It's 2 in the morning and I feel stupid, but knew you would understand. I started strength and core training on Friday at my cardiac rehab. And he told us to do it every other day. So, last night I did my second set of exercises. I woke up around 10:30 with a pain right above my heart, where the muscle connects the top of your breast. When I press on it, it hurts. And in my head I know I have most likely pulled that muscle. (He told us we could cause some aches and pains). So, I fell back to sleep. Woke up again and the mind starts. Is it my heart? What do I do? And on and on until I've made myself a wreck. Knowing full well this is most likely not heart related. I guess where I am going with this...is does anyone else get an ache or a pain and make themselves a wreck since their heart problems started??
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Feeling Stupid
- By Lynnedz56
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 6:02 am · 15 replies
- In Emotional and psychological issues
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this discussion:
Exercise Heart disease Heart failure Surgery Back pain Angina Pain Heart attack Congestive heart failure Stent Stress
15 replies
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- By Gilloz
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 7:42 am
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Bless you. It can be really scary can't it? I've recently started rehab too and have had some awful chest pains. I don't get bent out of shape because they feel quite different to me.
I get physical pain from the op (CABG) and/or the rehab, angina and pain from my Dresslers syndrome. Although they are all quite severe, they are all unmistakeable for what they are.
Over time, you will get more attuned to what each pain means, but if you are in any doubt, always get checked out.
Well done for getting stuck into the exercise :)
Gill
- By Queen_E
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 9:11 am
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Ha, I have been there with the late night worries! Except not from core training - you go girl!!
I have a male co-worker who is about 5 yr past his heart attack. I was telling him about those odd aches that worry me. He said "I just run up 4 flights of stairs, and if I don't die, it's not my heart".
My cardiologist likes this idea - if your heart is involved then exertion is going to make it feel worse. If it hurts the same amount, not your heart. (NOTE - general rule of thumb only!)
One useful thing I learned in cardiac rehab was that the most likely time to have symptoms of a heart attack are during warm up and cool down. That's why they were so picky about those phases.
I'm able to call or email my doctor, which gives me an outlet for my concern without a visit or a co-pay. Also ask when you go back to rehab, they should be interested in your concern.
- By Kennarina
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 11:17 am
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"...He said "I just run up 4 flights of stairs, and if I don't die, it's not my heart"....
Yikes. I've met triathletes who had their first cardiac event well into the race. Not dying at the top of just four flights of stairs is not a meaningful way to determine if this pain is heart-related.
Once you're a heart patient, all troubling chest pain (or back pain, or jaw pain, or arm pain, or neck pain, or stomach pain, or crushing fatigue, or clammy sweats, or vomiting, etc etc etc) should be considered heart-related until proven otherwise!
XOXOXO
http://www.myheartsisters.org
- By DebstarNY
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 1:46 pm
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So I go tothe gym on quite a regular basis & I have been to the Doctor on quite a regular basis too! I do chest exercise then think I am having a heart attack - Very similar to my symtoms - Since when I had my heart attack I felt pretty good. So it is par for the course. Try and ease into exercises less reps no weights. The other thing is Nitro is your friend. If I get a chest pain from working out and I take a nitro it still hurts. Keep it up - I am pretty fit and in the long run your heart is happier for the exercise... Love and happiness Debbie Ann
- By Asurvivor
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 3:16 pm
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Well that was the muscle that swelled up on me and hurt the night before I had my first HA. I figured it was a pulled muscle. I also figured the numbness in my right index finger was a pinched nerve. I also figured the bp machine in CVS was too high and broken and figured that the chest pain in the center of my chest the day before my attack was indigestion. I was convinced I was having a heart attack the month before when a doctor told me I had ST elevations, but it was "ok" when I knew as a former EKG Technologist, it wasn't OK! But our mind tells us "deny, deny, deny" it's not possible, I'm only in my 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's Too Young!!! Even the doctor said too young. Too healthy. Too strong. Too nice. Too thin. Too pretty. Too handsome. You get the point.
No matter what, have everything checked out!
Running up stairs and not dropping dead is not the way to tell. I've seen people in bed have heart attacks, have them after a big dinner (like Thanksgiving) and people taking naps often die during their sleep. At rest and during exertion, your heart works the same. If it's not getting enough blood or pumping efficiently, you die. If the pain wakes you during the night, it's serious. Don't delay, we only have that golden hour you know.
God bless
Nitro if used properly should stop heart pain, but if you're having a heart attack and you find yourself taking it more than twice in an hour, you better go to the hospital ER. They won't make fun of you. They understand post MI's and post CABG patients are nervous wrecks for at least the next 10 years. I'm 9.5 into recovery and I'm still afraid at certain pains.
- By Asurvivor
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 3:19 pm
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Oh wait, I just realized you are going to rehab and the nurse? told you to do exercises at home? Why? You should be doing them at the cardiac rehab lab with a registered cardiac nurse and attached to a heart monitor. Never do them alone in the house until you are well into the program. Even then you should buy a monitor that goes on your wrist to show any abnormalities.
Are you sure this is a real cardiac rehab or at a gym which has no way of saving your life if something happens? My gym had a cardiac rehab room, but it wasn't for me in the beginning. I was told not to go to a regular gym until 2 yrs had passed at LEAST. Even then there was no supervision. Cardiac rehab labs have different equipment than a gym.
- By scarlettsmommy
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 3:47 pm
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You're not the only one who gets pains and aches - and gets worried!! It happens to me less and less - but when it does, it sure is scary... and I practice what I preach... Called my doc, swung in for an exam and EKG (had one two week prior with an EKG) .
I was totally worried last week, I was stretching and had a 1 second - quick - strong - pain across the left side of my chest... Saw my cardio for an EKG and exam... better to clear you head than to stress and tax yourself...
Best wishes,
Judi
- By Lynnedz56
- Posted October 12, 2009 at 5:28 pm
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I am at 11 weeks on the cardiac rehab. It is tied in with one of the best hospitals in the country. They have offered 4 weeks of a personal trainer to work with us on strength training and core training. My cardiac exercises I do hooked up to the monitor at the center.
- By artiste
- Posted October 13, 2009 at 8:24 am
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Hi there. You are definitely not alone in this. I'm 8 months post CABG and MI. When I get pains, I run through the litany in my mind - is it surgical pain (sternum, ribs, numbness in my chest, etc.), muscular pain (poor upper body conditioning still), or cardiac (tightness, chest pain deep inside, back, jaw, etc.). I ignored the symptoms of angina and the MI itself because I didn't recognize them for what they were. Now when I'm not sure what is going on, I ask at cardiac rehab or call my doctor. No one thinks I'm stupid for doing this. My attitude now is that it would be really stupid NOT to call, after all we've been through and learned. That said, it's easy to make myself a wreck emotionally as I try to sort it all out.
I definitely get muscle aches and pains from the strength training exercises, sometimes in my chest but mostly in my back. It took a long time for me to recover from the surgery, so the upper body muscles really deteriorated. Lighter weights and more reps seem to be the solution.
- By plushbottom
- Posted October 20, 2009 at 1:36 am
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I read through this string just now and feel better about the pain in my sternum. It's just a new feeling that I don't quite understand, but it is relieving to know lots of others have weird pains as well. I am use to having angina pains when I walk up a hill. I was testing it today after my stent placement in the main artery. Not the usual pains in the usual places (yea!) but in the center of the sternum. I am in good shape and do pilates, so I shouldn't be having any extra pains. Go figure. I will see what happens tomorrow. Thanks to all who respond so openly. It helps!
- By sternum
- Posted October 21, 2009 at 12:52 am
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The only exercise i do is walking and if i do that too fast i get chest pains. Therefore I have to slow down and keep it to a long stroll. However, I understand quite well what you are talking about.
There is a very steep hill i have to climb to reach town, just under 2ks from home.
One day I decided to just walk up the hill and I had an angina attack at the top. I walked to the cafe, a small block away, and sat in the patio area for a few minutes.
Pain went and I continued on my way. That night I woke up with a major pain in my right leg and couldn't shake it. Since that is the one that swells so often, I was somewhat terrified. Alone in the house, 2:00 am and I have a very unfamiliar pain.
My heart is beating like a sledge hammer and I'm trying to return to calm. I checked out the BC Health book, called the nurses hot line and was told it could be either a pulled muscle or a blood clot. The end result was I called an ambulance and went to ER. Horror of horrors, I end up with the same Dr who misdiagnosed my heart attack as gall bladder attack and now she is telling me the pain is from a pulled muscle not a blood clot. Honestly, before my mind was in gear my mouth was moving and i looked her in the eye and said "You were wrong about my heart attack. What makes you sure you're right about this". She took it well and explained the difference, asked if I had been wearing high heels or had done leg stretches. Well my face turned scarlet and I remembered "the Hill". I pulled a muscle going up and down that hill.
Better to err on the side of caution. No one was annoyed with me for a false alarm and my heart rate went back to normal. Now I know that I am not alone and help is a short buzz on my life line away. That helps to keep the panic to a much lower level.
Be lest --- gloria ---
- By GraceAnnStewart
- Posted October 21, 2009 at 11:15 am
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You need to report it to your cardiac rehab nurses. I am also in rehab now and I go 3 days and they said do the exercises for 2 other days. I have been lazy with this. But there were 2 days where I just had pains where I strained myself. I have not had cardiac pain in rehab, just at home when yelling at my kids. So I know where my issues lie.
Make sure you tell them at rehab and take it easy. You could have pulled a muscle.
Many years back, my first husband and I had a big "tickle fight" and he tickled me so hard that I had to go to the hospial ER because the muscle around the ribs were actually bruised and it was hurting so bad to breathe. Taking a deep breath was almost impossible. So it could be something like this, where you just need a few days to heal.
Good luck.
Heart hugs and love,
GraceAnn
- By RickiT
- Posted October 21, 2009 at 5:08 pm
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Wow, look at all these replies. What I want you to know is that they started me on cardiac rehab too early. I know six weeks is the norm, but my mammary arterial revasculization was not healed enough. Of course, they told me to come in six weeks later and that's what I planned but the insurance company said, NO, No, No, you had your chance, started and now forget it.
Well, I did not take that so I started it anyway, but it was almost 4 months after my open heart before I was even able to drive in the car with a pillow -- so look at this through your own eyes. Are you being put through a one size fits all program that doesn't fit you?
- By Lynnedz56
- Posted October 21, 2009 at 9:20 pm
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I was more than ready. And where I go they are very good. My question dealt more with the fact that now that I have heart disease along with congestive heart failure, every pain I get, I think it's my heart. You don't want to overreact, yet you want to be careful. My experience with cardiac rehab where I go, is they fit the program for the patient.
- By NZGirl
- Posted October 21, 2009 at 11:12 pm
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Yes, Yes, Yes!
Even (nearly) three years later, when I get a pain in my upper back my heart rate immediately speeds up, I get a little short of breath and my mind starts to race with the "what ifs". (My heart attack pain started in my back). I always have to take a few minutes to assess the pain, and calm myself down. It hasn't yet been another problem with my heart, but the instant worrying still happens every time.
And I do feel silly, so I completely understand what you are saying. But I know that I can say to you (even though I haven't said it to myself.....!) that it's not silly or stupid. We have all been through huge and scary experiences, and that journey often started with that first pain - which did prove to be something to very much worry about. So I think if we didn't have that reaction now to another possible threat, we just wouldn't be human. You deserve a pat on the back for keeping it under control, no-one else except us heart ladies quite understands what effect our individual experiences have, and will continue to have on us. Sending you a big hug, Sharon XXX
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