Lack.of information from doctors

[Technoman]

My first post..On the 30th November last year I had a STEMI while doing a echo stress test.

I was stabilised and transferred to St Bart's.

Where I spent the next 12 days( I still don't know I was in for so long) I had an angiogram on the 1st of December and an MRI perfusion and CT scan

I have been diagnosed with coronary artery spasms that triggers polymorphic VT, microvascular angina and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

I've just seen the cardiologist and I'm waiting to have an implantable loop recorder fitted.

The list of medication I'm on

Clopidogrel

aspirin

diltiazem

ranolazine

Dapagliflozine

Lipitor

Any help or advice would be great

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello Technoman,

Welcome to the forum.

I have lived with vasospastic angina for over 11 years. My coronary arteries and small vessels of the heart go into transient constrictions causing a lack of blood supply to my heart.

I experience ST elevations and depressions as well as T wave inversions when I have severe coronary vasospasms. Fortunately I haven't had any serious arrthymias so far. I do however have to be admitted to hospital once or twice a year for treatment to calm my unruly unstable angina.

I am sorry to hear you have had arrthymias. Beta blockers which are often prescribed if you have arrthymias can make coronary vasospasms worse, so it's good to see you haven't been prescribed beta blockers.

It can take trial and error to find the best combination of medication that will work best for you as an individual.

Have the Cardiologists suggested that you may need a pacemaker with an internal defibrillator?

How was your microvascular and vasospastic angina been diagnosed?

I had an angiogram where they used a chemical acetylcholine to see how my blood vessels reacted. Mine went into severe constrictions and vasospasms.

Are you still experiencing lots of angina?

I found keeping a diary of my symptoms helped me spot my triggers which are the cold, emotional, mental and physical stress.

I practice yoga, Tai Chi and Mindfulness meditation to help manage my stressors.

The psychological impact of a diagnosis of an unpredictable type of angina like vasospastic angina can be profound.

I am aware that Barts hospital offers psychological support, perhaps ask your Cardiologist or the Cardiac rehab team to refer you to their Cardiac Psychologist.

Vasospastic and microvascular angina are often overlooked and undiagnosed so it's good that the Barts team has recognised your coronary vasospasms.

The BHF has this information about microvascular and vasospastic angina.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

You may find this website helpful too.

internationalheartspasmsall...

There are several other members of the forum who live with either microvascular or vasospastic angina and hopefully they will be along to share their experiences with you too .

[Technoman in reply to Milkfairy]

Thank you for your reply! The coronary artery spasm was diagnosed via an angiogram the microvascular from the MRI.

As for a pacemaker or defib Bart's did mention a defib but I don't know what would be there tipping point for fitting it.

I get angina symptoms pretty much everyday the gym deals with most of it. I have been tachycardiac on a couple of occasions but they have been short lived.