I've just been diagnosed with angina I'm a 48 year old male

Very true heather1957,

I fear the unknown like most people which makes matters worse. My trouble is i read to much on the internet about all these procedures and tests and there are some really scary stories out there so obviously this makes you doubt your faith in some tests. I will be seeing the cardiologist this wednesday so not long now and will write down any questions concerning me. I will do what ever he thinks best as he is the expert but i still do not want the chemical stress test. I cannot do the treadmill as i have mobility problems and use a wheelchair shame as i would have rather had that than be given a drug to make my heart think its exercising as for 8 years now i have been disabled and not exercised so im sure this test would make me feel ill. But i will speak to him about it and anyway they say its not that reliable.

I hope that you are feeling much better now after having your bypass.

Mandy my understanding is that if the stress test shows anomalies OR you cannot do the stress test the next best thing is the angiogram which is dye entered to the heart via a catheter which shows any blockages. 

Of course I may be wrong that is all I know.

How is your recovery going? After six weeks the worst is over.

Oh Derek I hope that is true!!

I see the surgeon tomorrow and hope he gives me the all clear but I still have 'issues'. 

I am looking forward to seeing the physio and getting started on the physical side of the recovery next month.

I would LOVE to believe the worse is over!!!

When I was in they had daily cancellations due to lack of theatre staff. One Guy was on the trolley about to go to the theatre when they told him that they had been unable to get an agency theatre sister. He was cancelled again the next day and sent home for a week.

I can't imagine the effect this would have on anyone.

You need to be fairly fit to cope with the rehab after surgery as your heart and body need exercise to recover. They have rehab classes that are geared to help all abilities. 

People who post their experiences are most often the ones with problems. Some recoveries are longer than others. I looked at the surgery on Youtube to know as much as possible about the operation. The only thing I did not pick up on was the 30% chance of getting Atrial Fibrillation. 

Three of us were admitted the same day and one was sent home in the morning due lack of staff. One man was admitted before I left and was just in his bed when the surgeon came to tell him that they wanted to rethink his surgery and sent him home.

OMG!! I was referred to the surgeon from my local cardiologist and I saw the surgeon in March. He told me he agreed with the findings of my cardiologist and that my only option was a bypass and I went on the list.

I was called into the hospital in May for a preadmission appointment and received the 'come in' phone call a week later. 

I have to admit once I had the pre admission it all seemed to happen quickly.

I was 2nd on the list but as I said the first patient (which I believe was a youngster) went over so I was cancelled which of course I understood as I wouldn't want a tired team.

I was surprised to be told I would have the op on Friday as I was initially told my surgeon only operated on Wednesday and Thursdays, he must have been doing overtime to fit me in.

The Cardio rehab was scaled down to suit those who had never walked or taken exercise and that was most of them. An hour of that and an hour of discussion... No! an hour of blame game for having got yourself in this situation. I always objected to that as my aortic stenosis was not a consequence of lifestyle and I had stopped smoking tweny years before.,

I waited 54 weeks from my first appointment. After seven months I went to see the surgeon privately as I wanted to know if I should get it done sooner or was able to wait. He said that it was a seven week wait for his private list and twelve for NHS. I decided to wait then his PA phoned to say that he could get his team in about two weeks later on December 26th.

I said that I would wait but it stretched out for another twenty weeks 

 

Derek that wait was crazy!! I started seeing my GP about June/July 2016 when I was told I had indigestion !!

Lots of mistakes (by them) on the way but my message will always be that you know your body better than anyone else and will probably know if you have angina or indigestion.

I don't want this to become negative ot political but things could have been done better for me and for you by the sounds of things.

I would say that better communication would be a good start and that wouldn't cost a lot (if anything)

A few of us were talking (family) earlier about when I first saw the cardiac nurse back last year before any tests and I asked her about my holiday to Australia and NZ to celebrate my 60th year. She told me it was months away and I'll be fine by then!!!!!!!!!!! NOT!!!

I felt like I was fighting and fighting to get me to the bypass, as I said I got the feeling there were some 'experts' who thought I was being dramatic as I looked well and didn't have classic symptoms - all that said a year later I am still here yippee and hopefully will be for a few extra years!!

Now for the BIG one! I had the angiogram on October 30th. He turned out to be an unsupervised assistant registrar going through the learning procedure. It took him 55 minutes to do (my earlier one had taken ten minutes) he kept on asking for other sizes of catheters and the nurse had to go searching for them. Eventually he came to an awkward turning and asked the nurse if she could do it. No way she said.

As he finished one of the senior registrars came in to look at the video. I asked how long to get my aortic valve replaced. That was when I learnt that they did not do the surgery and I would be going elsewhere for it. I asked when and was told that it would be done before Christmas. After a month I phoned the other hospital and was told that they had no referrals from there since  September. I phone hospital No 1 and was told that he was a bit behind with his paperwork. I said that if he faxed it through today the other hospital would try to get me seen quickly. They said that they would but when I checked again I found that the real reason was that he was in his homeland on a month’s holiday and my records were still in his in tray.

There were so many other problems that I wrote to the head of cardiology and had a meeting with him where he put his hands up to all of my complaints and said that changes were being made to procedures as a result.

 

WOW!! Who would believe it!! While I had a few issues like the referal going missing between my GP and the hospital and then I was asked to sort it out!!

Fortunately my angiogram was done by a cardiologist MY cardiologist but like you I was refered to another hospital as my local hospital does not carry out operations.

But as I said I am still here whether by luck or skill or both and hopefully have a few years left to enjoy yet!

Actually I started out at Imperial College  where I was trying to get on a new hypertension programme.The professor there found my aortic stenosis and said it would be better to get it done locally rather than do the 70 mile journeys to London.