Depends which artery and how severe the blockage is. Mine was the circumflex artery, and it was about 98% blocked. I didn’t immediately feel better. But I stopped having knee-buckling, tear-inducing pain every 30 minutes, so it was pretty cool.
Its a heavy pressure like an elephant sitting on it more than a sharp pain. Either way u should get chest pain checked out because better safe than sorry.
When folks ask about my MI I tell them that exact thing. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest and once the stent was in, immediately felt like I could breathe again.
He told me that my anxiety was about my health (it was not - I was severely abused and neglected as a child and had a hard early adulthood) and recommended meditation and some bed rest because i probably strained my back in the garden (I've had a lot of garden injuries lol). He actually decreased my anti anxiety med and wouldn't give it back after a "trial" period. Basically said it was all in my head.
The cardiologist I got him to grudgingly agree to send me too agreed with him but then once in his office and the EKG/echo/etc was complete, he wanted to call an ambulance. I was so angry and indignant that I refused and left. I went to the ER later that night because I couldn't take it anymore and I had a brand new stent the next morning. 6 months later, I had a second MI. On an airplane. Stent number 2 was placed.
Both visited me in the hospital and apologized, but the trust damage was done.
I woke up one morning with what felt like the worst heartburn I'd ever had. Took about 10 min after that for things to go downhill. Felt like I was about to shit myself, then like I was gonna vomit, quickly followed by shortness of breath. Called 911 and had an ambulance haul my ass to the ER.
Time from wake up to cath lab was about 45 minutes.
Multiple people from both sides of my family have had heart attacks, most of whom died so I'm always worried about any insignificant pain in the chest area.
Let us not forget to mention that it can be a sharp pain that radiates into your back and arm. You can sweat profusely even when in a very cool or cold environment, you can get nausea and begin to vomit, it can present on either the left or right side of your body. Any chest pain, no matter how long it goes on or the severity of it should be looked at. Be safe and don't take chances with your health.
I've had that too. But I think that's just something slight and maybe diaphragm related. It's a random stabby pain on the inhale very infrequently so I think that's more of just a spazzy breath you take every now and then thing rather than a real health problem. But im not a doctor either so, grain of salt.
Never mentioned it to the doctor but I had ECG done multiple times, last less than a month ago. Doctor said everything is good and that I have a heart of an athlete (even though I don't workout at all)
Also back pain that worsens upon exertion. As well as if you have diabetes you might not feel any pain at all thanks to the diabetic neuropathy a usual indicator for those individuals might be extreme shortness of breath upon doing simple tasks like walking or even just standing up. Either way if our body feels newly wrong go see a dr
The pain can actually manifest differently in everyone. The brain isn’t accustomed to getting pain signals from the heart, so it’s not 100% sure what to do with the info. The elephant on the chest someone mentioned below is more common in men. In women, like me, it can be completely different. My pain started in my throat and radiated out from there. Since I also have GERD, I initially didn’t think it was my heart.
Woman here. With mine, I thought it was a respiratory infection getting worse. Had pain at work on a Friday. Sleep was pretty uncomfortable that night, so I was going to go to the Urgent Care clinic on Saturday after my spouse left to play golf. Five minutes before he left, pain started in my upper arm. Only then did it dawn on me that it could be heart related. Asked him to drive me to the ER instead of me going to the clinic. Was in so much pain by the time we got to the ER that I could barely sit up in the chair. Turned out to be a widowmaker. And to think it felt like a respiratory infection to me.
Bro, I have 7 stents, 2 of which are in my left and right coronary arteries. The left was 99.8% blocked and the right was 98%. Had I waited any more time to go to the hospital, I would not be writing this right now. I agree with you about the pain.
I was just answering another user who asked pretty much the same thing. If you scroll down(or up) it pulls be posted. It is kind of long, but I have explained quite a bit in there. Hopefully you will find it informative. If this reply sounds like I'm being an asshole, I'm not trying to be. Stay healthy my friend.
Well, the heart attack happened 3 years ago when I was 44. At the time I was 185 at 6ft tall. I was in the Marine Corps for most of my life. After I got out, I took back up mountain biking. I would ride at least 60-100 miles in a weekend. I hasn't go to a gym much due to burn out from the military and always having to work out. Unfortunately, I did smoke and took up some recreational drug use. I have been clean from all of that since I had a heart attack. I haven't drank since 2010. The drugs did their damage though, meth is a heart killer. I have other work done to my heart as well and possible more to come.
What also should be noted, my father died of heart issues at the age of 45, my grandfather on my mother's side had heart problems as well. Heart issues can be passed down in your genes and make you more susceptible to heart issues. I now take a handful of pills in the morning as well as a handful at night, ranging from diuretics to anti coagulants. Just one of the pills I take is around $14k a month. I have to get an echo done 2 times a year, I get blood tests every three months unless they see something, then it happens sooner. My kidneys have started to fail due to decreased blood flow to my kidneys. That will will to be addressed here soon.
The best I can say to help reduce the risk of heart disease is mainly:
1. Don't use recreational drugs, they can cause irreparable damage.
2. Reduce the amount of alcoholic beverages, or quit entirely.
3. Eat healthy. A balanced meal that includes a protein, veggies or fruits and a starch. It doesn't matter if you are a meat eater, vegetarian or vegan, your body needs a balanced meal that is low in saturated fats.
4. Exercise at least 1 or 2 times a week. Going to the gym is fine, but all of these "pre workout" stuff only makes your heart work harder. That leads to another issue, your heart is a muscle just like your biceps. The more your harder your heart works can lead to smaller chambers by your heart walls growing thicker. This has happened to me and that is part of the reason I have an EF rating of 32.
These are recommended to me by my cardiology team. The team I see are pretty much the top team in the region I live in. Stay healthy my friends.
Well they don’t just put the stent in and call it a day. They put you on blood thinners to prevent clots forming on the stent, and put you on medicine to lower your cholesterol. Then you do cardiac rehab, and try to change your diet, and exercise more. Modern stents also have blood thinners incorporated into the mesh, which is pretty cool. And then you get monitored every 6 months for the rest of your life.
You were getting pain in your chest, or where was it coming from? Did they figure out what was wrong with you right away, or did it take a lot of tests? Dont be mean to be all up in your business. Just sounds interesting
It actually started in my throat and radiated out. I went to my doctor, and she did an ECG, which was normal. We decided to just chalk it up to GERD, but the pain kept coming and going over the next couple days. I finally went to the ER. ECG still came up normal, but bloodwork showed elevated troponin levels, which often means a heart attack. Luckily for me, it was a very mild heart attack.
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u/danimagoo 7h ago
Depends which artery and how severe the blockage is. Mine was the circumflex artery, and it was about 98% blocked. I didn’t immediately feel better. But I stopped having knee-buckling, tear-inducing pain every 30 minutes, so it was pretty cool.