Intermittent chest pain

Hi. I'm Maggie. I've had treatment for breast cancer including mastectomy, chemo and radiotherapy to the left chest wall. I've had AF for a long time for which I take warfarin. Recently I've had some chest pains intermittently, generally when walking uphill. I do lots of exercise including tennis and rowing and can usually play these sports without pain. However last week I had an episode during tennis. Saw my GP and ended up in the local hospital that day. The consensus seems to be that I have angina so am now taking a low dose beta blocker and a statin as my cholesterol level was 6.5. I'm having a CT scan next week and also have an appointment with the chest pain clinic this week. I'm feeling a trifle overwhelmed at present but want to make the right decisions about meds etc.

[Penel]

Hope the appointments go well, Maggie. If you are past the menopause cholesterol levels go up naturally. Changes to what you eat may possibly bring down your cholesterol levels but with your medical history, statins may be a good idea. Although they can have side effects, most people are ok with them. Hopefully you can discuss this all with your doctors.

Hope the angina can be brought under control and that your health improves.

[Hidden in reply to Penel]

Hi Penel. Thank you for your reply.

I am past the menopause.

I have always followed food guidelines etc. Our kids were brought up moaning about granary bread and brown rice!

I went to the Chest Pain clinic yesterday and everything seems to be under control. I'm having a coronary angiogram CT scan in a couple of weeks so that should show up any problems. Meanwhile I'm taking statins and a low dose of beta blocker.

I actually feel very well! I'm off to row on the beautiful River Dee this morning. I was told to continue exercising fortunately. It's a big part of my life, especially since my husband Brian died unexpectedly 2 years ago. I'm very lucky to have a caring family but am trying not to worry them with health issues.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

[sandybrown in reply to Hidden]

Take it easy with your exercise. Please do give us an update on your CT scan.

Write down all your questions to ask and the answers.

[Hidden]

Thank you for replying. I'm continuing to exercise but am not throwing myself round like a lunatic now! I appear to have some radiotherapy damage showing in a rib so this is also under investigation now. That's another low dose CT scan. Hopefully the changes are not progressive. No appointment for that yet.