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I have had a 2" stent in my main artery for 2 weeks. I feel good, except when I walk fast. I have a pain in my sternum where the bottom ribs connect. I took a nitro but didn't help. I took tums to see if it was my hiatal hernia acting up or stomach acid. No change. If it ain't one thing, it's another. Any ideas?
Cancer Hernia Surgery Pain Heart attack Stent Bypass surgery Hiatal hernia
Could be chostochondrititis. I got that a lot after my bypass surgery.
Do you have this constantly or just when you walk?
Check your doctor to be sure. I would.
I wish I had a scientific answer that would put your mind at ease, but absent that, I can tell you that after every angioplasty and/or stent placement (and I have had at least 10 such procedures), I have had chest pain. It was always very scary because my stents had a tendency toward restenosis, which often landed me back in the cath lab via the ER. Each time I reported this after-pain to one of my cardiologists, they told me, "Gee, I've never heard of that happening before. You should not have any pain." Well, I did!
It seems that each time I had a procedure, beyond just the cath/angiography alone, I had chest pain for about 2 weeks, and it gradually disappeared. Sometimes it hurt so much that I went to the ER and was always kept for at least one night for observation. Finally, one of the docs said, "Well, what do you expect? They just blew up your chest! About 15% of cath patients experience pain after the angioplasty procedure, but it's usually nothing to worry about." At least this cardiologist gave me some solace that I wasn't nuts! In all cases, my pain did disappear on its own. For whatever reason, I rarely took nitro to lessen the pain, but I recall that it didn't help that much. Usually bedrest was the best antidote.
I'm not advocating to ignore your pain; this was merely my experience which, for all I know, is common for ladies in our position. I wish you luck with this, and I'm sure all of us in this community would be very interested in hearing about your progress in resolving the problem. Best of luck.
Hi plushbottom
I can only tell you of my experiences as well. I'm 17 months out from quadruple by pass and I always get chest pain when I rush or try to walk faster. It eventually goes away when I slow down and/or stop for a while.
Just my body's way of saying things are different now, take heed.
You are not alone in this.
Gloria
Thanks for the info. It only happens when I walk fast. My Doc called me right back and said not to worry. He reminded me that I also have spasms of the arteries. That might be what goes on. Your responses from the medical community sound just like what I have experienced in the last 25 years. My Docx I have now are great. I also make myself a pain in the ass. If we could get answers instead of pats on the head or at least an acknowledgement that they simply don't know, we wouldn't be so anxious about what we experience. The medical community has ignored the particulars about women's health, not because they are mean, but I think they have just been so unaware of female anything. The studies are beginning to come out now and that gives me hope. When I had cancer, my Psychologist told my husband and I that we lived in an illusion that the world is safe. It's really not. The world is a dangerous place and we really have little control over what happens to us: eg. 9-11; our economic situation now; and how we are going to die. Once I let that sink in, I knew all I needed to do was enjoy each day and control myself so that I could do everything I wanted. I would rather die of a heart attack than cancer if I should ever have a choice.
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