I just cant shake off the feeling of anxiety and unease that there is something else wrong.

[Paul771]

hi all I had an angiogram about 10 weeks ago which led to an urgent procedure and 2 stents to unblock two arteries. I then had a further process about 6 weeks ago resulting in 3 further stents. I generally feel physically better than I have for months and am on a cardio rehab programme. I think I should feel grateful it was picked up and sorted but It’s 3.30am and I have another night filled with unhelpful and unhealthy anxiety that there is something else wrong and what the future holds and sometimes if I have one at all. . The anxiety is worse at night and my wife has been brilliant but I just can’t get my head around it all and am not sleeping well. The cardio programme has a session coming up soon on the mental health aspect so I’m hoping that will help. I suspect I’m not alone how have other people found a way to deal with it

[BeKind28-]

Hello

How you are feeling is normal for so many of us that have been through this and similar the mental health side can affect us more than anything as it brings all these doubts out we never had to face before

It is still very early days for you but good news physically you are feeling better which shows the stents are doing their job and I am really pleased you are getting Rehab and soon they will be focusing on the mental health side of it I think that will be a huge help

How to cope with it I feel is trying to turn those negative thoughts into positive ones like you say they caught you and you have had the right treatment take each day at a time , know how you feel at the moment is quite normal for so many and you are not alone and remember to allow yourself time and your confidence will come back

Let us know how you get on x

[Paul771 in reply to BeKind28-]

Hi thank you so much for your reply and it’s really comforting to know others have been through the same feelings will try and take a more positive outlook

[BeKind28- in reply to Paul771]

x

[Crofton23 in reply to BeKind28-]

I think we have all been anxious after our procedures..I have had stents after 2 heart attacks. You are lucky to have had stents which I would think will prevent a heart attack. It’s early days yet I know it’s a shock to the system. You will be fine.

[BeKind28- in reply to Crofton23]

Hello

You have replied to me but very true what you say x

[Avagra]

it’s a natural reaction to feel this way after heart surgery if any kind and during cardio you’ll meet others with similar feelings and this is most reassuring. You’ve been fixed and past your MOT so live life to the full within the recovery guidelines. Good luck

[Paul771 in reply to Avagra]

Thank you so much for your reply am going to try and think a bit more positively

[AAJJTt]

Hi, It’s perfectly natural to feel scared, nervous or anxious, a diagnosis like this can be daunting. It’s something that a lot of people on this forum all went through, including me.

It took me a while to get my head around my situation and work out what my life would or could be in the future but there is lots of hope out there.

I was a healthy and active person until I had a heart attack (nstemi type2) suspected root cause - undiagnosed and untreated atrial fibrillation. Angiogram with no interventions, discharged with medication and exercise.

For me, this is nearly 5.5 years ago, my arrhythmia is now well controlled by some low dose anti rhythm control medication (Flecainide) and I have been ‘Afib free’ for 4 years. Post heart attack, I was also left with slight left ventricle dysfunction but this has gone and my heart is ‘structurally normal’ again.

I totally recommend the cardiac rehab program, this was transformative for me and was instrumental in getting me to where I am now. Trepidation & fear is normal after events like these, this program helps you through this, building your confidence. The staff are there to monitor, support you and to show you how to work safely to your desired intensity. You are also surrounded by other people in very similar positions too and you can chat about worries. I still attend 2 sessions a week and this is just part of my weekly routine now.

That said, i can’t say it was all easy, I understand what you mean about the ‘night’. The mental ‘battle’ can be just as challenging, if not more than the physical one. The mind is very powerful.

I did suffer badly from ‘ectopic storms’, which drove me ‘mad’, robbing me of sleep. Anxiety just enforced a negative feedback loop that descended into more ectopics. They were investigated by my cardiologist, the burden was actually not that high, less than 3% and he wasn’t overly concerned. It didn’t feel like that, sat up and alert at 3am, slavishly watching 5+ pvcs on my Kardiamobile trace. Anxiety is definitely a catalyst and an amplifier; getting control of it, is the way forward. I turned to a course of cognitive behaviour therapy and for a period, an evening sedative. This worked for me, it broke the cycle and it all settled down.

CBT - I was always a bit sceptical about the whole area - talking therapies/mindfulness but it did help; don’t ask me how though 😀 The sessions covered how to spot unhelpful patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and techniques on how to deal with them.

I still have ectopics, daily sometimes, my Afib is vagal in nature and I tend to pick up on ectopics after I’ve eaten. They don’t bother me the same and I know I cannot let them ‘get into my head’. I literally give myself a good talking to - “ Ok, ignore it, breathe in, carry on (or in bed rollover), my heart is not going to stop.” As I mentioned previously , it just breaks the cycle of catastrophic thinking (especially at night ) which descends into anxiety and promotes more ectopics.

At the moment, life is good. I am currently in a good period of stability and I honestly feel that I don’t have any limitations - I regularly run, climb, cycle and travel but ectopics are ever present to some degree. I try to keep to the mantra - calm down, relax, breath, you are fine. It works 99% of the time 😀

It sounds like your interventions were timely and successful. You said you are feeling better which is very positive. Just give yourself sometime and you will see more improvement , which will boost your confidence and mindset. Definitely work on the mental side as well as physical.

[Paul771 in reply to AAJJTt]

Thank you so much for your reply sounds like you have been through very similar emotions. Lots on your reply to think about and thank you so much for taking the time to do so im always so moved by peoples consideration and help

[Pollypuss]

Hi Paul771

[Pollypuss]

Not surprised you feel anxious .You have been through a lot. After my triple bypass and all the drugs and fears were sorted I felt really good. I was out for 3 hours and now looking back I think oddly it was the best sleep I had in ages! Cardio rehab was the making of me as I went through exercises I thought I would never do again. You must be monitored I take it during your rehab and can tell them about your fears ? Don’t go through this alone. There are people out there that can help you

[BridBoy]

I felt exactly the same when I got back home after my angioplasty.

I got into bed, we turned the lights out and then all these gremlins filled my brain with negative thoughts "what if it happens again"......within minutes I was back in the lounge with the lights on.

I finally got to be at about 4am and slept for a few hours.

The following day I let the positive side of my brain take over......I've just had a detailed MOT and service on my heart by brilliant well trained people, they've told me I'm ok and that my heart is fine and the arteries are clear.....

When the gremlins in my brain hit me the following night I thought about the positive thoughts, I was soon asleep..

The cardio rehab, I had to do it online as it was three years ago, was superb and gave me the confidence in my heart that it was all back in working order.

I don't give it a second thought now.

The gremlins will disappear.

[Sharpglo]

your meds could be giving anxiety and sleep problem. It would be great if everyone offered counseling. All the best.

[iansHealth1]

As everyone says and as you’ve seen, anxiety, although a terror, is perfectly normal. You’re doing all the right things and will get better with a little bit of time.

Good luck.

[Digger0]

Having been of the forum for 3+ years, you do not seem to be alone with thoughts like this. Perhaps sit down and write a list of all the positives at the moment - feeling better, what you are doing exercise-wise, Cardiac rehab etc. Then you can think on the list when you are anxious. The session on mental health will be helpful.

[momander]

Hi Paul,This is a very common reaction to quite an invasive procedure. I have had 3 heart attacks and 2 stents..then a double cabg last January. When you have your heart operated on it really does bring home your mortality. I can completely empathise with you with feelings of something else going on . Before I had my heart problems I felt very fit!! Not a care in the world!! Until " bang" !! Out of the blue, the first heart attack!! My condition is genetic unfortunately, so it was just my turn!! Your heart is the one organ in your body thst keeps you alive, and so knowing there was something wrong with it was very scary. Recovering takes time, and lots of self care

.soon ypu will have less of these intrusive thoughts, and things will feel better for you. Stay well and take care. Xx

[richard_jw]

I had a STEMI 4 years ago, the RCA was completely blocked.

There were technical problems so they could not stent the artery, and resorted to a balloon to open it.

The following day it blocked again and they repeated the angioplasty.

The follow up was clot busting drugs, and I was pretty weak for best part of a year while the heart muscle partly recovered.

It's only 6 months since I have felt OK.

Much of it was imagining that I had all sorts of symptoms, some of which were not imaginary.

I persuaded the cardiologist to do a repeat angiogram to convince me that no arteries were blocked.

By the sound of it you were lucky in that you did not have a heart attack, and as a result the heart muscle is good.

I spent some money on one to one cardio rehab partly because when I had the MI it was in the middle of Covid and they were not doing NHS rehab.

I found that the lady who did it was very knowledgeable and could help my mental state a lot.

[Furryears]

Paul771 I can completely relate to this back in 2022 i suffered a HA which resulted in being blue lighted to hospital, ( I thought I had indigestion) no pain at all, they tried to fit stents but couldn’t so an emergency bypass it was, I was exactly the same as you used to lie awake all night just waiting for something to happen i done all the cardio program but still was not faring well I reached out and sought help from a psychologist over a 10 month period I learned to cope, so now when I wake and these feeling creep up from nowhere as the still do, I use some of the breathing techniques I was taught and also learned how to deal with these thoughts I bought some ear pods and listened to one of the mindfulness it’s a library of guided meditations, that along with my own techniques have helped me,

When this first happened i couldn’t string a sentence without breaking down, never understood why this happened to me.

Please seek some professional help

😊

[Stent2024]

Unfortunately the worry will always be there . I had a bad ache in my arm yesterday and was terrified my stent had blocked . Tossed and turned most of the night worrying about it

[Hrty]

As others have said it's a perfectly normal reaction. I found talking therapies (iTalk) a great help. It's through the NHS and you can self refer if it's available in your area. It was mentioned to me by nurses/physios at the cardiac rehab I attended. I also had some sessions from MIND after my GP referred me. Sometimes the mental side takes longer than the physical side. You will get there.

[Qualipop]

I had a heart attack and 2 stents nearly 6 years ago. It came totally out of the blue although having a grandfather who was the only one out of 13 siblings who lived past 50 ought to have been a warning. I had a second angio a few weeks later as they'd seen something they weren't happy about. I had two more part blockages (65%) which they said were fine to leave without stents. I can never get those blockages out of my mind. What if they've become worse? They are in the LAD so are they going to cause a fatal heart attack? Or are they stabilised and fine. I can't get to see anyone to discuss it or get any tests to see how they are. Every time I g et breathless I worry. It's all part and parcel of the condition and very very common. When you've had a HA or stents they simply send you home with no thought to what it does to your mental health. Your rehab programme should be a big help. I didn't even get that. Heart problems are a sudden frightening reminder of our own mortality. Support ought to be provided but instead you need to talk to your GP to get counselling. I tell myself I've been given a second chance, a warning to change my lifestyle an diet and I'm now far far better and much safer than I was. My mum didn't get that chance.

[isobelhannah18]

I was anxious about every twinge following my heart attack no matter where it was! I referred myself for CBT on the NHS and this was really helpful as was cardiac rehab. I also relied on this forum for support and advice. Keep talking to family. The anxiety will subside but it took me several months to calm down. Don't be hard on yourself because it will get better.

[baly_2023]

Hi Paul,

hate to say it but yup it's part of the heart attack/stent/heart surgery/ anything heart related package.

Good thing , like any trauma us humans go through, time is the healer.

I'm 7 months on from my HA, I still have the rare moment of " what was that?" but its comes and dissappears into the ether and I crack in with life, because life's to bloody short to spend worrying about the future which is an absolute unknown.