In April, I was diagnosed with unstable angina and discovered that one of my arteries was 99% blocked, while another was 80% blocked. I underwent the placement of two stents, with six weeks between each procedure. Currently, I am prescribed 2.5 mg of bisoprolol, 90 mg of Ticagrelor, 75 mg of baby aspirin, 15 mg of lansoprazole, and 5 mg of rosuvastatin. Since receiving my first stent, I have been waking up in the mornings several times a week feeling unwell. Sometimes I feel so poorly that I don't want to get out of bed. Interestingly, by the afternoon, I usually feel fine. I have consulted my GP, but when she asks about my symptoms, I can only describe this general feeling of unwellness. The doctor has mentioned that without specific symptoms, it is difficult to make a diagnosis. However, she did run a comprehensive set of blood tests to check for any underlying issues, and all the results came back normal. Has anyone else had similar experiences?
feeling unwell since stent: In April, I... - British Heart Fou...
feeling unwell since stent
Hello 
I have not got much advice I can give you but I wonder if any of your meds are causing you to feel this way
If you have not had a med review lately then I would ask for one or next time you go to the doctors mention it and in the meantime you can read up about your meds and see if they say this could be a side effect of any of them and then you can put it to them when you next see them
I hope others will give you some good advice as they read your post
Let us know how you get on x
Atorvastatin was replaced with rosuvastatin and reduced the bisoprolol from 3.75mg to 2.5mg. there was a big improvement for about 6 weeks and then the symptoms returned. Omeprazole was also replaced early on as these gave me bad diarrhoea, thank you.
Hello
Could still be worth mentioning even though they have been swapped there are many different ones to try and for some it takes a while to get the right combination but if it is not the meds then keep pushing and tell them you need it sorting
I hope you find out what is causing it and will let us know x
Do you take your meds in the evening or morning?
Some in the morning and some in the evening but have moved them around as a test.
Hi. Sorry to hear you feel unwell. I have had 2 x HA and 5 stents over the past 2 years. I feel unwell a lit of the time as I have angina. If you are out of breath and have chest pangs as I call it I would ask to see a consultant for an angiogram.
I hope you get sorted. PS. Stress is the main culprit. If I get upset it makes it my symptoms worse
hi
I strongly suspect the statin and Landoprozole.
I am on both and have constant upset stomach to begin with it was watery diorhea but over the 5 months since my heart attack it’s solidified somewhat. I have had to change my vegan diet radically to improve matters.
Do you take the Landoprzole first thing before eating anything? And the statin at night?
Let me know?
Michèle
As others have mentioned stress can add to problems and medication is often the prime suspect.
Why did they choose stents for 2 arteries that were very blocked? Did any follow ups show they were wholly effective?
Was any other treatment suggested such as a bypass?
The first stent was done as an emergency procedure two days after having chest pains, 2nd stent done 6 weeks later as not so urgent, not offered any alternative.
Will there be any opportunities to have any tests done to see how effective the stents have been? Those were substantial blockages. It may well be of course that stents and medication were the perfect answer and it will just take time for you to adjust to both.
However presumably you will be seeing someone on an annual follow up, in which case it is worth asking the questions.
its the meds, probably Bisoprolol the main culprit. I have a very similar history as you, and 4 years later im just about getting used to feeling dodgy everyday. It does get better, but remember, the meds are keeping you safe
I’m the same take meds in the morning feel lousy then by the afternoon feel a bit better.
Had a heart attack and triple bypass in August, my blood pressure dropped too low so was taken off bisoprolol and ramipril, didn’t feel much better, Christmas Day I stopped atorvastatin as it reacted with antibiotics and ended up in a&e with palpitations from Clarithromycin.
The doctor told me to give atorvastatin up for a week to see if it was that making me feel ill, have to say I have had more energy so today I’ve restarted will see how that pans out, if I feel bad again they will change my statin.
Have to mention this was all done with the doctors approval and to be honest I was fitter before the bypass. It’s been a long road trying to find out why I’m not better after 4 months post op.
Yes that's exactly how I was after my HA and 3stents. Same as you blood tests came back normal. I now think it was the medication my body was having to get use too. Then on top of that because you don't feel right you worry that causes stress😵. May be give yourself a little time to adjust to your meds and hopefully things we settle down. I wish you a Happy New Year. 🤗
Yes, stress related has crossed my mind to be honest, thanks for you comments.
Hi Goonerboy6661,
I'm really sorry to read that you are feeling unwell. Any of the medications that you are taking has the potential to make you feel ill. Having gone through a similar issue, my approach would be to discuss how you are feeling with your GP and agree a programme to stop one medication at a time until the culprit is found.
Do not rule out the PPI Lansoprozole. I was found to be severely allergic to this and similar medications. The result of taking it was that I awoke feeling very unwell and was unable to go to work. Sound familiar?... though I'm not saying this is the one that is causing you problems. I also cannot take loop or thiazide diuretics and now carry a card which details my medical history and lists my allergies and intolerances.
I hope you get sorted out soon.
Gerald
.
Very interesting regarding Lansoprozole although originally I was on Omeprazole but these gave me bad diarrhoea and I also blame these in giving me pneumonia which I had a day after a bad bout of diarrhoea and on reach I found PPI’s increase the risk of pneumonia.
Sorry to hear about you getting pneumonia as well - this can leave you feeling wiped out for many weeks, so could your unwellnes be partly due to not having fully recovered yet?
It might also help you and your GP if you could be more specific about your unwellness - for example, does it feel like general weakness or aches? is it all over or in a particular part of your body? does your head feel muzzy/foggy or are you clear and sharp?
I felt similar on artovastatin, zombie like. I’m on 10mg of Rosuvastatin now. I stoped artovastatin fur about 8 weeks and felt fantastic. I’m on 1.25mg bisoprolol half a 1.25 tablet ramipiril , pantoprazole and aspirin. My consultant said I could stop bisoprolol now. Had nstemi and quadruple bypass July 2023. Speak to your chemist about your symptoms , thy will advise on other meds and you can go armed with some knowledge back to your GP for a discussion. Might lower your bisoprolol for instance .
May I ask if your heart rate is fast, i had OHS for valve repair but ended up with a high heart rate of 110. This was coupled with a low ejection fraction and made me feel very ill. I had a cardioversion which corrected the heart rate issue and heart failure meds and this sorted it out. There’s something not right and perhaps you might benefit from a cardiologist consultation for further evaluation. Things affecting heart rhythm can really upset your body. I found GPs no use whatsoever as it’s outside their experience.
Actually I would say my heart rate is on the slow side, resting is normally between 48-52. I have seen the cardiologist a couple of times who does suspect it’s one of the meds.
The bisoprolol will lower your heart rate, that is it’s job, hence low energy and fatigue
I see you are getting lots of helpful advice. I had similar effects after a stent and think the bisoprolol was main culprit as it made me feel sluggish in the mornings, some more than others. I think your body takes a fair time to recover from the procedures too and there is a mental toll which you may not even be aware of. If you drink caffeinated coffee or tea you might want to try limiting that to one cup of caffeine a day as with me having a few did increase ectopics. I had a private check up with a cardiologist after a year as my GP didn’t seem to be much help. He stopped the bisoprolol and put me on ramapril which has made a difference. It took me well over a year to get back to feeling ‘normal’ again. All the best for 2025!
It could be the bisoprolol. Do you think it's irregular heartbeats you are experiencing. I felt ill after leaving hospital when I had my stents implanted and took me months along with changes of meds to try to find out what was causing me problems. Certain drugs raise your potassium levels which can cause ectopic heartbeats. I had to come off the bp med (my blood pressure is quite good anyway) this made me feel like was about to pass out. Then I'm on Atorvastatin as this is the least likely to raise potassium levels. If you think this may be the cause avoid high potassium foods like bananas, nuts,milk avocados etc. until it is out of your system.
After thought. Blood test may look normal as only 2% of of potassium shows up in the test, the rest is in your cells.
I had a stent fitted in October. I was put on clopidogrel blood thinners for 6 months. (In addition to existing BP + statin meds) ...I felt really rough after about a week. Went to see GP who put me on stomach protectors (lansaporole) ..these helped me a lot. Might be worth a chat with your GP.
In some ways I find it comforting to know how many others feel unwell after their procedure. At the same time I am shocked that the cocktail of drugs we are advised to take can have such negative effects. Of course, i do agree with others that stress is another major factor. Don't you just long to feel "normal" again?
I suspected Lansoprozole which was supposed to be protecting me from Chlopidogrel, fortunately my cardiologist said i could leave that one out and hope my stomach is OK. At least that stopped the headaches. despite now being on Bisoprolol I am still getting a lot of ectopics but hoping it will settle in a few weeks. Wishing you peace of mind.
l agree with BeKind. I think this is your meds. I have had lots problems with medication making me feel poorly. If your blood tests etc. are good, then it has to be meds., I would think.
I felt awful after my heart attack, all down to the tablets I was on. The worst culprit was bisopralol which just knocked me out. I just wanted to sleep and had no energy at all. I also had problems with atorvastatin affecting my stomach badly. Both tablets were changed. Unfortunately I then had to have ticagrelor changed because it made me feel as if I had asthma and couldn't take a deep breath- even though my sats were perfect. I suffer badly with side effects from tablets. Have read of the leaflets with your meds to see if any of them could be making you feel like this.
GPs seem to hand out meds like smarties these days, if you look at the insert leaflet in the meds packet, the side effects, both mild and 999 serious really put you off taking them, some of them, depending on what condition you have are definitely necessary, the anti platelet Ticagrelor definitely is, for the twelve months following a PCI stents. I was prescribed lansoprazole because of taking aspirin, a bit of research bought up that PPIs are only really meant to be taken short term, I also asked other people on long term low dose aspirin and most of them weren’t on a PPI, so I decided not to take any, no problems 2 years on from 4 stents, I’ve now developed a severe skin reaction to the BP meds and the statin.
I have the same problems except that I feel OK for a few minutes on rising. Then I start to have balance problems, start feeling cold, and generally unwell.
It does go away later in the day. Like others here, I think the problem may be medication related. I had a STEMI 4 years ago, and the drugs have changed over the 4 years. Currently I'm on 80mg Atorvastatin, 75mg aspirin, 30mg Lansoprazole, 2.5mg nebivolol (a highly selective Beta blocker) and 2.5mg rivaroxaban BD.
The beta blocker for me is a likely culprit bradycardia; confusion dizziness paraesthesia peripheral coldness, all potential side effects of BBs
Statins seem mostly to cause muscle problems although if you look at enough sites, you can find any association you want to make. It might be an idea to stop statins for a while with your doctors agreement to see what the effect is. Dizziness, and nausea are common with Rosuvastatin
The same applies to Lansoprazole. You might stop it for a while, or switch to another non PPI med like famotidine which is a different class of drug.
Ticagrelor is an anti platelet and there are others (e.g. Clopidogrel)
Start with the most likely culprit, and change things one at a time. The problem might be to get your GP to take an interest.
Hope this helps
I wouldn’t stop taking statins as they are stopping your arteries clogging up but you can try different types.
Statins are long term therapy. Stopping them for a few days to determine the side effects is not the same as stopping a more immediately life preserving medication Notwithstanding that as I said in my post don't do it without your doctor's agreement
To be honest I have been wondering if the statin is worthwhile anyway. I have been doing a lot of research and reading and there seems to be a view that the risk cholesterol has on heart disease is over stated. In fact cholesterol is needed for the brain, immune system, Testosterone etc. The biggest risks are from lifestyle, metabolic syndrome and inflammation. I guess while statins generate a trillion pounds income world wide is hard to know who to believe!
Statins don't just reduce the build up of plaque in the artery walls, they also stabilise even small areas of plaque and reduce inflammation.
Statins help the inner lining of the blood vessels ( endothelium) to work better.
Endothelial dysfunction is involved in the development of ischaemic heart disease, with or without obstructed coronary arteries.
Yes I know, but the doctors always go on about lowering the cholesterol number and also don’t mention that you only need a small does of statins to give the benefits you mentioned. In fact you can get the reduction in inflammation by taking a low dose statin on alternative days. Even with the benefits the reduction in risk does not seem huge looking at the numbers needed to treat website. thennt.com/thennt-explained/
All treatments are offered and not compulsory.
I suspect, many Interventional Cardiologists' advice is also informed from the many times, they have had to treat, someone having a ST elevation myocardial Infarction ( high risk heart attack).
Yes, not compulsory but the doctors never explain the pros and cons to let you make an informed decision. In fact, no one actually tested my cholesterol until 3 months after my procedure and also had my statin dose increase even before the result, without consulting myself or seeing if I was having issues.
That's not great.
My Cardiologist does make shared decisions with me. Perhaps because I live with a rarer type of angina.
He sends me research papers when offering me any new medication.
Then he says 'would you consider taking such and such a medication? '
Statins can help stop plaque detaching from artery walls and then forming a clot as well as reducing the build up. Yes cholesterol is needed for many functions in the body. It's the excessive amount which causes problems like heart disease by being deposited on artery walls and restricting blood flow If you have high cholesterol you need statins or some other cholesterol lowering drug. Few people can adequately lower cholesterol enough by diet and/or lifestyle
It may well be cholesterol being deposited on artery walls which blocked them up
Maybe, but there are things that don’t make sense to me. Statins have been around for more than 30 years yet heart disease continues to rise and was very rare 70+ years ago. From autopsy’s from people who have died of heart disease just as many had low or normal cholesterol values as there was high values. There is also studies that show people with higher cholesterol actually live longer. Finally a lot of studies say cholesterol is a symptom of heart disease and not the cause, I.e. cholesterol is put down to repair inflammation. It’s all very confusing and maybe I should not read so much but since my incident I’m health obsessed and have not stopped reading looking for answers!
post ww2 heart disease and strokes have declined by over 40% in absolute terms, but the population has grown. Since 1961, the age standardised death rate from CVD and circulatory disease has dropped by 75%.
new drugs, better care, and interventions are said to account for the improvement.
But since 2011, premature deaths due to CVD have increased to a 10 year high
This is courtesy of Chat-gpt
Yes, the previous decrease was due to the huge drop in people smoking which caused inflammation of the arteries.
Happy New Year … it’s very frustrating when you go through a procedure that you think is going to make you feel better but makes no difference and actually makes you feel worse . The exact same thing happened to me. I had one stent placed for a 90% blockage in LAD, and was very disappointed that my angina like symptoms did not go away. I was prescribed a very low dose of for six weeks and felt horrible. I was exhausted by six in the evening. I felt worse than I did before I started taking it . It was prescribed to see if it would alleviate the chest tightness they thought could be Microvascular disease , it did not and in fact it made it worse . After speaking with my cardiologist, I was told to discontinue as it wasn’t helping and was making things worse. I immediately felt better. Speak with your cardiologist and see if there’s an alternative. I believe there are , depending on reason you were prescribed it . All the best
your description sounds exactly like what I am going through . One stent, 95% blockage, chest tightness continues. Taking nitro 2x a week that instantly gives relief.
It’s good you get relief from nitro . My pain comes on about five minutes into an outdoor fitness walk and last between five and seven minutes and goes away on its own. This has been going on daily for almost 5 years. I did try nitro spray, but was unable to tell whether it was working or whether the pain was going away on its own. With or without nitro , the time frame for pain to go away was about the same, so harder to discern if the nitro worked.
I take on average 2 nitro pills a week. Normally wait 10 minutes if chest tightness would go away but it does not. Nitro instantly cures the pain. Yesterday I waited a few hours for pain to go away, it did not, so I took nitro pill. Immediately cured. Now 24 hours later, still feeling good and no pain. Do not know if spray is as effective as pills
Hello Goonerboy, I had a HA, May 2023, LAD, fitted 2 stents, I was prescribed usual cocktail of meds, I felt great for the first week, then I was experiencing this : I can only describe as feeling like I couldn't move from my seat,, the lethargy was awful, I did not have any energy, no motivation, depressed feeling, dizziness,cold constantly, I would just sit around feeling zombiefied all day and night,17 months later,pretty much still the same, I take Bisoprolol 1.25, Ramipril 1.25, which is the same dose I was prescribed on leaving hospital.Trying to get a Dr to listen is a battle,as they just say you have to take these meds after a HA, I know that these meds are the cause, as all health checks are normal, my Aorta has shrunk to normal, my EF went from 40% to 60%, blood work always normal.
My question is? Why do I have to continue the Bisoprolol, when my heart is functioning normally, that's a puzzle to me? I know this med is keeping me zombiefied, even at this low dose,I hate it, so worth looking at this particular drug, as the cause of symptoms, which are ruining my life, mind you Ramipril can cause this too, so the combination of the two, is not great.
I hope that you can find the answer , I totally sympathise with you,
Take care ,wishing you good luck Goonerboy🙂
I had an appointment with the cardiologist just before Christmas, he say I can now stop taking Bisoprolol slowly over a few weeks. I decided to postpone this during Christmas just in case of any issues. I will take a half dose starting tomorrow. Hope you feel better soon, will let you know if it helps to resolve my issue. Take care.
Oh that is great news, I do hope that this will make you feel back to normal again, it's such a horrible feeling isn't it? I need to have this conversation again with the Dr, as I cannot bare to keep feeling like this.Before HA, I was always so energetic.
Yes please do let me know how you get on? Thankyou for your reply.
I am happy for you Goonerboy, wishing you a very healthy and happy new year🙂
I had the same problem as well as depression after my stents was fitted, same meds as you I stopped taking the statins (rosuvastatin) and I felt back to normal.
I had similar experience as you except I had 3 blocked arteries and got 3 stents. I was taken off Ticagrelor after 6 months . I still felt lacking in energy and Bisoprolol was reduced to 1.5 mg. I immediately felt more normal. It’s still early days for you. I was told 3-6 months but it was a year before overwhelming exhaustion went away. I was 78 when it happened and although get very tired at times I’ll be 80 in 4 months - just have to pace life now. Remember it’s been a huge trauma to the most important muscle -the heart- in your body. All the best from one who understands.
my mother had a similar incident In July and has two stents we changed the bisropol to another beta blocker as this was the cause of her feeling u well. She also takes trigalor and aspirin but we found taking the aspirin in the evening worked better for her
could it be your BP dropping as can happen overnight + Bisoprolol lowers?
I guess this could be possible but not sure how I could test this theory, any suggestions? Happy new year and thanks.
Hi there, I am so sorry that after 9 months of the procedure, you are feeling unwell. What kind of stent are they meaning was anticoagulant inpregnated in the stents? Generally they are. I don't think the medication you taking are responsible for the symptoms. When is follow up appointment with cardiolologist. It may be there could be reocclusion of the blocked arteries and mention this possibility with the cardio although this is unlikely. Hope I have been of some help. Happy and healthy New Year.
you know how to cheer someone up don’t you. 😁 The stents are drug impregnated. I started feeling unwell from day 1 after the first stent. Second stent was done six weeks later and the first stent was fine when the second stent was done. I had an appointment with the cardiologist just before Christmas. He performed an treadmill stress test and I managed to get to 10 minutes 51 seconds which he said for a 63 year old was good with no apparent abnormalities. Thanks for your comments and happy new year.
The fact that you shape up alright in the afternoon is reassuring for your cardiac status. Some of us have very slow heart rates during sleep or very low BP upon awakening. Can you check your BP and heart rate upon awakening? I assume you don't have a sleeping problem.
Will give it a try, thanks
It will be your medication, I had similar experiences, although mine took a few months to appear after 3 stents following a heart attack. I found the GP's to be of little help as I thought I had unstable angina, mine would hit after I had been sitting for some time at night. Blood check revealed only the expected higher than normal troponin. I was never offered any treatment.
Have actually been diagnosed with this unstable angina or is it just a guess?
In the end I decided to work with my drugs myself (after telling the doctor) My problem is you never see the same doctor. At one point I was phoned up by one to tell me a prescription for Ranolazine had been sent to the chemist. This was after the GP had phoned a cardiologist and he just suggested it. My blood boils. I never got to put a question to this expert. I tried one tablet, thought I was going to die and took the rest back to the chemist.
The Ticagrelor will probably end after a year suffer it to protect your stents.
In the end it was the Bisoprolol that was the culprit, I halved the dose and later halved it again and the symptoms just went away (I had to stop caffeine as well. Eventually I got myself off all meds except Aspirin (escential) and Ramipril 1.25mg. Then I had a heart MRI which showed My diet and exercise had improved my EF from 40-45 up to 54. The cardiologist was quite surprised. I still have the odd bad day but that's normal post heart attack.
So I would say you need to put this to your GP (possibly a few times), they are not experts, it's your body and you have to live with it. They like to keep the drugs up to the highest you can take. It's nuts.
The stats level sounds low to me but I'm no expert.
What are your BP and HR like, these drugs can drop them right down and that would explain your I'll feelings in the morning. Take regular exercise (long walks) and of course dump any foods with too much Saturated fat in. Finally look for something new to do and take pride in yourself.
Good luck mate
Feeling dizzy in Spain
Stent needed? 
Post heart attack & stent
Blocked stent
6 month study for use of stent or placebo effect
