Hi guysJust a little question .......so on 29th December I had an NSTEMI heart attack.
Ever since this date I've been staying in hospital
( horrific, as my mental health is really suffering). I had an angio on January 3rd and was told I need a Bypass. My surgery was scheduled for Jan 17th, however was cancelled at the last minute (causing more trauma/stress/worry).
My surgery is now scheduled for tomorrow. I am praying it's not cancelled again . However, if it is I was just wondering is it right that I'm kept here for over a month with no treatment following my heart attack? Is this a common occurrence?
Sorry for rant, I'm just not in a good place emotionally!!
Written by
Carsry
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Only thing I can say is if "they" are keeping you in " they " must be thinking it's the safest option for you. I don't think they keep anyone longer than they deem necessary in the current NHS crisis !
My mum was kept in over 7 weeks. As Prada47 said if it wasn't necessary they wouldn't keep you in. I know its hard for you but it's better to be safe and hopefully all will go according to plan tomorrow for you. Good luck 🤞
I'm so sorry you're going through this, I empathise with you about how horrific it is to stay in hospital but you are absolutely in the right place to be safe and they wouldn't have you there if you didn't need to be there.
Are they giving you a cocktail of drugs every day? Keep in mind that while they're treating you as someone that needs to be kept on the ward for safety, they're not operating on you as an emergency and the drugs they're giving you will be doing a lot of the heavy work of protecting your heart.
When I was in, there was a woman on the ward that needed an ablation after an NSTEMI and had been in over 3 weeks waiting. She was going out of her mind with the rollercoaster of emotions of getting ready for the op and then it being cancelled and she wasn't flaked out ill, she was up and about ill, if you know what I mean?
She said that they kept cancelling her surgery because of emergencies coming in and they'd told her that if she went home, she would be bumped right down the waiting list.
She was serious enough not to be let home but not serious enough to be treated as an emergency but at least she was safe on the ward while she waited.
Let us know how you get on. Fingers crossed that you get your op tomorrow. Wishing you all the best with your recovery!
If your operation is postponed tomorrow I would be asking the question, 'Is it absolutely necessary that I am kept in hospital until a new date is scheduled and if so why?' Get them to define the risks if you are discharged pending the new operation date. In short put them on the spot and you might take some control back on your situation. Otherwise I hope things go ahead as planned tomorrow.
Reason for me having to stay in is due to me being transferred from a different nhs hospital. If I were to go home to wait , then I would go back down the queue as a non urgent case!!
hi- I was not allowed home after my nstemi until my bypass op- luckily I didn’t have a long wait. When I hear people were at home waiting for the bypass I reflect that a)they must have thought I needed to stay in & b) I’d rather be under medical supervision in hospital than worrying sitting at home. Fingers x’d for you it happens this week- good luck
Hi, I was exactly the same. I had a nstemi ha last July. 5 days later transferred to another hospital for angiogram. I was told then that I needed a cabg. I had to stay in until I had my surgery but only waited 8 days thankfully. As frustrated as I was, I was also extremely grateful that I was there & had the best care until my op. I came home 4 days later & everything is going well to date. I hope everything goes as well for you too 🙏
I am sorry it is taking a long time. Yes they only keep you in if they think it is too dangerous for you to be up and about. I was in the same position but luckily had a shorter wait. Durning my time I saw plenty of people being told they were going home how ever much they argued. You are being pumped full of drugs and being kept on bed rest, that is why you probably feel you could be at home. I had my heart attack after a shift at work. Previous week I had a heart event walking up two flights of stairs. I felt ‘off’ in between. In all likely hood, if I had been at home and had another one, I would not have survived.
Snap I had my NSTEMI in 2022 was also kept in for a month two weeks on a covid isolation ward wasn't allowed out of the room in this time was told I needed a bypass but in the end it was decided a bypass operation wouldn't of been any benefit to me and sent home on the usual cocktail of drugs another two weeks later .
I was glad to get home as was starting to climb the walls hope this helps.
Have you asked them? I'm sure they wouldn't keep you in if they didn't think it was absolutely necessary.Hope your op goes ahead as planned and you're back home again soon 😊🤞I had my CABG x 4 on a Monday and was home the following Saturday .
I had exactly the same situation but only had to wait two weeks. I had one canceled as well. All I would say is sit tight as you are in the safest place. If you went home you would probably miss your chance in the queue. Keep strong and your time will come. Take care.
I was kept in during april/may 2022 for 6 weeks, no visitors allowed nor could we leave the ward because of 'you know what'. Yes frustrating but felt in the right place had my 66 birthday alone but grateful for being looked after whilst doctors decided the best treatment for me stents or bypass. Had stents in the end. Good luck and stay safe
Hi Carsry, Nstemi for me too in July13th 2023, angiogram showed blockage and I was transferred from Maidstone to St Thomas’ on 15th July . Deemed urgent, but I really felt fine 🤦🏼. 4xCABG was scheduled twice and cancelled , ( industrial action and another heart surgery patients surgery over ran into my slot) had mine on 25th July. You are most definitely in the right place . If you were to leave and not deemed urgent I think you’d find that you’d end up on a waiting list which could take many months. I was glad for the time I had in the ward . I was able to process so much , saw wars mates go through the procedure, learned what it looked like post op etc . My wife and family were very pleased that I was kept in , definitely the best place to be. I hope you’re op is not cancelled and you have a successful procedure and a comfortable, full recovery. 👊🏻❤️
hi Carsry, sorry to hear of your stress. I was in hospital for 2 months before mine which was a quad plus aortic transplant. Mine was cancelled twice, but due to my immune system being a low level. I know it’s tough when other critically ill patients overtake you but they take decisions for a reason. Hang on in there. It will be so worthwhile when it’s done. My one recommendation. When you meet the anaesthetist just before your op. Ask them to prescribe diazepam. One for the night before, and a second and hour or so before you go down for surgery. It makes it all so easy. I know it’s tough. Hang on in there. Best wishes David
you are definitely in the right place. I was in hospital for two weeks before my triple bypass. I think if I had been sent home I woukd nit have been prioritised. Good luck tomorrow, it will be worth it in the end.
HiI think.it very much depends on the hospital and also the consultant, and of the fact that they feel you are safer being kept in hospital as opposed to discharging you. Once home you are an outpatient and so will wait longer to have an operation. If you are kept in, you are an in patient and so are treated as a priority. I was in hospital for 18 days last year as it was felt I would be safer in hospital. I was so very grateful. I had my double cabg last January and am now a year post op. It has saved my life. Please just try, if you can, to be patient. You are in the best place. I hope you surgery goes ahead soon and that it is a success.
Hi and I hope you are ok. I was in the same position as you and had covid. Angio cancelled 3 times and surgery three times also. It’s not the surgery that holds you back it’s the icu space after care. Plus blue lights will go before you . Don’t leave hospital as you are in the system and will be taken. I was fit and mentally strong or I thought I was mentally strong but it appears I wasn’t.. you are in good hands and I wish you all the best. Stay positive
As has already been said, if it were deemed that you were safe at home, you would have been sent there. It is somewhat dependent on the number of bypasses they will need to do and the condition of your good arteries. You should consider that if you were to go home, you would have a much longer wait until the op. In my case I had my op very quickly, and with the Midcab, I am now well on the road to recovery. May I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery.
I am afraid this is to do with the politics of NHS finance. Back in 2011, I had a non-cardiac surgery. This turned me from an asymptomatic cardiac patient into one that was very much symptomatic. I tried to get in touch with my cardiologist, but had to go through my GP. My GP told me that the cardiologist had wrote back and told him that I had an annual appointment with him in 6 months time and that I would have to wait until then. The Cardiologist then put my appointment back a further 3 months by postponing appointments twice. When I was eventually seen, he agreed to give me an angiogram which I had a month later. As soon as I left the angiogram lab, the cardiologist told me that I would need at least a 3 x CABG and an aortic valve replacement and that I was going to straight to the heart emergency centre where I would stay for 3 weeks and then have a surgery to correct everything. At this point the argument commenced and I told him that after waiting 9 months to see him, I wasn't going to wait in a ward staring at my ECG for 3 weeks because it has suddenly become an emergency. I told him I would leave and come back when my surgery was due. I was told I couldn't and that it was very dangerous for me if I did and that I would have to wait 3 months for an operation if I left with a 5% chance of a fatal cardiac arrest every month. The annoying thing for me was that it made me realise I probably had a 5% chance of a fatal cardiac arrest in all the previous months I had been waiting to see him. I told him I was going home and he then sent two further clinical staff to try and persuade me to stay. The first was a junior doctor who gave me the same talk and told me that I had a 6% chance of death per month if I left, the second was a cardiac nurse who gave the the same talk and said I had a 7% chance of death per month. I told them both that I had been walking each lunch time and experiencing pain and that I would stop doing that and be as careful as I could but that I was going home. I asked the nurse the reason why I couldn't just go home and have my surgery in 3 weeks. She said that cardiologists have a weekly meeting to decide on who to operate on and in what priority. There are several factors to take into account about who gets surgery and when. One of them is the ongoing cost of the patient to the NHS. If I stayed in the heart emergency centre, I would be costing them about £1000 per day because it is a very expensive bed with a ward full of emergency kit and doctors ready to give defibrillation at a moments notice. This is the real reason why my priority would be bumped up from a 3 month wait to just a 3 week wait. They were turning me into a bed blocker costing the NHS a grand a day. I can't tell you how annoyed I was at this. If the cardiologist had listened to my concerns in the first place I would have been seen and had the surgery many months earlier and reduced my risk of death substantially more than his idea of turning me into a bed blocker. I had my surgery about 10 weeks later and all went well. I know many of you will disagree with my decision, but I think if I was placed in the same position again, I would do the same thing again. Actually, I probably wouldn't because I would go private and get the care I should have had in the first place.
I definitely disagree. It's your life on the line, nobody else's, and working within the constraints of the system they were trying to give you the best advice. I spent 3 weeks in hospital prior to CABG and was cancelled once within that time because even more pressing cases were admitted. Nothing to be gained by getting annoyed about it, raising your blood pressure and taking unnecessary risks by going home. I felt myself lucky. They kept me in because I live offshore and they were afraid to discharge me to an island an emergency air ambulance away. They said that had I lived locally to the hospital they may have discharged me but it would then likely be a longer wait before I was called back for surgery. Not everybody has the option to go private.
Hi Carsy, I was in hospital for seven weeks before my triple bypass so yes as far as i am concerned it is normal for cancellations. I expect you are being kept in hospital so that you are ready as when your operation takes place. Just remember that people come into A & E and need an emergency operation right there and then.
I was on different medication whilst waiting for my bypass too blood BP measures etc.
I know how boring it is but try to believe you are in the right place
hi there, Going back to late April 2019, I was rushed to A&E where they found I’d had an nstemi attack. On being diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia I was admitted to hospital where a couple of days later an angiogram revealed my arteries were clogged by up to 90% and I needed emergency quadruple bypass surgery, without which I may only survive for up to 2 years. I was also told that as the operating schedule was filled I had to wait until a slot became available (which could be two to three weeks) and advised that it was safer and best for me to remain in hospital until the procedure was completed.
As you can imagine, I was incredibly stressed and anxious, especially given the fact that I had only been told less than 6 months earlier that my heart was fine - (something which the surgeon confirmed may have been correct as it was my blocked arteries that was causing the problems). It was a terrifying time and luckily for me was pre pandemic so I could be visited by friends and loved ones whose support - along with the understanding and care of most of the wonderful nhs nurses and Drs - helped me remain sane.
To cut a long story short, after waiting the longest 2 weeks and 4 days of my life, I had my operation which the amazing surgeon managed to do with a triple rather than quadruple procedure and I was recovering in hospital for a further 10 days (making my total stay a month). It really is the best place for the care you need.
I still get anxious when I think about what happened to me and how frightened and shocked I felt throughout my experience. However, considering the fact that my problem was found and treated - given that many with my genetic problem simply don’t get diagnosed until it’s too late - I feel I must be one of the luckiest people I know and feel so grateful to be around to tell my story.
I do so understand and empathise with you and wish you all the very best with your procedure …. and beyond. Take care and please keep us informed.
I do hope today that you managed to get your operation done and have started to make your recovery and are doing ok. I can only agree with everyone else's comments about hanging on and trying to deal with the horrible anxieties of waiting.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
NSTEMIs: October 2019 + July 2021
Criteria for choosing non-emergency CABG?
What is ‘-ve nstemi’? 
Skiing/ mountains after a NSTEMI
