It's all come as a horrible shock. Last week received cc'd letter from Cardiology to my GP saying I'd got Triple Vessel Disease with severe coronary calcification, lots of scary medical jargon, urgent increase in medication and an appointment with the intervention team in two weeks. No sugaring the pill there! Given I had no inkling that I had any serious problems, am fit and healthy, swim two miles a week, don't smoke or drink, and have ok BMI, this diagnosis has knocked me off my feet. Also, I'm just left floundering with a thousand questions and no guidance as to exercise and rest guidelines. So I'm quite annoyed, as well as worried and depressed. I know I emotionally overreact (being ADHD) but just left to muddle on, not knowing what to do or what the prognosis is, seems really brutal (and stressful!!).
Things were picked up because I told the GP in passing that I had very slight pain around my heart when I got agitated. I was asking her if this was to do with the heart murmur she'd identified (now diagnosed as a mild aortic regurgitation). GP said no this was angina and needed urgently checking out. Weeks later, slightly offhand and sceptical telephone conv with local cardio nurse who eventually sent me for a CT tomography scan. Months later, appointment came through, scan done, another six weeks go by. Then the letter, now in panic stations mode.
What I've got is very mild angina symptoms brought on by emotional stress. I'm 63, male. It's like a slight stitch, almost trivial. They've doubled my atorvastatin to 80mg pd. And "added in" Isosorbide Mononitrate 60mg pd to "alleviate symptoms". I'm happy with the statin, but the nitrate tablets seem way over the top. I'm concerned that I'm being over-medicated and very unhappy about the side-effects. The GTN spray I have already gives me a splitting headache on the rare occasions I use it.
Question: is the (quite high dose) mononitrate medication simply to relieve the (slight) angina symptoms, or does it have a therapeutic effect on the heart which might prevent a serious cardiac event in future? If the latter, I'll give it a go. But if simply to quell symptoms which don't bother me, is there any good reason to put myself through the inevitable headaches and nausea that nitrates give me (provoking further mental ill-being)?
Any advice really appreciated. I feel like I'm going out of my mind without any clear guidance, much less reassurance from the medics.
ps "severe coronary calcification": does this imply arterial graft surgery (triple bypass) or might stents be an option?
Isosorbide mononitrate 
Isosorbide Mononitrate
Isosorbide Mononitrate (Relosorb XL)
Headaches caused by Isosorbide Mononitrate 
