New Heart Patient Here

[RichMGeezer]

Had a very small heart attack and then had to have a stent put in. I'm on Lipotor, Aspirin, Lisinopril, meta-something for heart rate. Some discomfort now, 1 week after the work but reading here it looks like it is to be expected. The meta drug apparently needs to be forever as well as the aspirin.
I'm 63, highish but controlled BP, no prior history or family history of heart disease. I guess I am wondering if my long-term prognosis is going to be OK. I used to smoke but less than 10 per day, generally less than 5 per day during the week. I'm taking the lozenge now. 30 mins a day on an exercise bike, 130 or so BPM.
This whole deal has me pretty upset as I'm tired a lot now from the meta stuff and generally am pretty unhappy to have had this crop  up now as I head for retirement. I was going to try and go to 66, now I hope to get laid-off, little severance package and try to have some decent years in retirement. This all ***** pretty much.

[gregTivar]

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greg

[Jerry_NJ]

I took Lipator for years and when my insurance plan changed the rules I went to a generic Simvastatin - go tthe same result with a USA total of 150 or less, and with a high (in fact a little too high) HDL (the good guys).  

I was on a statin, when I was still running for exercise and holding a HR in the 150 range for 30 minutes.  The statin had no effect on that.  Beta Blocker?  Some effect but I still got up to 150 when running a slow 10 minute miles.  The BB did give me a 60ish resting HR, sometimes below 60.  

Beta blockers do cause some fatigue but I used to run whe o them, most of my fatigue these days comes from my age, and atrial fibrillation.

On the smoking, I smoked from my high school days up to the age of 45, when I quit. Now 74, I believe the stopping smoking and regular exercise, including running is why I am still alive, and 'kicking" at least a little...I get around okay, just no running or even walking up long hills.

[RichMGeezer]

And a big "thank you". Yes, I had the heart attack on 2/3/2014 so pretty recent. I've cut down on the bike, 30 easy mins and don't track heart rate anymore. I won't see the cardio guy until next month. I'm getting used to the drugs and other than feeling a little dragged out. You've given me a much more clear explanation of what I've been put on and convinced me to just sit tight for a few months. I'm also diabetic, well controlled with an A1C of 7 and dropping. Blood pressure is doing pretty OK now too. So, cholesterol has been a mystery to me since I've never been told I was high and used to get checked at least 2 times a year. I was given a liver screen last year so maybe they were seeing something. What it boils down to is I better just listen to the doctors.

[ed34]

Hi. Not quite sure when exactly you had your heart attack, but it sounds like you a little over eager here. I get where you are coming from about the meds, but I would just like to run you through a couple of things to think about. Firstly your heart. A heart attack, even mild, will have stunned a lot of cells and they need to repair themselves. This can take a while because they are working all the time. In order to help this process, you have been put onto metaprolol (beta blocker) so restrict how hard the heart can work. This is a very important part of recovery as I'm sure you can imagine. Certainly getting a heart to 150 bpm before recovery is not going to help matters, it may cause the rest of the heart to adapt (enlarge etc). I would suggest gently exercise for 3 months, by which time the heart should have fully recovered from the ordeal. Taking it that you have no other restrictions in your arteries, you can ask your Doctor to take you off the beta blockers. Now the statins. No matter what you do with your diet, you can only affect your cholesterol by 15-20%. This is because every time you sleep, your Liver makes fat and sends it into your blood and we have no control over this other than statins. We have a different measuring scale for cholesterol in the UK, we use mmol/L which is more accurate. The average in the UK is around 5. Mine was 9.7 even though I didn't eat any fats. Statins dropped this to 4. Anything 4 or lower means you have a much better prognosis. Another issue with statins is how they act as an anti-inflammatory drug to arteries. Inflammation is the beginning of atherosclerosis and statins help a lot to prevent it. I've been on Lipitor since 2007 with no problems. I stopped them last year due to bereavement and then had a heart attack as a result. Believe me, they work. Statins have no effect of how much energy you have, but beta blockers certainly do. I know this all gets frustrating, but I urge you to be careful in your decisions and trust in the Doctors.

[RichMGeezer]

The other drug is Metoprolol, 25 MG two times a day. The Lipitor is the stuff giving me problems. I still work and have insurance. They have a service to talk about health situations. I'm going to talk to them about the Lipitor and how to get off it at some point. Today, a week and a few days after the stent went in, I am feeling a little better. Valium is helping me get some quality time asleep. I've quit all smoking and expect I'll be able to stay quit. I did get back up on my exercise bike but due to the Metoprolol (I think) I can't get a decent heart rate going. I used to get to 135~150 but now am clocking out around 90 or so. Not too concerned about this. In all honesty, I don't trust Lipitor and don't have warm fuzzies about my cardio folks either. The blood thinners, aspirin and Plavix, OK, even the Lisinopril that I've been taking for a few years is OK, but research relative to Lipitor and its cousins doesn't make me feel real confident. I can't do fish oil because of the thinners but I am going into deep pursuit of a better way to control the cholesterol.

[Jerry_NJ]

Longevity is related to many health and life-style factors.  Hope you quit smoking long ago, and in any case remain a non-smoker and avoid second-hand air contaminants too, all types not just cigarettes.

As far as you heart issued described there must be some statistics the doctor can quote and he/she knows your other factors as well.  From 2 cents worth I'd try to get the beta blocker side-effects better controlled... you may adjust to them over time.  I assume beta blocker, don't know the med you mention.  BB also lower blood pressure which I read you benefit from.  

I take both beta and calcium channel blockers to lower my atrial fibrillation driven heart rate. They work well for me and the combination lowers the dose level of the BB which also reduces fatigue side effects. On that issue, I am 74 and as said have permanent AFib, so how much of my fatigue comes from what is not clear to me.  I was a runner up to age 67, so I may have pretty good oxygen delivery in spite of the AFib.  My EF is 60% or better - oh, you didn't ask about that.

When younger I was told many thing that I fully understood well too late. One is "enjoy and do it now" before you are too old.  I now have a lot more time and even some spare $$ but not so much energy.