Heart Attack

[jayho]

about ten days ago I had a sudden, first time symptom of a band tightening across my chest. Called 111, they advised an ambulance and called one for me. Two hours later call and say no ambulances available, can I make my own way in, which was fine, it was friday or saturday evening. I don't have a car so they sent a taxi.

Triaged at hospital and fairly rapid bloods and electrocardiogram taken. then sat in waiting room for about three hours.

at about 3am lead physician came to the waiting room and said they had no bays for treatment, no beds to move paatients on to and ambulences backed up, if anyone could go home, please, would they.

I decided (and spoke to nurse) that if there was anything significant ffrom my electrocardiogram they would have prioritised me - no bloods results. I said I would leave and catch up with my GP once test results were shared.

Heard nothing from GP but not particularly anxious

Today, pain in diaphragm (have reflux,treated) pain in rh side ribs to front, lh ribs to back, neck and head, also feeling of doom (but that really can just be me), short of breath for really no reason, just like I suddenly cant catch it.

I am not particularly health anxious but I think I'm getting hung up on the differences between how women/men present

opinions welcomed

oh - I'm nearly 60, vape, smoked for ages, extremely stressed owing to kids and jobs, drink too much and am fat

Call 111 and tell them what you've just told us.

Gallstones ?

Please go to hospital. Hopefully, it will turn out to be nothing serious, but the symptoms you are describing could be heart-related, and your smoking history is a major risk factor.

And wait for blood results this time. I realise you were trying to help out by leaving last time, but it wasn't a good idea. ECGs only identify some types of heart attack, and can often be normal with other types (non-STEMI).

Unfortunately at the moment, 111 will take hours. Please don't wait. Heart attacks in women are often diagnosed late because women are less likely to have the classic symptom of central, crushing chest pain. The shortness of breath, chest pain and feeling of doom that you are getting all potentially indicate a heart attack, especially in a woman.

I am an A&E doctor and urgent care GP. No one can diagnose you for certain over the internet. There are lots of non-serious possible explanations for your symptoms, including reflux, so I don't want to panic you. But please don't take a chance on it. Heart attacks are very treatable but you need to catch them early.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow that's good to know - thank you.

I’m not a doctor so follow @MissLucyEyelesbarrow ‘S advice and get yourself over to A&e if you don’t want to dial 999. (Am slightly horrified by 2 hour wait for ambulance that should have been Cat 2). Take a book and a phone charger and wait for your bloods to come back this time.

Thanks @MissLucyEyelesbarrow I think I might be having a 'silent' heart attack. I can't go to A&E tonight, I live in a 'party' town and will end up waiting for hours

Waiting for hours is better than being dead 🥴

You need to go to A&E now.

my adult daughter is coming over to watch two school age kids, point taken

So, reiterating that no one over the internet can diagnose you for sure, and there are many non-serious possibilities but...

..a heart attack is part of your heart muscle dying. Permanently. Once it has happened, it can never be undone. Part of your heart will never function properly. You may get heart failure, or irregular rhythms. In the worse case scenario, you may die. Tonight.

But, if you go to hospital now, they can give you drugs or a stent (a tube to open up the blood supply to the heart), that can prevent permanent damage, and potentially save your life.

So stop pissing around on MN, and go to hospital. A few hours' wait is nothing, compared to permanent disability, and the risk of immediate death.

as before, point taken, just waiting for daughter to arrive then will get taxi to a&e

i can only give you my experience

I had a heart attack a few years ago. With hindsight, problems started a few days before the full blown attack.

Mid week, I was mowing the lawn and kept getting pains high in my chest, didn’t think anything off it, assumed it was heartburn, it went away when I rested.

At the weekend the ‘heartburn’ returned and didn’t go away. Other symptoms I had were the typical numbness in the left arm, vomiting, sweating, dizziness. Fortunately I was with someone who was savvy enough to call an ambulance.

Whenever I have any type of pain that could be taken as indigestion related I worry. I assess where the pain is, if it’s low (basically below chest/boob area I don’t worry so much) but if it’s higher up I’m on high alert.

if you are concerned at any point get to a hospital by any means. If the worst happens you are already in the right place.

am I wrong to think that if I've been triaged by 111 and gone in under their advice , that I will be considered more of a priority the walk ups?

jayho · Today 00:26
am I wrong to think that if I've been triaged by 111 and gone in under their advice , that I will be considered more of a priority the walk ups?

No, it doesn’t work that way. They triage at the hospital and decide who is a priority. That should not stop you from going and getting checked out though.

I rejoined mumsnet just so I could answer. Great & correct advice from MissLucy.
I’m glad you’re going to A&E. Take charger, book etc… be prepared to wait, knowing that if the worst was to happen you’ll be in the very best place.
I am a nurse,& ex midwife, for over 40 years. Tell them exactly what you’ve said here. Sending hugs & virtual hand hold.

thanks

aww @sapphiremoonlight love you x

Yes, you are wrong, I'm afraid. We don't give a toss about what 111 think. Their call handlers are not clinicians and, even if they were, it's very difficult to diagnose someone over the phone.

It doesn't matter how you get to A&E. Contrary to popular opinion, we don't give a toss if you have come in an ambulance either. Everyone is assessed and triaged (prioritised) according to the same criteria, whether they arrive by 999 ambulance or by unicycle/donkey cart/trapeze. Just go to hospital and stop prevaricating. I know I sound bossy but, honestly, I have seen so many women who put off seeking medical help, and who have suffered lifelong avoidable disability as a result.

Probably, by tomorrow, you'll be safely home, thinking, "Why was that bossy old bint on MN making such a fuss?". I hope so. I am 100% not saying that you are definitely having a heart attack. I am just saying, you might be, so don't take a chance.

thanks @MissLucyEyelesbarrow will update

I don’t know what the answer is regarding triage priority but all I can say is, I’m so glad you’re going back to A&E.
I’m a non-smoking, non-drinking, cycling, walking, hiking show-off. 😁 I’m not boasting actually, promise. But I’m laying a necessary foundation for my story.
At 47, I went into my GP for a well woman check and was told my BP was great, risk factors for heart attacks and stroke incredibly low, cholesterol was enviably low- like a wild animal’s, they said. I’d never need statins, was the last thing they said.
A week later, I was on statins and 8 other medications. I became a cardiac patient now living with heart failure, but living nonetheless!

I had a widow maker heart attack which started while out walking my dog. I went into cardiac arrest in A&E and was given CPR. I woke up to a doctor sitting on my chest with a defibrillator. My heart completely stopped and yet, I’m still here and alive to tell you, ALWAYS stay until they see you at A&E. If you arrest, you’re in the right place to get a second chance at living (and much needed answers).
Get seen. Wait it out, OP. Get your answers. You’ve got one heart and one life. Get the best care you can. Insist on it. 💐💐💐

Thank you so much @TheVanguardSix I will keep you posted going off line noe x

Yes agree again will MissLucy. Please just go to A&E.
Triage doesn’t work like that, we don’t care who arrives first or how they got there. It’s constantly changing. That’s why people who go with very minor complaints complain they’ve waited hours & hours. Believe me, if you need medical help you’ll get it quickly- but only if you’re sat in A&E. The nurses & doctors on duty decide who will be seen more quickly & it’s changing all the time.

Hope you're making you're way into hospital OP. Im a nurse in the cath labs (where we treat heart attacks) and it's so much better if we see you as early as possible xx