advice on recovery time

[Headache1001]

Hi! Have been home for 2 weeks after a heart attack, following a 1.5 week stay in hospital. No cause of heart attack found from angiogram, echocardiogram, 2 CT scans, and been told it’s MINOCA, probably micro vascular (awaiting MRI) and/ or spasming. Struggling with a few things! I have very little energy and am spending most days on the sofa. Is this normal at this stage? (Is it due to being immobile in hospital, heart issue still, meds, psychological?). Also tending to worry in the middle of the night as having mild chest pain / intermittent jaw pain still. Any advice?

[Happyrosie]

I’ve seen so so many posts like yours in the time I’ve been on this site. Your body has had a shock and needs time to recover.

The cardiac nurses on the British heart Foundation are really knowledgeable and helpful - have a look at the website for times they are open and the phone number.

[Headache1001 in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you. Will do.

[BC4ever]

Everybody's recovery is different. I'm six months down the line from my NSTEMI and five stents fitted, and I'm still off work. Get exhausted and breathless really easily. Listen to your body and go from there. Good luck.

[Headache1001]

Thank you. Good luck to you too.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Hello,

I am sorry to hear that you have had a heart attack.

Not knowing why you have had a heart attack can be bewildering and emotionally challenging.

I was admitted to hospital just over 12 years ago. However it was before high sensitivity troponins blood tests were used and there was very little understanding of MINOCAs.

I was incorrectly told I couldn't have angina or a heart attack

I was later diagnosed with vasospastic angina following a specialised angiogram. My coronary arteries go into transient constrictions causing a lack of blood supply to my heart.

Vasospastic angina along with microvascular angina are types of angina/ ischaemia non obstructive coronary arteries ANOCA/INOCA and can lead to a myocardial infarction non obstructive coronary arteries, MINOCA.

Unfortunately my coronary vasospasms are resistant to medication and I end up in hospital for about 10 days twice a year with unstable angina.

Being in hospital deconditions your muscles. It always takes me a while to get my muscle strength back. As I am getting older it takes me a little bit longer each time.

I tend to have a residual ache in my chest.

I am absolutely exhausted.

It also took a while for my body to get used to my medication.

Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to recover from your experience both physically and emotionally.

Have you been offered cardiac rehab?

One classic symptom of vasospastic angina is chest pain at rest, in particular during the night.

It's positive to see that your Cardiology team is considering you have had a heart attack and considering what the cause is.

I suggest you keep a diary of your symptoms, how you are responding to your medication and if there is a pattern to your symptoms.

Perhaps also ask for the appropriate tests to determine whether microvascular or vasospastic angina caused your heart attack. It's important to know as the treatment options are different, eg beta blockers can help treat microvascular angina however make vasospastic angina worse.

The BHF has this information about microvascular and vasospastic angina.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

This website is listed in the BHF Understanding Angina booklet and has lots of information, including the latest research about MINOCAs.

internationalheartspasmsall...

I hope this helps.

[Desktop54]

Everybody is different, but it does take time. After my Hubby had a HA which left him with HF it took him 2 weeks before he felt well enough to drive, then it took several months before we could walk our pre HA 2.5 miles per day. At his first year anniversary we spent several hours in A&E, although this was partly due to anxiety. Now we are approaching his 3rd year anniversary and we are still adjusting to his new normal but we are getting on with life. My advise is, be kind to yourself, it takes time to physically and mentally get back to "your" best. Spare a thought for your family, it's hard on them too. Best wishes.

[Headache1001 in reply to Desktop54]

Thank you.

[M-o-ggy]

Hi there. Many years ago I read a paper that proposed that heart. Attacks without a cause are linked to food reactions. It also proposed that a resting heartbeat before getting up and also taken thought the day might have over a 13 beat difference ,

[Jules2021]

HiYes 2 weeks is srill early days after a heart attack. Everyone recovers differently but I know personally I was still on the sofa or in bed at that stage apart from a little walk out to the garden for some fresh air x

[Headache1001 in reply to Jules2021]

That’s reassuring. How are you now?

[Jules2021 in reply to Headache1001]

Have had a few wee blips along the road,needing meds increased/decreased and new one added in ,but three and a half years down the line I'm doing well. X

[Headache1001 in reply to Jules2021]

Thank you. That’s reassuring.

[Henry20]

6 years ago now, I needed 2 stents; done in two separate operations. It was all new to me. Suddenly I seemed very vulnerable, no longer was I just growing old. The physical side of recovery would take time, but I would recover.

What I hadn't realised was the mental adjustments I needed to make. No-one discussed this with me. I needed to work it out and find my own way of accepting what had happened and adjusting to it. Probably it took two years before I felt totally comfortable again.

New information appeared though about 10 months ago. One part of my family tree, going back 4-5 generations was riddled with heart disease and probably their early demise. So it seemed there might well be an unidentified genetic component.

The point of all this is that it isn't just your body that needs to heal, but your mind too. It will take time for both and you need to allow yourself the time for it to happen; don't expect too much, too quickly and the mind may well take the longer period. In my experience I found talking to others helpful too. Those nearest to you can play their part but only if they know of and understand your needs.

Good luck and wishing you all the best for a long and active future.

Henry

[Headache1001 in reply to Henry20]

Thank you.

[49reasons]

I was the same after my heart attack as I think one loses confidence after such an event. It’s a sort of shock reaction. Gradually increased the number of steps I take daily with a Fitbit. Two years on I do cardiac rehab every week and try to walk every day.

[Headache1001 in reply to 49reasons]

Thank you.

[fishonabike]

I trained as a nurse before the development of stents, when angiogram (in which the arteries of the heart are viewed in real time, as the heart pumps) were just being developed - way back in the 1980s - at this time heart attack patients were prescribed bed rest for weeks with gradual return to activity

This all changed when stents were introduced and everyone was encouraged to return to activity as quickly as possible.

BUT it was thought that all heart attack were caused by blockage of the arteries due to fatty build-up

we now know differently and awareness of micro vascular issues and Takotsubo as causes of "heart attacks" (Acute Cardiac Episodes or Syndrome, ACE/ACS), BUT the treatment has not changed!

Your heart has had a severe trauma, it needs time to repair and recover, you need time to slowly rebuild your stamina and confidence. Give yourself time to convalescence and recover at your own pace.

[Headache1001 in reply to fishonabike]

Thank you. Reassuring information and advice. Appreciate it.