constant chest pain after stent placements

[tony969]

I am 47 year old male, very athletic but unfortunately 4 months ago I had a heart attack/my left ventricle artery was 100% occluded/ and 2 regular metal stents were placed in my left artery. It was a big shock for everybody, especially for me, since my cholesterol was 170 at that time and even during my heart attack my blood pressure was 124/80. Plus genetically nobody has had or died of heart attack among my relatives. I do not eat fried or fast food so my diet was generally ok. My pain never stopped after that- I was experiencing constant chest pressure and shortness of breath but my doctor here did not pay any attention. He was saying that “etiology of my pain is not known but it shouldn’t be anything cardiac since my stress test was ok”.Last month I ended up in the emergency room with re-stenosis /one of the stents was clogged 99% and another stent was placed on the top of those two. This time was Xience 5- drug eluted stent that went on the top of the other two. The doctor started paying a little attention and even apologize that he did not listen to me.Since then/it’s been only a month/ I continue to experience the same problems. Every day I have pain- it doesn’t matter if I exercise or just sit in my office. The pain may start in the middle of the chest but moves to right or left, goes to back/upper part only/ and my shoulders/. Right above my breast bones hurt sometimes more and it is very tender to touch. Before I had my heart attack, I have never experienced anything like that- everything started after the stents were placed. Any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated- I can not function normally. I hope the stem cell science will advance much faster than we anticipate and will bring a new avenue and hope to people like us.

[ed34]

apart from nitro, I don't know what they can do with microvascular disease. I recently read a report here in the UK that research in Europe has just revealed huge benefits from taking COq10. After 5 years, survival rates in the group taking COq10 against placebo was 50% up. They discovered it seems to improve the heart in many ways. Perhaps it would be worth looking into this a bit more. I think there are different types of COq10 and I'm not sure which is the one that has the benefits for the heart.

[tony969]

Hello everybody. It has been a long time and chest pain is still here. 4 angiograms did not reveal anything. Now the doctor thinks it is a microvascular angina/syndrome X/. Please, give me all possible ideas for treatment from prospective and expirience- need to see what my options are. Thank you in advance

[50goingon25]

I had a similar scare last year at age 49 with BP that shot up within a year. They sent me in for chest x-rays, EKG and everything was ok but they put me on .1 mg Clonidine for BP. Scared as heck I started on a plant based diet 10 months ago and haven't looked back. In 2 months I was off the Clonidine and Lisinopril with a baseline BP of 115/65. On your case I think this diet would be perfect as it will reverse the blockages and eliminate the need for stents and/or bypass surgery. Most importantly it will reduce your cholesterol to less than 150 which is where heart attacks cease to exist. I'd recommend reading "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by Caldwell Esselstyn. It has literally changed my life for the better.

[KindredSpirit1221]

Hello Tony,

Hope by now you are doing better.  A thanks goes out to j2iron. In addition to the "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" book, I watched Esselstyn's DVD, "Forks Over Knives and listened to Campbell's "China Study."  I'm convinced, we can control our cholesterol levels.  But, I'm not convinced its the only player in cardiac artery occlusions?.  I'm beginning to think that in some cases  it may be more related to the worst types of LDL i.e. LP(a).

The Caldwell Esselstyn "Forks Over Knives" program is extremely effective in lowering cholesterol. After following this regime coupled with Linus Pauling's suggestion of Vitamin C (I use the calcium ascorbate form and L-lysine/L-proline) my LP(a), decreased from 167 to 22, and I saw a large 74 point drop in my cholesterol in 3 months.  

Tony, you may want to take a look at your LP(a).  This was a major player for me as it's a very bad type of LDL cholesterol. My cardiologist at the hospital did not even test for it.  I had an excellent Internal Medicine doc that mentioned it and I requested I be tested for it.  Docs sometimes don't like to check for it as some are under the impression nothing can be done to improve it but niacin has been shown to be effective. For me the Forks Knives and/or Linus Paul programs seemed to help.  I'm also on niacin. If the placebo effect is active player here, I don't care.  As long as the LP(a) and other bad cholesterol went down, that's what I want. If mind over matter is what did it... so be it.

I'm not completely without sleep associated angina attacks, by this I mean they never happen when I'm awake or exercising, but the incidence has decreased dramatically to only several times a month. I've decreased my stress levels, and I'm also following Dr. Sinatra's suggestions using CQ10, L-Carnitine, and D-Ribose.  

For religious and philosophical/creed related reasons, I take no medications. On the negative side, I do slip off the Forks Over Knives program more frequently then I should.  My biggest negative is cooking with olive oil and eating chicken, but these behaviors have negative consequences in my cholesterol levels. I also allow myself to eat Salmon once a week which is a Forks Over Knives no, no...

I never had a heart attack and attribute this to taking effective supplements the best of which I think for me include: Tumeric, Vitamin C,  garlic, wheat germ on cereal, and Hawthorn Berry among others.

I've not had a relapse or needed to go to the hospital and it's 2. 5 years.  However, I believe my life has and will continue to be negatively impacted severely by the implantation of a stent that was extended too wide for my artery.

I continue to be very distrusting of a medical industry that is driven by a  one side fits all mentality and pharmaceutical industrial complex that can and does pay its way out of its greed driven actions.

[j2iron]

Hello Tony: I have been reading about your ordeal and I can imagine how frustrated you must be.  Have you read the book by Caldwell Esselstyn entitled "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease?"  Esselstyn is a cardioolgist at the Cleveland Clinic and advocates a plant diet to get rid of angina and stop and/or reverse heart disease.  I mention this because he states that fats and oils that are in the normal american diet can irritate and inflame the endothelium and cause just what you seem to be experiencing.  The diet is brutal but the claimed results are interesting.  If you are interested, follow-up your reading with "The China Study" by Campbell,  the documentation is superb and the conclusions irrefutable.  And the best part, you can take control of your heart problems.  Good luck...j2iron

[getthestentsout]

Just came across this thread - and I'm right here with you Tony and Kindred Spirit.  I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of mild MI and placement of 3 stents last May.  Since then, I've changed many of my behavior patterns (for the better) but I've never felt worse.  I had a severe arhythmia in Feb, palpitations all the time, wake up at night with a jolt and can feel my heart pumping hard, & irregularly.  The doctors say, 'hmm, don't know what that is' and push another med at me.  So now I've stopped the miserable plavix, no more statins, tried but quit the beta blockers too.  Hate it all, it didn't help my symptoms, I feel better off them.  But, I'm in constant fear of restenosis, or thrombosis so I do take xanex for the anxiety.  These palps are not the anxiety - they are far too dramatic.  And Kindred, I'd be interested in whatever class action suit you find or start.  I also did not give INFORMED consent.  I wasn't told about the need for plavix, I wasn't told about the possibility of bypass - the option was pushed on me like a fast car sales, while I was coming off the anesthisia from the cath, laying flat and extremely shaken it all.  (oh, and this was all 5 days after the MI cause I'd gone home from the hospital ama, was feeling absolutely fine but was called all the days later b/c my follow bloodwork showed small troponin and trace enzymes)  The guy who got a hold of me got a nice fat fee but never once called to find out if I'm still alive or dead.  So I continue to search for a doctor.  And a lawyer.