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Angina and Travelling

Posted , 3 users are following.

RubyRed21
RubyRed21

Does anyone else find travelling brings on angina attacks, mine seem to come on all over the place at the moment, when they're usually at rest and during night time. I was travelling by car (luckily as a passenger) when I came over very dizzy disorientated, with chest discomfort, squeezing, pain. Oh my goodness if I'd been driving!! I mentioned this to my GP and he said if it happens when driving to pull over and stop driving when I feel it coming on, well there wouldn't have been enough time I would have lost control, it came on so quickly. I haven't driven since.

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • samuels
    samuels RubyRed21

    Posted

    Hi,

    ​Mine does come on whilst driving but I don't believe driving brings it on, perhaps maybe if I have the heater on a high setting as it's winter down here well yes I'd believe that would bring it on, same goes with the air conditioner in our hot summer days if I have that on high as well it will bring it on, see extreme heat or cold weather can trigger Angina.

    ​9 times out of 10 my Prinzmetal Angina comes on at rest at anytime of the day but it's usually during the researched times of the day ...I.E 8pm -8am, but as I said can and does occur outside of them hours, because it's winter here I've had an awfull time with my Angina, I've taken steps to try and reduce the incidence but I'd near have to wrap myself up in cotton wool ,As the old saying goes . I'm trying to lead as much of a "normal " lifestyle as possible, as there are times I have to go outside in the cold to get the firewood for the fire, when visitors leave, you know things like that. But in saying all this I am actually frightened to drive by myself ( Agoraphobia) Since having my first mild heart attack I have been really hesitant driving by myself, according to our Cardiac Rehab this is a normal responce after a heart event but can be overcome, Well I'm still waiting...lol... although since my first mild heart attack I have had 2 more in the following years and it just slides me back into that Agoraphobic state....very frustrating....

  • priscilla04738
    priscilla04738 RubyRed21

    Posted

    Hello,

    I have MVA and yes going in the car or even if I drive still brings it on.  My attacks don't seem to be as bad as they used to be, but still have to have GTN most days.

    I think it is just the vibration that sets it off.

    • samuels
      samuels priscilla04738

      Posted

      I have MVD and Prinzmetal Angina, my cardiologist said it's all the same (they put it in the same basket), just that the MVD is the small blood vessels in the heart that is naked to the eye and can't even be seen by an angiogram.

      ​MVA is that something to do with arythmia ? If it is perhaps you are onto something there about the vibration setting it off... I don't have to use GTN daily much anymore, besides that I have developed an immunity to GTN and it no longer does anything, If I go off it for awhile then back onto it it returns back to what it's suppose to do and relieve the angina.

    • RubyRed21
      RubyRed21 priscilla04738

      Posted

      Hi Pricilla..thank you

      Yes I have microvascular disease, it's in my distal arteries. My angina attacks vary, sometimes I have a break then they come along seemingly clustered together. I also sometimes think because I have other health issues maybe they can be a trigger. As with a lot of things healthwise they can be unpredictable or come with no warning.

      It was a thought I had too re the vibration.

    • RubyRed21
      RubyRed21 samuels

      Posted

      Hi Samuels, thank you

      My local consultants tend to shove everything under one umbrella re terminology, which really it should be addressed correctly according to the actual diagnosis. I mean there's Prinzmetal's Angina and Variant Angina which I believe are the same thing, so why give it two separate names, seems daft to me. Then stable/unstable Angina, ok there's differences there to what brings it on. It's not much help to us who are the patients!!

    • samuels
      samuels RubyRed21

      Posted

      Hi RubyRed,

      How true smile although in a roundabout way I can see where the consultants are coming from, after all coronary artery and small blood vessels with in the heart spasms would be the same, they give off the same pain and are both equally debillatating, I think researchers like to keep everyone on their toes by renaming something that's the same just to confuse us and get the consultants to read their findings....lol....

    • samuels
      samuels

      Posted

      when I was diagnosed my coronary arteries were in pristine condition on both occassions , first angiogram was when I was around 32  then another 5-6 years later because the chest pains were becoming worse, then in 2012 I had a mild heart attack , was taken down to the Cath Lab and they found a 50-60% occlussion in my RCA... so our arteries can go from pristine to diseased just like that, amazing how the body and disease works...both ways in healing or quickly developing a rare condition.
    • RubyRed21
      RubyRed21 samuels

      Posted

      How right you are Samuels, although I wish my body would find some energy reserves (I could cope better) from somewhere as I am so tired much of the time confused. Over recent years I seem to get a new diagnosis of something every year.....and then more medication every time. I try to be as stress free as possible, but it's human nature to worry and stress no one has a smooth journey in life. I try and get on with it as best I can, like we all do, we have to. Best Wishes.
  • priscilla04738
    priscilla04738 RubyRed21

    Posted

    Hello,

    Sorry i meant MVD, microvascular disease, but I now have a Branch Vein Retinal Occlusion, BVRO, which basically is a stroke behind the eye, a clot has burst one of the veins and is bleeding.  I have to have Avastin injections every 4 weeks into the eye to try and stop any new blood vessels growing.  As a result of this, I have a blurry patch in one eye, but the injections do help.  This could carry on for 6 mths to 2 years.  But I do wonder why I have had a clot there, when the angiogram showed clear arteries 2 years ago!  I have had a nuclear stress scan, which I presume showed Ischaemia, but said I didn't need any follow up, so must have been satisfactory, this was before the eye problem happened. BVRO can be all part of heart disease and BP problems, but with 'clean' arteries, I didn't think it should have happened.

    • RubyRed21
      RubyRed21 priscilla04738

      Posted

      I had a heart scan at the Papworth which showed MVD, I also had angiogram last year which showed no narrowing, apparently the small veins do not show on angiogram so they don't get a whole picture of what's going on apart from the main arteries. I have terrible trouble with eyesight/eye pain and stroke symptoms from hemiplegic migraine.

      When there's a lot going on healthwise it's difficult to pinpoint what's causing what, the medication (I'm taking a lot atm) has so many side effects I think it can be dangerous at times alongside being life saving, you know treating one condition and creating another at the same time.

      I am glad the injections are helping you, and hope they resolve what you are going through. I believe there's got to be narrowing somewhere to cause all these problems or something's not functioning properly, blood circulation etc.

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