To tell a friend I think she may have had a heart attack, even though the doctors don’t

[Sophie2525]

So my friend recently has been having some chest pain, she described it as a very intense feeling in her chest, then she felt dizzy and short of breath. She then had a week of on & off chest pain.

she went to her GP who carried out an ECG, which came back normal.

My concern is my colleague had the exact symptoms and it was a heart attack, I called an ambulance even though she didn’t want me to, they carried out an ECG which showed normal but took her to a&e where she had a blood test and showed she had had a heart attack.

So ECGs are not always accurate, and the bloods are.
she didn’t have a blood test.
Her mum also passed away from a heart attack.

She seems fine now, but I’m terrified for her, as I feel like those symptoms were a heart attack. People think a heart attack is something you would know about but it isn’t always.

I am not medically trained, the doctor has assessed her, do I just not say anything?

@Pinkfluffypencilcase so sorry you had a bad experience as well. It’s so frustrating. Hopefully you are on the mend now?

Mum is doing okay thanks. She gets tired easily and a bit breathless at times and is still absolutely livid with that GP!

Is she still having symptoms @Sophie2525 ?

My friend pushed me to go

@Pinkfluffypencilcase no she said the last few days she’s fine.
She is very stressed at the moment and I know that can have a huge impact.
I don’t want to worry her, but how could a GP not be alarmed with her symptoms of intense chest pain, dizziness and shortness of breath, when her mother died also from a heart attack!

Troponin levels take a few weeks to normalise after a cardiac event so would still be worth having the blood test, even to just rule it out.

@Sophie2525 totally agree. Think because I was younger than expected and not fitting the profile the doc didn’t believe me.

@Sophie2525 an ecg does show if a myocardial infarction has happened. it is down to the doc to interpret the reading. the MI can also be confirmed by a blood sample

Just talk to her. Ask how she is, whether they are looking into the cause, whether she is concerned.

Mention you were so worried you looked it up and it looks like she should have had a blood test because ECG isn't conclusive.

You're concerned about her, I doubt she'd be upset by that. But accept her decision if she doesn't want to follow up.

It's not clear how old she is. It is not necessarily a heart attack. Might be an arrhythmia or pulmonary embolus or unstable angina. May even be critical aortic stenosis. Who knows without a history/exam and preliminary tests. ECG and blood tests may not necessarily show anything.

Depending on symptoms/examination findings, GP should consider referring to her local hospitals ambulatory care unit same day for bloods, d-dimer PE test and ECG. Potential referral to rapid access chest pain clinic depending on symptoms where they would consider more detailed tests eg. Echo, 24hr ECG or exercise stress testing, depending on what they think the cause is.

Of course, shortness of breath symptoms and chest pain are common with severe stress too and this may have been felt to be the cause by the GP.

Don’t terrify her when she’s stressed after a severe panic attack.

All the symptoms you list are usually anxiety.

You're not a medic and nor is Google.

Difficult. I had NSTEMI in July and finished up with coronary artery stent. ECG was OK at that point, although I do get AF. Troponin level on blood test was only mildly raised.
But an angiogram showed that my right coronary artery was at one point blocked to 94%. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Luckily the registrar admitted me and I waited there several days for the angiogram and stent. If they had sent me home on the basis of the ecg and bloods I might not be here now.

My father had a "heart attack" allegedly. He had no symptoms. I asked his consultant how they knew. It was from blood tests.

They’re also the symptoms of a heart attack.

Not the same really but my mum had a heart attack in her early 50’s and her pain was like bad indigestion. Some years later she met a friend and her husband out shopping. The husband wasn’t looking well and said he had “terrible indigestion”. It was on the tip of my mum’s tongue to mention her experience and suggest he went to the local health centre, not far from where they were at the time, but she knew her friend was a real drama queen, knew she would blow everything out of proportion and make her feel daft so she kept quiet. He died of a massive heart attack that evening. For the rest of her days my mum felt guilty for not saying something at the time.

ECG won’t show changes unless it’s an active cardiac event and sometimes not even then, depending on how the rhythms are affected. A blood test for troponin (protein released into the bloodstream by the heart muscle when under duress) will reveal a cardiac event and is detectable for some time afterwards.

I’d have thought, with the familial history and the symptoms described, that a period of observation and protein T test should have been carried out.

If your gut suggests the doctors are wrong (though you’re not the patent nor related so it’s difficult) then pushing for further reassurance rather than blind faith in them is advisable.

I hope they also ruled out a pulmonary embolism. Dd was fobbed off at a&e twice with chest pain and breathlessness as ecg was normal each time. It was only on the third visit someone did a dimer and her lungs were riddled with clots.

It could also be angina symptoms, which need treating (and also would lead to regular cardiac monitoring as the narrowing will generally lead to problems). Something it sounds like, with lifestyle and familial history, she needs.

The last thing your friend needs is your ahem, 'advice'.

Sounds like acid. Get her to ask for lansoprazole they have said it isnt cardiac we have just had xmas

This 💯. An ECG will only be beneficial if you’re having a heart attack while the trace is being carried out.

Did it take you a long time to become that vile, or does it come naturally? You achieved nothing by posting, except to display your ignorance and intolerance.
The OP is actually correct on some points, as are some other posters.

So you know better than a trained medical professional, OP? Stay out of this, it is nothing to do with you.
If your friend is concerned, then I'm sure she can follow up. If she's not, then all good.
Either way, please allow your friend her privacy.

As you’ve said, you’re not medically trained so have no grounds to inform her of anything other than what the hospital/doctors have already told her.

YANBU. We should not always assume that 100% of medical professionals are competent.

If that were the case then NHS Resolution would have nothing to do, instead of paying out billions in compensation every year.

So you've gone from 'not medically trained' in your OP, to dripping this into your second post?

I am not a doctor by any means, however I work in a&e and am trained for signs of heart attack strokes etc.

😳

Op‘s friend went to gp. They’ve said it’s not a cardiac issue. But are they doing further tests. To figure out what is going on. That should be happening surely?