Hello. I have literally just had a whirlwind 72 hours and feeling quite overwhelmed and a bit vulnerable. I thought I would tell the story of my last 72 hours to try and help myself process my experience and get it out there but also in the hope that the information may be useful to others.
On boxing day evening, I was having a pretty normal evening relaxing in front of the TV with my family, not overindulged on food or alcohol, suddenly I began to get pain in my chest which I initially put down to indigestion. This pain intensified somewhat but had calmed down after 10 minutes or so. Again, I put it down to indigestion/heartburn as it had disappeared.
2 hours after the episode, I began to feel the pain returning, this time with much more intensity. This very quickly escalated to the most severe pain I had ever felt in my life. The centre of my chest, my neck, jaw, right arm and shoulder and into my back. The pain got worse and worse and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. I ended up on the floor wriggling around trying to get some relief but ended up shaking uncontrollably.
My wife by my side had called 999 and was talking with the operator whilst trying to provide some comfort to me. This excruciating pain went on for 20 minutes or so. I had not lost consciousness but was shaking uncontrollably.
The paramedics arrived and as they did, of course, the pain had subsided again but I remained on the floor very shaky. They immediately did an ECG but it read as quite normal. It was at this point I wondered if it may have been gallstones as I have a friend who has had similar experience with a blocked bile duct.
Paramedics suggested I go to A&E to be checked with bloods to see if I may have had an event so I consented and they took me there.
I was made to wait in the normal A&E waiting area. Eventually I was called into triage and explained my events. Shortly afterwards, I was called back for blood tests and an ECG. Again, ECG read as pretty normal but blood pressure was high. I was again made to wait in the waiting area until bloods were processed.
During my time waiting (approx 2 hours 45 minutes), I was feeling exhausted and suddenly the pain began again. My wife frantically called out for help. A nurse got me back into the room for another ECG and caught it in the act, I was having a heart attack. Bloods had also been processed and they noted a high level of Troponin. I was then rushed into the resuscitation ward and hooked up to a monitor, given morphine, aspirin and another injection in my stomach which I am unsure of what it was.
My pain had calmed again following the medication and I had drifted off to sleep as I was absolutely exhausted. I was then woken up by a nurse and the sound of alarms going off. The nurse asked me what level of pain I had and did another ECG print out.
The next thing I know, I was being bundled into an ambulance and was blue lighted over to another hospital where upon arrival I was taken straight into a theatre and a huge team was there waiting for me to perform angioplasty.
The surgeon found that my left anterior artery was blocked/narrowed and placed 2 stents. The relief I felt when the stents had been put in place was immense, the pain suddenly kind of fizzed away!
I was then kept under observation for 24 hours and then sent home to rest.
And here I am now, wondering what the hell has just happened. It was all so very fast it is difficult to process everything. Very surreal.
A Recent Heart Episode?
So I'm in hospital.. (first ever overnighter) 
Concerned about chest pain
Told it was a panic attack when I was in fact having a heart attack 
Coronary artery spasm, did it cause me to have heart attacks?
