Hi everyone
I'm in the very early stages of my recovery from a heart attack and stent procedure and the most worrying thing at the moment is shortness of breath. My cardiac nurse has reassured me it's nothing to worry about and will pass and is likely caused by one of the meds. Has anyone else experienced this and will it pass?. Thank you
Did they give you Brilinta (ticagrelor)? It's known to cause shortness of breath, but usually only temporarily.
Jim
Hi Jim yes on 90mg Ticagrelor twice daily. Hopefully will pass soon. Thank you
I also had shortness of breath on it. Went away in about a month. If it persists too long, you could ask to be changed to Plavix, but they prefer Ticagrelor because it's stronger. How many months do they want you on it? Usually 6 to 12 months.
Jim
Greatly reassuring thank you. I'm on it for 12 months.
What other drugs that they put you on?
I didn't have a HA, but did have several stents put in a couple of months ago because of blockages. On Brilinta, baby aspirin, Diltiazem and Crestor. They may add the injectable Repatha for more cholesterol control. I am now trying to wean off the Diltiazem. I'm from the United States FWIW.
Jim
mjames1—I was put on the Repatha after large blockage and a stent. (Couldn’t do the Crestor side effects.) Love it…life changing. Cholesterol dropped more than half.
It took about 6 months after the ‘event’ to get my meds balanced out. Like you, I was breathless and they had to keep altering the doses or changing the meds to stabilise my BP. A high dose of Bisoprolol didn’t suit me so they changed it to a lower dose and gave me amlodipine alongside. That seems to work for me. It’s all very worrying and confusing at the start, especially if you haven’t ever needed any meds before!
yes it does take some time if in doubt I use a smart watch if heart rate much above 100 I sit down
I think that after being replumbed you think you will go back to normal but you have suffered some heart damage so you should take it steady
Go to cardiac rehabilitation gym for the 8 weeks course if available
Keep in touch with other people who have had the same and go to the heart failure clinic regularly
Probably have a series of blood test and pills tweaked until you get back to a kind of normal
I had a heart attack in Sept and an emergency stent fitted, one of my meds in on is ticagrelor, which can give you shortness of breath. This passes over time. Build up your walking over time helps.
Good luck with your recovery.
Thank you. I know it all takes time and despite only being one week post heart attack I'm slowly building up my steps. Before it happened I averaged 10,000 steps a day. Will feel better once the shortness of breath passes. Good luck to you too.
Mine was ok for 12 months after my heart attack but then it gradually got worse . To the point where I need a rail to get out of bed and cannot walk without a walking stick. Hope you recover is better than mine. I was diagnosed with ischeamic heart disease tho
hello ChrMar4951
After my heart attack I was so breathless. Walking upstairs I had to stop at the top and take deep short breath. Sometimes it just came on really quickly but now it doesn’t happen as often. I still get breathless if I am bending down and get up quickly.
Yes that's exactly how it gets me, fortunately we have a downstairs loo so can limit the number of times I go upstairs.
The nurse advice is 100% correct. Just take it easy, no stressful activity.
Hi, sorry to hear it’s difficult. I am 58, 8 months in from a heart attack and one stent, and am on lots of meds including tricagrelor (a blood thinner). I have had asthma before, but this feels different. I particularly experienced it when lying down at night, just at the start. It has eased quite a lot, but my cardiologist says it is caused by the thinner, which I have to take for at least 4 more months, so I am looking forward to that ending. But what I am trying to say it is better now at 8 months post attack than it was even 2 months ago. My asthma nurse didn’t really understand, I felt better after talking to cardiology
Thank you that is so helpful. I too am experiencing shortness of breath when lying down which was worrying me as I wasn't moving around but you've put my mind at ease. I did ask the cardiac nurse about it and she said it's usually because of the Tricagrelor. Onwards and upwards
Mine used to pass after 1/2 hr or so if I breathed calmly, but it has now stopped. I gave up in the end and paid to see a cardiologist who mentioned it was probably the tricagrelor - all the nurses I saw were determined it was asthma (which I knew it wasn’t)
Yes meds are very much overwhelming at first. I found this when happened to me, so try not to worry.
As others after HA x 3 stents was put Ticagrelor for 4 years. First 2 years 90mg second 2 years 60mg. On the 31/11/24 course finished.🤓👏. My personal experience was over a period of time my breathlessness became less noticeable it was only when I over done it I needed to rest.
Ticagrelor, same with my mother and her nurse also said this was the cause for her breathing difficulties.
I don't understand the science behind it.
54 y/o recovering from double heart attack and a cardiac arrest. Mine were in February and my breathlessness is still hanging on. This frustrates me as it wears me out. I can't sing as I've no air. I've posted in other forums and most heart patients seem to have this as an issue. None of my doctors have said anything even with me bringing it up. My best advice is to just go slow. Don't allow yourself to need to breathe heavy. Take steps slowly, walk slowly, eat slowly. Give yourself healing time. Just because your fixed, doesn't mean you're better. Best of luck.
On asking GP if any alternative, I was switched to Clopidogrel and breathlessness 95% cured with immediate effectWorth asking if any alternative for you I suggest
Thank you, worth bearing in mind.
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