on her mobile . There was no talk or Q&A , No relaxation for an hour and the exercise was dismal .

The sessions lasted half an hour and only 3 women were left by the 4th week

It was dull depressing atmosphere and there was no motivation

One day I missed the 8am group session . I was in group A so I asked if I could got to group B session at 10am

I went to group B . It was ALL MEN . They had an hour Q&A , An hour supervised light exercise and an hour on the floor relaxation . So 3 hours . It was wonderful

The men were lively and chatty and getting better . It was a great atmosphere

The following week I went back to my group. There was just me and another woman left . She told me that the women had left our group as they thought it was not benefitting them , was terrible and a waste of time. ,

I asked the nurse why we couldn’t have the 3 hour session like group B . And that we were promised over the phone we would have the3 hour session. The nurse said she didn’t know and she walked away ! lol!

Hopefully you will have a different experience . It is a good idea to go and check it out . Maybe the hospital and group you go in will be fantastic

Good Luck ! x

[Survivor1952]

I went to hospital with chest pains and difficulty breathing. I was told twice in a week that nothing was wrong. 7 months later, with breathlessness still very much evident throughout that time, I was back in hospital for a routine follow up examination and told I had had a heart attack in the previous week (it was 8 hours before the appointment).

It’s a convoluted story but initially I had stents and immediately felt ‘normal’ again with my breathing much improved. That wasn’t the final solution for me but we are all different.

Cardio rehab was brilliant and I’d recommend it as an essential part of the recovery process. An hours session of floor gym exercises, an hours zoom meeting once a week as well for discussion and access to the rehab team by phone at any time as well if needed.

I’m now fitter than I have been for 10 years or more and mostly enjoying life.

[fishonabike]

from what you have said in other posts it seems that you have had an Acute Coronary Event (ACE) with no obstructed arteries, although your precise diagnosis seems unclear

from my understanding of your situation (i am not a doctor) i think it is possible that you had a MINOCA, an episode of Takotsubo, an episode of Coronary Artery Spasm or Microvascular spasm - recovery after these is different to recovery after an MI with obstruction for which stents are inserted

you said you would be seeing a different cardiologist in another post , i hope this will be soon and that you will get more helpful answers from them

in the meantime it seems that you heart is not working as well as it should be, probably because of the damage cause by your ACE - your heart and lungs work in partnership getting the oxygen you body needs and pumping it round to where it is needed in your body - if your heart or lungs are not working properly you will feel short of breath and tired - you may also have pain, tightness or heaviness around your chest, back, arms or neck

please be gentle with yourself and rest more until you see your new cardiologist - your heart needs time to repair and recover - if being active makes it worse then stop being active