hi everyone I had a heart attack in July and I’m back to work now. I’m still getting very tired and breathless on exertion is this normal or should it have improved by now? It makes me very anxious and stop me from doing a lot of things. I was diagnosed with MINOCA microvascular dysfunction and regurgitation of mitral valve from what I understand it’s the small vessels with the heart that spasm and get lack of oxygen and the regurgitation sometimes flips blood the wrong way. Is the breathlessness something I have to learn to live with I also have asthma so this time of year is particularly challenging.
Does anyone know if we can apply for PIP with heart disease or no?
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Jellybeans49
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Breathlessness is a common symptom of microvascular dysfunction which causes microvascular angina, especially in women.
Were you offered a functional angiogram to confirm your diagnosis of microvascular angina ?
This type of angiogram uses a chemical adenosine and guidewires to measure how the blood flows through the small vessels, then another chemical acetylcholine to check for coronary vasospasms.
My vasospastic angina was confirmed by this type angiogram.
Coronary vasospasms are a significant cause of heart attacks without obstructed coronary arteries.
The symptoms of microvascular and vasospastic angina can overlap however the treatment options are different.
Eg. beta blockers are useful to treat microvascular dysfunction however they can make coronary vasospasms worse.
I become breathless on exertion when my vasospastic angina is becoming unstable.
You may need a review of your medication and further testing to determine the cause of your symptoms.
If you haven't got a follow-up appointment with a Cardiologist soon, I suggest you contact your Cardiologist's medical secretary or ask your GP to ask for further advice.
Microvascular and vasospastic angina are not well understood conditions.
The BHF ' Understanding Angina ' booklet recommends this website as a resource.
I was awarded a PIP, indefinitely, enhanced for both sections.
My vasospastic angina unfortunately doesn't respond well to my medication.
I experience debilitating symptoms and need to be admitted to hospital as a result.
A PIP is awarded according to how your health condition effects you day to day, physically and mentally.
I used this website, which has a self assessment form and they provide guidance about how to complete the application form. They charge a small fee for the guides.
I have only had angioplasty done when I had heart attack which confirmed no blockages in main arteries. So the put a dye through they said that it’s my small vessels which are hard to see. I just feel exhausted all the time and breathless on exertion. My sleep is terrible too. Since taking meds sleep isn’t great. I have yearly scans done of the heart other than that no other checks except bloods for cholesterol and told to loose weight and change diet so just living with it at the moment. They where try to tell me that it’s very new and not a lot of research has been done and they treat it like they do all heart attacks. They also said it can happen in women going through menopause.
I am sorry you are feeling so tired.The cold weather along with emotional, mental and physical stress are all triggers of my angina.
Being tired makes it difficult to find the resilience to manage my symptoms.
There are several possible causes of a MINOCA, all with different treatments. The response from the Cardiology team perhaps reflects their lack of understanding of the possible causes of MINOCA.
I suggest you ask for further testing. Then hopefully you can have the appropriate treatment.
I was originally told over 12 years that I couldn't have angina or a heart attack because my coronary arteries were unblocked.
I was originally prescribed beta blockers and ended up in coronary care with unstable angina when I was assumed to have microvascular angina.
I later found out that beta blockers should be used with caution when my diagnosis of vasospastic angina was confirmed.
You know your body best.
I suggest you ask your GP to refer you a Cardiologist who understands microvascular dysfunction, coronary vasospasms and MINOCAs.
Many thanks I’m based in Berkshire I will definitely ask my doctor about the cardiologist specialist. Thanks for all your help I honestly don’t know what I would have done without your advice to be honest.
I feel that you need to be firm with your GP and insist on referral to a cardiologist with a good grasp of INOCA/MINOCA -there are some but you may need an "out of area referral". There is treatment available but it needs to be tailored to your specific needs. As #Milkfairy and others have found, it can take quite a bit of trial and error before the right treatment is found, but getting the right investigations is an important step - the routine scans etc are not enough.
Re: PIP, get the advice and guidance Milkfairy suggests and use it - this is not an easy process and involves a lot of repetition - it can get depressing as you need to focus on what you can not do, although the form asks what you can do. If you can do what they ask about regularly, repeatedly, reliably AND safely all the time you must not say you can, and you have to explain what happens to you if you try (e.g. pain, worsening of symptoms etc), for every section . This a draining process and needs time and preparation, so don't expect to complete the form in one go.
Good morning....was it mentioned how bad the mitral valve regurgitation is? This in itself can cause breathlessness depending on how damaged the valve is. Was any further treatment of the valve mentioned? If it's mild regurgitation it won't make an awful lot of difference on its own but if you've had a heart attack I would be asking if the valve is contributing to being breathless. Moderate to severe regurgitation needs check ups as in my case when it changed very quickly. It will be worth asking about. The mitral valve is like a flap that deals with blood flow and when it fails it was described to me as it doesn't open and close properly to allow efficient blood flow...it goes floppy and creates a back flow...I think that was it in simple terms. I always think any breathlessness needs checking out anyway so I would just get it checked. Take care xx
yes Jellybean49 - I also had heart attack in July. 🙌🏻 But most importantly my heart disease began with angina 11 years ago.
I had no income as I could not work with severe angina and I also had microvascular disease too. I was awarded PIP - my MP intervened for me. I was also able to claim my private pension early on the grounds of ill health and disability.
The state pension is another matter. I did not get mine till 66! Abd we know the result of the waspie ombudsman claim!!!
You can also get state benefits for the first year of sickness - so I had to claim fir 12 months.
Thank you milkfairy - finally I got my state pension at neatly 67! I’m also a Waspie so have paid around 45 years into the state pension system! We paid more in than any other group despite being so appallingly treated.
I had angio 13months after my severe angina settting in and had 4 stents placed in my 3 blocked arteries.
I was much better and was offered an unexpected part time lectureship in a slightly different field which was less arduous than visual art education.
I worked to 70 despite having an NSTEMI 5 years ago and on I continued - Till this spring. I am 5 months post stemi and now HF - so no work now.
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