Constant Chest Pain after Bipass

[Tom-B]

  I had a quadruple bipass in 1993 followed by several heart attacks. I have had constant pain since this surgery in my chest.  I had a heart attack in May and was admitted to the hospital and medicines were changed.  I again had a heart attack in September.  My grafts had closed from the previous bipass.  I was flown as an emergency patient to Cleveland as the doctors here did not want to operate on me.  After the surgery I felt really good.  Better than I did after the first surgery.  About 1 month after my return home I began to experience the same pain that I had after the first surgery.  The pain is located in the area over in the left side of my chest.  The pain is burning in nature.  On a scale of 1 - 10 the pain is a constant six.  The pain is in my shoulders and in my neck and into my back and goes more so into my right arm than my left arm.  The doctor here continues to tell me that this is healing pain.  I have taken up to 3 nitro and it does nothing for the pain.  I have been hospitalized 2 times since my surgery in September.  I have had a catheritization in the October hospitalization and had a Thalium Stress test in the November hospitalization.  During the stress test in november they saw a change in the pictures from October but do not know if it is scar tissue or previous damage and nothing can be done.  The doctor has put me on pain killer and it does nothing to stop this pain.  I am currently on the following medications:  Cardezem 240 mg daily, Nicacin 250 mg bid, ecotrin 30 mg bid, motrin 800 mg tid (this has now been discontinued), vasotec 7.5 mg bid, tenormin 25 mg bid, prvachol 40 mg at bedtime and buspar 10 mg bid. I continue to have this pain.  Do you think that I should come back to the Clinic for a follow up.  My blood pressure was also very high this evening, it was 160/94 in my left arm and 180/105 in my right arm when my wife took it.  I also have a very hard pounding of my heart.  It is so loud that my wife can feel it when sitting near me at times.  I am at a loss as to what to do.  
Dear Tom
Without knowing the details of the most recent catheterization and stress test, I cannot say whether the pain is from your heart or not. Certainly, the blood pressures you listed are too high for someone with heart disease. You ought to call the number below and make an appointment to see the cardiologist that took care of you at the Clinic during your surgery.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.  Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.