My Dad had a heart attack

[KT001]

Hello, last Tuesday (4/4/21) my Dad (74) suffered a heart attack, before arriving at the hospital he had to have his heart restarted twice. He was fitted with 5 stents and placed on various medications and was told that his heart was badly diseased but he was not told that he had heart failure. Thankfully he was able to leave on Saturday, however, since he has been quite tired, to the point that from the late afternoon he is easily falling and staying asleep for quite some time. I know this may sound silly but how normal is tiredness after a heart attack?

Also, today during a slow short walk he felt some chest pain, we sat and waited for it to pass which it did after around 5-10 mins, but again how normal is this? He was not prescribed any of the GTN spray as the cardiologist felt this was not needed but I am wondering whether he actually should have it? My Mum and I just need a little reassurance as we have been unable to receive any kind of support elsewhere and my Dad is a little stubborn (well a lot stubborn) and would rather not contact the doctors to ask these Q's.

Any advice, answers or shared experiences are welcome.

Thank you,

A stressed and concerned daughter.

[Edward_H]

I was extremely tired for a couple of weeks after my heart attack. I found walking just a few hundred yards to my local shop to be difficult and got out of breath. It did not take too long before things got better and then I started doing longer walks without problems.

[TracyAdmin Partner]

I am sorry to hear of your families recent experiences, it is absolutely understandable to be so anxious. It is always best to speak to the Doctors, they have access to your dad's medical records and are the trained professionals that are able to make the correct treatment option for him. If you require any further advice, please do not hesitate to contact the Arrhythmia Alliance website - our Patient Services contact details are available there too heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/... Take care, Tracy

[sca2013]

Speaking from my own experience after surviving cardiac arrest 7 years ago:>how normal is tiredness after a heart attack?Very normal. That is a huge trauma for the brain and body to go through. Another factor can be if he sustained any kind of a brain injury from lack of oxygen to the brain and/or the heart restart during all of this. If they had to restart his heart that could affect the tiredness too.

>during a slow short walk he felt some chest pain, we sat and waited for it to pass which it did after around 5-10 mins, but again how normal is this?

Not unusual as the body is doing some deep healing to try and repair things. Again ask the doctors about it.

My best advice don't take no for an answer. If you have concerns that the current doctors are not addressing things to your satisfaction get a second opinion and/or explanation about what is causing what and what to expect. If you have a gut feel something needs attention differently than the doctors are doing talk with them about it. Don't accept answers that don't feel right. It is your and your Dad's life that is at stake. If you don't make things a priority, no one else will. If the doctors don't like it, time to get a new doctor.

So sorry you're all having to deal with this. Wishing you better healthier days ahead.