Suffered a heart attack, need to know more

Hi
In January of this year I suffered a massive heart attack, I am 25 so as you can imagine it came as a massive shock. I have been relatively fit and healthy, although since my dad passed away almost 3 years ago my diet and fitness hasnt been the healthiest and I have been smoking since the age of 13.

Because I wasnt expecting my severe pain to be a heart attack, I rode it out for 2 days of constant back and neck pain before I phoned a doctor. Because of this I was later to learn that I couldnt have stents because of the delayed medical intervention.

I have had a CT scan and heart stress excercise around 8 weeks after being omitted from hospital but I wont be seeing my consultant for another few months (October) Is this normal? I have been kind of left in the dark, I`m feeling a little depressed about the whole situation and I dont know where I stand, if I have permanant heart damage and if this is going to effect me in the long term.

Should I see it as a positve that I`m not seeing my doctor untill October or is it more of a bad sign?

Any information and advice would be appreciated

Thanks
Dave

[ed34]

"Do they make up for the vessel that is blocked to keep that section of the heart alive?"

Exactly that. They basically already exist but are not open and the change in pressure in the coronary vessels can cause them to open up, feeding into starved areas.

"Do you think I should try and contact my consultant or wait untill my appointment"

In your shoes, I would wait. The exercise will do you good but if you feel any chest pains, slow down. It's normal after a heart attack to feel tired, years ago they used to make you stay in bed for 4 weeks and then gradually build yourself up. Now they throw you through an angio suite and say get on with life.
I think what you really need to organise at your next appointment is a nuclear scan. This is non-invasive and gives a picture of the heart tissue using oxygen at rest, and when stressed. This shows any areas which may need some work.

[ed34]

You seem to be missing out some details? unless nothing was done? You say you had heart problems and a massive heart attack, so what did they do in the hospital? You say you couldn't have stents due to delayed medical intervention? but to be honest I have never heard of this. My first heart attack was resulted in being given 600mg clopidogrel and then rushed straight into the Angio suite for stenting. You don't need medical therapy beforehand.
Basically the questions you are asking here are the questions you should have asked your cardiologist, but you can of course ask your GP who will have received letters from the cardiologist. Sometimes they do leave a space of a few months, to see if there is any collateral development over that period of time. I have just had 2 stents which they believe will result in collateral formation, and each day I feel a bit of improvement. My appointment is in 6 months time. IF you are believed to be urgent then it would be much much sooner.

[DaveEdge]

I missed out details because I assumed they would be obvious for people who have had a heart attack.

I was given a test as soon as i was in hospital where they placed a tube through my groin to have a proper look at my heart. You answered your own question though, you say you`ve never heard of not having stents but you was rushed straight into the angio suite for stenting, Im pretty certain that stenting needs to be done within the first few hours of having the heart attack, I stated that i didnt contact them for the first 2 days. I was told that there is a strong posibility that the area where the heart was affected is dead and scar tissue will form, but there is a chance of complete recovery in some cases, although I havent been told either is definite.

I was suffering from imflamation of the heart while i was in hospital and for the first 2 months after I felt very weak and tired, I am now decorating, gardening, lifting light weights etc.

I asked alot of questions with my doctor but like I`ve just said it was too early to determine the lasting effect of my heart attack and since leaving hospital and having my ct scan I havent heard anything from him apart from my appointment date so wondered if anybody has experienced this before, I assumed it would be much sooner if it was urgent, but I thought I would have got a letter or phone call explaining my scan results and whether or not my heart will be making a full recovery.

[DaveEdge]

BTW unless I misjudged your post, was you trying to be helpful or just trying to scrutinise my post?

[ed34]

" Im pretty certain that stenting needs to be done within the first few hours of having the heart attack"

Not at all. I was admitted on Friday morning and was stented on the Monday because  I felt too nauseous to lay down flat. Stenting has no limits with timing, unless of course it's to save your life.

"was you trying to be helpful or just trying to scrutinise my post? "

I apologise if it came across that way, I'm simply attempting to establish all the details. Of course I'm trying to be helpful, we all are in this forum :)

To distinguish between permanent and temporary heart muscle damage isn't always so obvious on scans and a delay of a few months is necessary to see the results after healing. If there is any permanent damage, it will be evident after that period of time. When I had my first heart attack, I was stented but my main left artery was 100% blocked, which they concluded would mean a lot of heart damage (permanent). After several months of waiting and I have to say, panic, I finally had an echo and nuclear perfusion scan. This revealed that there was no damage and I had formed collateral vessels. I know how worrying it is, it's a waiting game I will never forget.
Are you getting any symptoms now? such as chest pain? or throat discomfort? or lower jaw ache?

[DaveEdge]

I appologise for misinterpreting your post, thanks for spending the time in replying to me.

Could the reason why I didnt have a stent put in because the artery was 100% blocked hence why he was mentioning permanent damage?

Thats good news to hear, so I can hope that theres no lasting damage at least, what are collateral vessels? Do they make up for the vessel that is blocked to keep that section of the heart alive?

Do you think I should try and contact my consultant or wait untill my appointment, I know they have their hands full so maybe a letter for him to reply to me when hes free?

No symptoms apart from tiredness, although rather than chest pains I do get sharp pains around my heart area like "stitch"

My body doesnt feel weak anymore and I`ve just dismantled and erected a shed without any issues apart from feeling exhausted lol so thats positive

Nice to hear from somebody who`s been through it

[Sunbeam80]

I would make sure there are no congenital causes that may have caused the heart attack. Congenital defects can be missed.  Only a qualified adult congenital heart specialist is really the best type of physician to see.  A pediatric cardiologist may be able to identify a problem, but they do not look at it from a adult view point.  For an adult congenital heart defect specialist in your area check out www.achaheart.org and go to the resource section.

If you are concerned, I would call the cardiologist to see if they can move you up.  Every so often they may get a cancellation or work you in somewhere.  If you don't tell them you need an urgent appointment they will book you out a ways.

Good luck.  (I'm assuming you had an angiogram/arteriogram done)  I hope you can get to the bottom of the heart attack cause and be able to move on with your life.

[ed34]

"Do they make up for the vessel that is blocked to keep that section of the heart alive?"

Exactly that. They basically already exist but are not open and the change in pressure in the coronary vessels can cause them to open up, feeding into starved areas.

"Do you think I should try and contact my consultant or wait untill my appointment"

In your shoes, I would wait. The exercise will do you good but if you feel any chest pains, slow down. It's normal after a heart attack to feel tired, years ago they used to make you stay in bed for 4 weeks and then gradually build yourself up. Now they throw you through an angio suite and say get on with life.
I think what you really need to organise at your next appointment is a nuclear scan. This is non-invasive and gives a picture of the heart tissue using oxygen at rest, and when stressed. This shows any areas which may need some work.