View Full Version : Really worried now...angina?
Justanutter
02-07-15, 18:53
Hi. Posted a few weeks ago re angina worries and things seemed a it better. CBT is ongoing but no affect yet....when IBS bad don't seem to worry about chest discomfort but just been rough playing with the dog for a few mins and now she's gone home with my son my chest discomfort started...not quite pains but bit worn out feeling and and ache in that region and so could that really be a sign that it is angina? I can walk up and down 3 flights of stairs fine but little episodes like this scare me. I am illness phobic and getting worse the older I get...58 now...no genetic history of heart disease or BP probs and had ECG and Bloods and X-ray about 18 months ago and all ok....really frightened of tests and outcomes...always default heart bypass which I will never have....
Hi Justanutter
To be honest, the only way of knowing if this is angina is to see a cardiologist and undergo an excercise stress test - where you will walk on a treadmill while your ECG is recorded. For angina a resting ECG may not show anything so it is normally an exercise ECG that they do for this. Was it specifically for Angina symptoms you were tested for before when you were tested?
No one on this site can provide you with a diagnosis or reassure you about what you are experiencing. So, although I know the idea makes you nervous, that really is the only way to know for sure.
Chest pain and tightness is common for anxiety suffers, but due to your age - and the fact that none of us are medical professionals, the only responsible thing anyone here can say is to go and get yourself checked out.
One assurance I can give you is that bypass surgery is NOT the only treatment for coronary artery disease (if that were what was causing it). There are both medications and other much less invasive procedures that are often used to take preventative measures in many cases.
Take a positive step and get it checked. Sending positive vibes :)
Frenchy is right. In fact, most cases of coronary artery disease can be reversed simply with dietary change and exercise. However, that's jumping the gun a bit, and if you suspect angina, you really should see your GP as they'll know best whether or not the pain is coming from your heart.
All the best :)
Thank you for responding. Frenchy, I went to A&E with chest pain so they did ECG and bloods etc which were all normal. Have been like this for about 18 months on and off but HA is really bad nowadays and I am too scared of tests like angiogram. Plus, read that cardiologists are too ready to do all these invasive tests when they can be so dangerous and risky. I know 2 people who went for walking tests and ended up with stents... I had a walking test 2 years ago.
I honestly don't believe that cardiologists in the NHS are carrying out unnecessary and risky tests, why would they? These things are closely regulated for need.
The only thing is, you live with the constant fear that you have and detracts so much from your quality of life or you have tests that will most likely put your mind at rest, or possibly identify a problem that can be addressed.
I wish you peace of mind.
I have angina. I have nitro for any episodes. It's not the most pleasant of ailments but manageable. I'm not a doctor but if you're able to exert yourself (climb three flights of stairs) without symptoms, it's not angina.
Positive thoughts
I'm curious, what causes angina, we see it in movies but other than you take nitro or die it is not portrayed well and probably not even right. It is a common fear because of the movies. I have high blood pressure and that gets me wondering.
Angina is essentially a reduced flow of blood to the heart. Not enough to cause a heart attack but enough to cause pain. In some cases of coronary artery disease, it can be sporadic and only occurs when over exerting. In other cases it can be chronic and slow release long acting nitro is needed.
I have a script I keep with me in case I feel pain. I've have to use it maybe once a month at this point. I treat it by eating right and exercising (I walk a few times a week).
Positive thoughts
Thank you. Sounds like the movies exaggerate for the drama.
Thank you for responding. Frenchy, I went to A&E with chest pain so they did ECG and bloods etc which were all normal. Have been like this for about 18 months on and off but HA is really bad nowadays and I am too scared of tests like angiogram. Plus, read that cardiologists are too ready to do all these invasive tests when they can be so dangerous and risky. I know 2 people who went for walking tests and ended up with stents... I had a walking test 2 years ago.
The people with stents should thank their lucky stars that the blockages were found and stents inserted before they had heart attacks.
That's the idea behind the tests.
My wife had the same.
The people with stents should thank their lucky stars that the blockages were found and stents inserted before they had heart attacks.
That's the idea behind the tests.
My wife had the same.
Agreed. I had an angiogram a couple of months ago and it was not a problem at all. It was not even painful. Of course I was nervous, but in fact I found the whole thing quite amazing. These cath labs they do these procedures in are incredibly high techfacilities and angiograms are routine. They do hundreds of them every year with a statistically TINY proprortion ever having any complications at all. And from a cardiac perspective, you are basically laying in the safest place you could possibly be in the whole world.
All over an done with in 20 minutes and I was able to stand up and move around after about 30 mins.
I didn't need any stents put in thankfully, but my step father did when he had one and whilst he did say that it caused a few additional sensations, he did say it was not painful. And they probably saved his life. All for 40 minutes on a bed with no pain - and being conscious throughout. I'd take that any day over the alternatives.
---------- Post added at 13:04 ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 ----------
I should also say, I have a heart condition that causes me to get angina pain, however that is not due to blockages in the arteries going into my heart.
This pain I get comes on with exertion and essentially starts as a tightening burning sensation in my chest that radiates up into my neck and shoulders and then down my left arm. That is the normal trajectory for angina, I'm told.
Once the exertion stops, the pain eases off quite quickly.
I would always advise someone with that kind of pain to get it check out - certainly if you are 40 years +. But angina (and heart disease/blocked arteries in general) is pretty rare below that age unless you are very unfit and your diet is extremely poor - or there is a family history of early onset coronary heart disease.
Justanutter
05-07-15, 21:18
Thanks all. I know I need to get checked but my HA is really bad all the time now and I am doing my best to do my breathing exercises and in the middle of CBT. I made the mistake of reading a book about how these tests are too routinely done when there are alternatives like ct tamography which is non invasive and that some cardiologists don't do them routinely and use drug methods instead and that stents are done too freely as an easy option and then just block up again....it was very confusing and scary as I fear that once the nhs gets hold of you, you are then on a roller coaster which you can't get off. I am sensible with my diet and eat healthily but read about diets to reverse heart disease without having to put yourself at risk of the radiation and stents etc. I am just not living at the moment..frightened to exert myself or go for a walk as my chest gets like a stitch in it and then gets better when I stop so that's classic angina yet stairs don't bother me. I do have back and shoulder problems and my rib cage is tight when I go for massages so cld be tension maybe. Also have suffered palpitations for years which don't bother me now but frightened that angiogram would make them bad again with disturbing the heart.
An angiogram doesn't disturb the heart - a small probe travels up towards the main arteries that lead in to the heart but it doesn't go in to the heart itself or otherwise interfere with the heart at all. The probe releases a small amount of inert dye that shows up on the scan to check the blood flow in to the heart is normal and that the arteries are clear.
If you needed a stent it can be done there and then. These procedures are carried out in their hundreds every day with rarely any complications.
And please don't listen to horror stories. Our health service is one of the best in the world. These people do not do routinely carry out procedures that are not required. That kind of thing goes on in the US (an insurance based system) because there is so much money to be made from carrying out procedures that are not really needed - but that is not the case at all in the UK. That is just your anxiety talking. There is no rollercoaster. Only professional people that dedicate their lives to helping people that need it. Nothing more.
Angina is not often described as being like stitch. It is typically described as pressure, tightness or dull burning sensation that often radiates from the chest up in to the neck shoulders and sometimes down the arms (normally the left). Stitch is typically a sharper or shooting pain and it doesn't generally radiate or migrate to the neck/shoulders/arms. So what you are describing could well be...well....stitch...
However I'm not really sure what more I/we can suggest. No one here can give you a diagnosis so I’m not sure what else can be done if you won't go and seek professional medical advice...
Justanutter
06-07-15, 13:56
Thanks Frenchy for taking the time to reply. I know I am being totally irrational but that's what HA does. Plus, I am such a negative person that I can never see the positive in anything i.e. I would have an angiogram and would be the one that went wrong or I'll find out that it will definitely be open heart surgery for me and not something simple like tablets. I have just been up to the shops from work which is 5 mins away and got the stitch feeling but it is a bit achey too and went and sat in my favourite little café with a cup of tea but just felt panicky so walked back to the office - which, surprisingly doesn't bother me coming back for some reason and then walked up two flights of stairs with no problem so maybe this is all just psychological as it started when I was made redundant from my last job which I loved and I started here 18 months ago and it was all very stressful and maybe I just associate it now every time I go out at lunch to having a problem.
I am really trying to psych myself up to going to the GP as I can feel me going downhill into the anxiety spiral again which makes me very unwell and unable to function and I don't want to go there again if I can help it. I am such a worrier and can't cope with hospitals as I haven't had any positive experiences of them any time really so that doesn't help. So sorry for being like this as I know you are only trying to help me.
The thing I am most scared about the angiogram is the 'funny feeling' that you get when they put the dye in and it seems that when you don't have the stent, you don't feel 'strange'.....that's the panicky bit for me - oh and having the bad news of course :weep:
Agreed. I had an angiogram a couple of months ago and it was not a problem at all. It was not even painful. Of course I was nervous, but in fact I found the whole thing quite amazing. These cath labs they do these procedures in are incredibly high techfacilities and angiograms are routine. They do hundreds of them every year with a statistically TINY proprortion ever having any complications at all. And from a cardiac perspective, you are basically laying in the safest place you could possibly be in the whole world.
All over an done with in 20 minutes and I was able to stand up and move around after about 30 mins.
I didn't need any stents put in thankfully, but my step father did when he had one and whilst he did say that it caused a few additional sensations, he did say it was not painful. And they probably saved his life. All for 40 minutes on a bed with no pain - and being conscious throughout. I'd take that any day over the alternatives.
---------- Post added at 13:04 ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 ----------
I should also say, I have a heart condition that causes me to get angina pain, however that is not due to blockages in the arteries going into my heart.
This pain I get comes on with exertion and essentially starts as a tightening burning sensation in my chest that radiates up into my neck and shoulders and then down my left arm. That is the normal trajectory for angina, I'm told.
Once the exertion stops, the pain eases off quite quickly.
I would always advise someone with that kind of pain to get it check out - certainly if you are 40 years +. But angina (and heart disease/blocked arteries in general) is pretty rare below that age unless you are very unfit and your diet is extremely poor - or there is a family history of early onset coronary heart disease.
I had a heart attack and then a stent.
Exactly as you described - no pain and they mildly sedate you if you're tense (like I was)
Much better than the alternative!
Thanks Frenchy for taking the time to reply. I know I am being totally irrational but that's what HA does. Plus, I am such a negative person that I can never see the positive in anything i.e. I would have an angiogram and would be the one that went wrong or I'll find out that it will definitely be open heart surgery for me and not something simple like tablets. I have just been up to the shops from work which is 5 mins away and got the stitch feeling but it is a bit achey too and went and sat in my favourite little café with a cup of tea but just felt panicky so walked back to the office - which, surprisingly doesn't bother me coming back for some reason and then walked up two flights of stairs with no problem so maybe this is all just psychological as it started when I was made redundant from my last job which I loved and I started here 18 months ago and it was all very stressful and maybe I just associate it now every time I go out at lunch to having a problem.
I am really trying to psych myself up to going to the GP as I can feel me going downhill into the anxiety spiral again which makes me very unwell and unable to function and I don't want to go there again if I can help it. I am such a worrier and can't cope with hospitals as I haven't had any positive experiences of them any time really so that doesn't help. So sorry for being like this as I know you are only trying to help me.
The thing I am most scared about the angiogram is the 'funny feeling' that you get when they put the dye in and it seems that when you don't have the stent, you don't feel 'strange'.....that's the panicky bit for me - oh and having the bad news of course :weep:
You don't have to apologise for any of this, I promise you - I realise you didn't ask to suffer from HA. Your fears are real... I understand. But I want you to know, you really do have nothing to fear from the tests themselves. It's obvious that the worries you have about your health are having a full on wrestling match with your anxieties about the tests and the hospitals. And even though I can't make that go away, I do want to tell you that you have nothing to fear from the tests or the doctors. They are there to help and take care of you. Even the overworked, surly, grumpy ones.
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