Heart problems at 39?!
Discussion
Having had a whole world of issues over the past year (well documented in the “had a heart attack on Monday thread”) - get seen by the cardiologist - I’ve learnt over the last 12 months that there is a LOT that can go wrong with the heart and associated systems - most of which are very minor.
Cardiology will help you out - don’t Google stuff, don’t listen to us all on here, just do whatever tests you need to do and get fixed.
I’m 42 in a week - this time last year, I thought I was on my way out.
It’s not always doom and gloom.
Cardiology will help you out - don’t Google stuff, don’t listen to us all on here, just do whatever tests you need to do and get fixed.
I’m 42 in a week - this time last year, I thought I was on my way out.
It’s not always doom and gloom.
I have been fit and healthy all my life. Active lifestyle, 32 waist, 12 stone, non smoker and only occasional drink and have a fairly healthy diet.
At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
C70GT said:
I have been fit and healthy all my life. Active lifestyle, 32 waist, 12 stone, non smoker and only occasional drink and have a fairly healthy diet.
At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
I had a friend with Coeliac Disease. He was told from the onset that one thing he was at higher risk of was two different types of cardiovascular disease: ischemic heart disease (ie coronary artery disease) and AF (atrial fibrillation).At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
Coeliacs, he was told, had an increased risk of dying from heart disease, but by following a specific diet could lessen it.
We have a terrible history on the male side for cardiovascular problems and early deaths.
My great grandad died in his 30's.
My grandad died in his 40's.
My Dad beat all the records and has made it to 68 today BUT at 65 he started to suffer strokes (from AF even though on Apixaban medication to avoid clotting) and sadly in 2021 had a massive one. He is now heavily disabled and requires 24 hour specialist care. He started to have elevated BP in his 40's. The advancement in medication has kept dad going.
I am now 42 and on high levels or BP medication. I tried everything to avoid it and never wanted tablets.
Sadly it appears genetic for us.
It's pretty depressing. Yes it causes health anxiety and fear every single day, especially when i have a 2 year old daughter.
Finding the balance to relax and enjoy life is difficult.
My great grandad died in his 30's.
My grandad died in his 40's.
My Dad beat all the records and has made it to 68 today BUT at 65 he started to suffer strokes (from AF even though on Apixaban medication to avoid clotting) and sadly in 2021 had a massive one. He is now heavily disabled and requires 24 hour specialist care. He started to have elevated BP in his 40's. The advancement in medication has kept dad going.
I am now 42 and on high levels or BP medication. I tried everything to avoid it and never wanted tablets.
Sadly it appears genetic for us.
It's pretty depressing. Yes it causes health anxiety and fear every single day, especially when i have a 2 year old daughter.
Finding the balance to relax and enjoy life is difficult.
Edited by M3333 on Saturday 18th March 07:31
MrSmith901 said:
Thanks all.
I wasn't expecting a diagnosis by posting, but then I am not sure what I was expecting :-)
All I can do is wait for this appointment and hope for the best. Hopefully the fact that I feel normal/fine means I am not going to drop down dead in the immediate future and whatever is causing my heart to be "weaker than normal" is treatable in some way. And as some have suggested, if it has been caught early, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.
One of the things that annoyed me the most about this was receiving a generic text message from my doctors telling me my heart was weaker than normal, a phone call to discuss it would have been nice. I promptly called them the next day to talk it through but the GP didn't really help much other than to give me this 50% ejection fraction number. I then googled it and decided I was basically dead. I am good at worst case scenario.
My low ejection fraction was caused by a 'left bundle branch block' - these are the electrical filaments over the heart that receive signals to cause the heart to contract. I had an ICD fitted which effectively repairs/replaces that function.I wasn't expecting a diagnosis by posting, but then I am not sure what I was expecting :-)
All I can do is wait for this appointment and hope for the best. Hopefully the fact that I feel normal/fine means I am not going to drop down dead in the immediate future and whatever is causing my heart to be "weaker than normal" is treatable in some way. And as some have suggested, if it has been caught early, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.
One of the things that annoyed me the most about this was receiving a generic text message from my doctors telling me my heart was weaker than normal, a phone call to discuss it would have been nice. I promptly called them the next day to talk it through but the GP didn't really help much other than to give me this 50% ejection fraction number. I then googled it and decided I was basically dead. I am good at worst case scenario.
You need to see a cardiologist and I'd see no harm in asking about left bundle branch block.
NDA said:
MrSmith901 said:
Thanks all.
I wasn't expecting a diagnosis by posting, but then I am not sure what I was expecting :-)
All I can do is wait for this appointment and hope for the best. Hopefully the fact that I feel normal/fine means I am not going to drop down dead in the immediate future and whatever is causing my heart to be "weaker than normal" is treatable in some way. And as some have suggested, if it has been caught early, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.
One of the things that annoyed me the most about this was receiving a generic text message from my doctors telling me my heart was weaker than normal, a phone call to discuss it would have been nice. I promptly called them the next day to talk it through but the GP didn't really help much other than to give me this 50% ejection fraction number. I then googled it and decided I was basically dead. I am good at worst case scenario.
My low ejection fraction was caused by a 'left bundle branch block' - these are the electrical filaments over the heart that receive signals to cause the heart to contract. I had an ICD fitted which effectively repairs/replaces that function.I wasn't expecting a diagnosis by posting, but then I am not sure what I was expecting :-)
All I can do is wait for this appointment and hope for the best. Hopefully the fact that I feel normal/fine means I am not going to drop down dead in the immediate future and whatever is causing my heart to be "weaker than normal" is treatable in some way. And as some have suggested, if it has been caught early, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.
One of the things that annoyed me the most about this was receiving a generic text message from my doctors telling me my heart was weaker than normal, a phone call to discuss it would have been nice. I promptly called them the next day to talk it through but the GP didn't really help much other than to give me this 50% ejection fraction number. I then googled it and decided I was basically dead. I am good at worst case scenario.
You need to see a cardiologist and I'd see no harm in asking about left bundle branch block.
I’m 5 months in - feeling so much better than I did before.
dandarez said:
C70GT said:
I have been fit and healthy all my life. Active lifestyle, 32 waist, 12 stone, non smoker and only occasional drink and have a fairly healthy diet.
At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
I had a friend with Coeliac Disease. He was told from the onset that one thing he was at higher risk of was two different types of cardiovascular disease: ischemic heart disease (ie coronary artery disease) and AF (atrial fibrillation).At 60 years old, I felt unwell and 'out of sorts' which was unusual for me as I had not been to the doctor for years apart from a diagnosis for Coeliac Disease. Went and saw doctor, did the tests and referred me to the local hospital 'just for completeness'. Went to cardiology the same day - trotted in like a two year old - and had further tests. Result: your not going anywhere, we will operate tomorrow and look at fitting stents.
Stayed in overnight and next day had two stents fitted. Surgeon said: I have never seen a person looking so fit with a heart in such poor condition. I had seven various junior doctors/medical staff come to see me as they had never seen anything like it before - I felt like a freak show, even more than I do normally
Discharged from hospital with the instructions to come back in two months for a second op to fit stents on the other side, Apparently they cannot operate on both sides at the same time.
Back in for second op and had three more stents fitted. During this op the surgeon stopped and just looked at the screens for what seemed an enormous length of time, before continuing the procedure. Later he told me he was contemplating ending the op and referring me to Harefield for open surgery, but he hoped it would all be fine.
Went home and soon recovered and got back to some sense of normality. Four pills a day and now eight years later feel fine, no symptoms and back to doing what I have always done. I no longer think about it.
What struck me during visits to cardiology was the range of other patients there, from teenagers to elderly, fat, thin, men and women, in fact a real cross section of society.
As others have said: follow the advice of the professionals - you will be in good hands and there really is nothing to fear. I am the worst when it comes to medical things - go all weak knees just thinking about it, yet the whole experience was no worse than a visit to the dentist.
Coeliacs, he was told, had an increased risk of dying from heart disease, but by following a specific diet could lessen it.
Where was your Echocardiogram done? You’ve got to consider measurements made on moving images will have some variability depending on who measured it and what methods were used. EF is challenging and should be treated as a piece in the jigsaw - the same sequence of images measured by someone different, or even the same person at a different time would be unlikely to give exactly the same number. Some machines also have clever tech which highlights areas where the muscle function is less good than others. I’d try hard not to be too concerned if you feel well, other investigations have come back OK and there’s been a credible reason for your symptoms found. Hopefully the Cardiologist will be able to weigh up everything and provide reassurance.
OP
I went through this mid-30s (different cardiology investigation). To this day I recall the stress of waiting to see the consultant.
The only thing I would say is that you need to press them for a clear assessment and to consider all possible tests - including a cardiac MRI (which isn’t much fun but will give the best understanding). I started with one consultant but ended up with a specialist in the electrical behaviour of the heart.
Ultimately for me they spotted something early, giving me a chance to modify lifestyle (stopping exercise basically) and give me the best chance of a long life.
I guess my point is that you don’t know whether this will result in something to deal with or nothing to worry about. Until you see the consultant take it easy but don’t wind yourself up. You’re heading into the right part of the healthcare system (I can now read an ECG better than my GP). You’ll get to a clear understanding soon enough.
Take care!
I went through this mid-30s (different cardiology investigation). To this day I recall the stress of waiting to see the consultant.
The only thing I would say is that you need to press them for a clear assessment and to consider all possible tests - including a cardiac MRI (which isn’t much fun but will give the best understanding). I started with one consultant but ended up with a specialist in the electrical behaviour of the heart.
Ultimately for me they spotted something early, giving me a chance to modify lifestyle (stopping exercise basically) and give me the best chance of a long life.
I guess my point is that you don’t know whether this will result in something to deal with or nothing to worry about. Until you see the consultant take it easy but don’t wind yourself up. You’re heading into the right part of the healthcare system (I can now read an ECG better than my GP). You’ll get to a clear understanding soon enough.
Take care!
Thanks for the comments everyone. The last few weeks have been stressful but got the all clear from my consultant today.
I had to have a special MRI which was not fun but has proved there is actually nothing wrong with my heart. I managed to get fast tracked by going private as I am covered through work.
The blessing in disguise is that I have altered certain lifestyle habits since the initial scare, mainly less salt and sugar intake.
I had to have a special MRI which was not fun but has proved there is actually nothing wrong with my heart. I managed to get fast tracked by going private as I am covered through work.
The blessing in disguise is that I have altered certain lifestyle habits since the initial scare, mainly less salt and sugar intake.
Don1 said:
Glf to hear it. Yep, sugar isn't good. Horribly addictive though.
I haven't had any sugar (No sweets, chocolate, biscuits, cakes, fizzy drinks, ice cream etc.) for about 3 months. We went away this weekend, and as part of our package I ended up having two puddings and a small Easter egg.Not only did I manage to put on 1KG in 4 days, I have felt like absolute rubbish this whole week, no energy and really struggling to get out of bed in the mornings.
The weird thing is I didn't even enjoy eating them, I have not craved anything sweet for months and I have easily turned down everything I have been offered over the past few months.
I also cut out salt at the same time as I had a high blood pressure, high cholesterol scare at the end of last year. Bit annoyed with myself I ordered them as I really wasn't bothered in the first place.
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