Female heart attack

[Kazaroony]

Hi, I had a heart attack on 1st March. I am shocked and still in a bit of disbelief. I am a 53 year old woman and always thought I was pretty healthy. I'm not obese, I don't smoke, I probably could exercise more and eat more healthily. I am pretty active. I have had alot of stress lately. My LAD was 90% blocked and I have had a stent put in. Have any other women had this on here?

[GFFF]

hi Kazaroony

Sorry to hear about your HA, hope you are doing well on the start of your recovery. Like you mine was a bolt from the blue and I was quite fit up to the day of my HA ( or so I thought). Take the meds, follow docs advice and take one day at a time, At the end of each week, look back and see how much you have improved. Although docs tell you the cocktail of meds are for life, a few lifestyle changes and some of mine had to be stopped because they were no longer needed. See the HA as a warning shot and a second chance to tweak life x

[Kazaroony in reply to GFFF]

thanks GFFF! I appreciate your reply. It’s definitely a wake up call and it’s good to know that I might not have to be on the meds forever. I hate the statin. My legs feel crampy and strange.

I hope you are well 👍

[GFFF in reply to Kazaroony]

It’s early days for the statins, a few more weeks and you shouldn’t notice any side effects, I remember the first time I went for a walk and my hips were cramping, awful !

[Kazaroony in reply to GFFF]

Oh god really? I was looking at the leaflet I got from the hospital and realised that I had been doing week 3 and 4 activities in week one! I’m only on week two as it is! And I wonder why I’ve been getting pain! Need to let that stent settle. This is all new to me and I’m finding it terrifying as I’m sure everyone else has!

[Teddy2022]

Hi, and yes very similar. I was 55, non smoker, very slim and fit, when I had an Nstemi heart attack and stent fitted. My LAD was 99.9% blocked. It was a total shock to me. It started with heart burn/indigestion type feeling. Felt like something was stuck inside and I didn’t even tell my hubby as it went away when I sat down. Then walking home from the shops it was a little worse and I thought I had better tell my hubby who made me ring my GP. My GP was close to retiring and I think he was been extra vigilant to all his patients because he immediately got me into the surgery for an ECG (was normal) and a blood test and also put me on the wait list for some cardiac stress test. He thought it was Angina, but told me not to do anything physical and if the pain got worse to ring 999. The blood test (BNP) came back the next day and was in the thousands so I knew something was wrong. I got further nagging pains walking up stairs so a day later rang 999. They confirmed in A@E I had had a heart attack and I had an angiogram and a stent fitted the next day. So all of this happened in a few days. They showed me on screen after the procedure how bad my artery was. It looked like a piece of cotton. They said I had been walking with a timebomb. So thanks to my GP I am here now. The shock of what happened and what could of happened lasted a very long time.

My advice is to keep getting checked at the doctors or where ever you can as long as you can as I have now been told I have an ascending aortic aneurysm (picked up last month on a CT for somethings else.) I have a cardiologist appointment tomorrow so see what my plan is. I only had one check up with a cardiologist ( an echocardiogram) and was then signed back to the GP. I was told that’s all they do. They said at least you know what do (ring 999) if it happens again.

[Kazaroony in reply to Teddy2022]

Oh my god Tesdy2022! That is awful. I am glad you are ok and had a great go!

I think a lot of the problem is that most research is done with men in mind. Heart attacks in women present very differently and often get missed.

I still feel sore where they did the stent and keep freaking out that it’s another heart attack. I’ve taken the Nitrolingual once. Did you ever take that? X

[Teddy2022 in reply to Kazaroony]

Yes agree, it was such a shock to be told I had had a heart attack. I thought I would be grabbing my chest in pain like you see on the tv! It wasn’t pain as such, more a nagging ache. Think I used it a couple of times as the fear you have after this event makes you worry about every little pain. That fear does get better when you realise you are just panicking which is natural. It’s a massive shock. I ended up in A and E twice thinking I was having another attack. I never felt sore apart from my wrist. I have very skinny wrists though. I did feel very dizzy and cold for a good month until the meds had settled in. I felt pretty lost afterwards because the mental part is very very hard to cope with. People just think, it’s only a stent, and expect you to be back to normal in a week and it didn’t happen for me. I was frightened to go out without my husband for a few months. It’s bad I think that really after your first out patient appointment there is very little follow up. Not that it would alter my aneurysm. I suppose so many people have heart problems there just are the resources. Angie X

[Stent2024 in reply to Teddy2022]

I’ve had my stent 2 months now , and still worry about every little ache and pain . Don’t think the fear will ever go away if I’m honest

[Kazaroony in reply to Stent2024]

I think you’re right. Every slight twitch and I’m convinced it’s another heart attack. It’s terrifying isn’t it. Stay safe and look after yourself x

[Stent2024 in reply to Kazaroony]

You too . I was lucky , they said I hadn’t had heart attack . I personally think I had but according to ecg I hadn’t , but on elective angio they found my rca more than 95% blocked , so they stented . I’ve read a few posts on here from ppl who had HA but ecg normal ? So not sure they really help from a diagnostic point of view

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello Kazaroony

I am sorry you have had a heart attack.

You might be interested in this recent post discussing women's experiences of heart disease?

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

[Kazaroony in reply to Milkfairy]

Thank you. I’ll take a look at that x

[Kazaroony in reply to Milkfairy]

This is so interesting. Thank you xx

[Classic100]

Hello. I can really relate to you right now and totally understand how you are feeling. It really is a shock to your system at the moment as I know to well as I am still going through such emotions at the moment and I found out in January this year. I think for a while I was in denial and it felt better that way just being in a daze about it all. A lot of people say it gets better in time and we need to learn acceptance which like you I find hard at the moment. Just keep asking questions and talking about it now does seem to help a little. Wishing you well. X

[Kazaroony in reply to Classic100]

Hello! Thank you. I have been in denial totally! I was told that the LAD wasn’t that bad but I’ve just read that it’s the widow maker! I’m in shock and totally freaked out but I’ll get there. Doing week 4 recovery instead of week one was a big mistake! I hope you are well x

[Classic100 in reply to Kazaroony]

Hello. Yes so easy to be in denial but guess we can't stay there forever. Doing week four instead of week one might have been a mistake so pleased take things easy and progress slowly. We will get there we have to. If you haven't already had your appointment with your cardio nurse it would be a good idea to talk to her about your concerns with the LAD and she may be able to put your mind at rest. Take care. X

[Hidden in reply to Kazaroony]

Hi,

It depends how far up the blockage will depend if its classified as a widowmaker. My blockage was at the first branch which was 90% blocked.

[Kazaroony in reply to Hidden]

Oh that’s interesting! I’ve attached the pic of where mine was. What do you reckon?

Lad

[Hidden in reply to Kazaroony]

Mines was at the branch above, it couldn't be stented as it was right at the branch. The further down the LAD it becomes lesser significant and the fatality also reduces.As I said it 90% occluded.

Hopefully this can put your mind at rest.

[Kazaroony in reply to Hidden]

Well I am glad that we are both here to tell the tale! A terrible shock. Thank you.

[EU95PTM]

I sorry to hear about your heart attack and I hope you are doing well with your recovery. Like you, I was relatively young when I had a STEMI heart attack, I was 51 at the time. I was admitted for an emergency PCI and had one stent to the LAD. I didn’t think that people of my age had heart attacks, and especially not women so it was quite a shock that it happened to me. I was under acute stress at the time and thought that is what had caused it.

After some time, In an effort to get to the bottom of why this happened to me, I was referred to a Lipid Consultant. After the event the max dose of statin wasn’t bringing my LDL cholesterol down as far as it should and with the absence of any other risk factors they wanted to see if there was a genetic factor. To cut a long story short I was genetically tested for Familial Hypercholesterolemia and also Lipoprotein (a). The test for Lipoprotein (a) came back as very significantly raised. Lp(a) makes the “bad” LDL cholesterol more “sticky” and can lead to premature cardiovascular disease. It is likely that this was a major contributing factor as to why I have CVD and had a heart attack. It’s a relief to know it wasn’t my fault as I blamed myself initially.

It’s very early days for your recovery, so rest, gradually increase your activity and hopefully you’ll be feeling back to normal soon. If you are offered cardiac rehab classes, I’d highly recommend them to help build your confidence up.

[Kazaroony in reply to EU95PTM]

You’ve really been through it haven’t you! I blame myself and know I could have done better. I just always felt a bit invincible and am still reeling from it.

I will definitely be doing the cardio rehab classes and will be making sure that I get followed up and am on top of it all.

I’m glad you got all the answers you needed and are getting better. Thanks for your reply xx

[MB1969 in reply to EU95PTM]

This is exactly the same problem I had with my LDL. I was put Ezitimbe alongside the statins and it worked. Now have really good levels.

[Kazaroony in reply to MB1969]

hi, what is Ezitimbe?

[MB1969 in reply to Kazaroony]

It's a drug used to target the LDL cholesterol and it works well with a statin. I have Familial combined hypercholesterolemia.

[Angelique71]

This all sounds very similar to me. My HA came as a complete shock. I'm 52 fit and thought I was reasonably healthy. Was working out the day before my HA (weights,cross trainer etc). Had been having daily heartburn for atleast a year but was Angina. Had a stent fitted in my LAD but 2 other arteries were significantly blocked too. Waited 3 months (on the virtual Ward at my hospital) before having a triple bypass at the end of January this year. There have been so many ups and downs but I'm now starting to feel incredibly fortunate, a strange feeling as I should feel so sorry for myself. By the way, 8 weeks after the op and I'm now walking over 4 miles a day. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

[Kazaroony in reply to Angelique71]

hiya,

Wow! This is so incredible to me. You’re fit and healthy yet your arteries are still blocked. It’s terrifying. Thank you for sharing.

I’m on my 4th week post stent and feeling ok. You had a serious op so doing 4 miles is great. I’m inspired by your story and hope to be walking that far in a few weeks time x