# think I have angina



## Riverman (25 Aug 2010)

I'm off to the doctor... 'again' and I'm going to get some more tests done. Today I met my friend in the St Mary's part of Southampton and decided to direct him in his car to my house whilst on my bike. I hit 35mph on the flat going to my house on a mountain bike with slicks. woo mee..... I know as that's what his car speedo said. By the time I got to my house my chest was VERY tight and I felt very sick and I had to lie down for 10 mins.

I have had this before without cycling but a lot worse. My doctor fobbed it off as nothing but I'm going in for some tests. Can you get fitness tests on the NHS? Will let you know how I get on. I'm 29.

What other tests should I get? 

Many thanks.


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## HonestMan1910 (25 Aug 2010)

Riverman said:


> I'm off to the doctor... 'again' and I'm going to get some more tests done. Today I met my friend in the St Mary's part of Southampton and decided to direct him in his car to my house whilst on my bike. I hit 35mph on the flat going to my house on a mountain bike with slicks. woo mee..... I know as that's what his car speedo said. By the time I got to my house my chest was VERY tight and I felt very sick and I had to lie down for 10 mins.
> 
> I have had this before without cycling but a lot worse. My doctor fobbed it off as nothing but I'm going in for some tests. Can you get fitness tests on the NHS? Will let you know how I get on. I'm 29.
> 
> ...



At 29 unless you're grossly overweight or have a horrendous diet, angina is unlikely, the peak ages for male angina to show are from 45 onwards.

Did the pain stick to the left side and also show in either your arm or jaw ?

Do you have a family history of coronary disease ?

Do you suffer from high blood pressure ?

I was diagnosed with angina in October last year, had angiogram in December, angioplasty in January and was back on the bike within 5 days.

I have a history of coronary artery disease in my close family.
At 47 I feel better this year than last year.


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## Riverman (25 Aug 2010)

I'm overweight sure. Just over a year ago I was 15 stone. I hit 12 stone 8 pounds in January but am back up to almost 14 stone dammit! and am 5 foot 8. I just think there is something very wrong with me. I have had a terrible sleeping pattern over the least 7 years. Often staying up over 30 hours. And there have been times when I've stayed up over 70 hours. When I say often I mean that weekly i'd say up over 30 hours, more than a few times a week. It really messes you up over time. 

Perhaps grandstanding this is where I hit 35mph. On a mountain bike with front suspension forks and slicks. 
http://maps.google.c...174.03,,0,15.32


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## HonestMan1910 (25 Aug 2010)

Riverman, go see the doc and they will do blood pressure tests and maybe take bloods to test for cholesterol levels and the likes.

Put your mind at peace and try to relax.


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## Fab Foodie (25 Aug 2010)

Worth checking out riverman.
about 8 years ago I had a couple of similar episodes, big exertion followed by the symptoms you describe. I've subsequently had Angioplasty. It could be an early warning. In any case, you sound like you need 'sorting-out'


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## HonestMan1910 (25 Aug 2010)

Fab Foodie said:


> Worth checking out riverman.
> about 8 years ago I had a couple of similar episodes, big exertion followed by the symptoms you describe. I've subsequently had Angioplasty. It could be an early warning. In any case, you sound like you need 'sorting-out'




Brand new feeling after having angioplasty, i don't even think about it anymore, although taking all the tablets daily is a pain in the rear end


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## pubrunner (25 Aug 2010)

Riverman said:


> I'm off to the doctor... 'again' and I'm going to get some more tests done. Today I met my friend in the St Mary's part of Southampton and decided to direct him in his car to my house whilst on my bike. I hit 35mph on the flat going to my house on a mountain bike with slicks. woo mee..... I know as that's what his car speedo said. By the time I got to my house my chest was VERY tight and I felt very sick and I had to lie down for 10 mins.
> 
> I have had this before without cycling but a lot worse. My doctor fobbed it off as nothing but I'm going in for some tests. Can you get fitness tests on the NHS? Will let you know how I get on. I'm 29.
> 
> ...



Certainly get you yourself checked out - that is your priority.

In the past 20 years, I've twice had costochondritis. It is a condition which *worsens* with exercise and does make the chest feel *very* tight indeed. When it occurred, I was certain that I was having a heart attack. But a trip to the doctor soon allayed those fears.

See http://www.netdoctor...ochondritis.htm 

And from another site:

'The most frequently affected age group is *young adults between 20 and 40* years old. Costochondritis can also been found as an overuse injury in *athletes*, in particular this condition has been identified in competitive rowers. '

Visit the doctor asap.


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## Fab Foodie (25 Aug 2010)

HonestMan1910 said:


> Brand new feeling after having angioplasty, i don't even think about it anymore, although taking all the tablets daily is a pain in the rear end


Absolutely.


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## Crankarm (25 Aug 2010)

Like what everyone else has said.

If you are 5'8" and weigh 14 stone then you could do with losing 3 stone. No two ways about it you are overweight for your height. Eating healthily and properly is key as is exercising. Do you do much exercise each day? Doing so will help you sleep as well.


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## Riverman (26 Aug 2010)

Crankarm said:


> Like what everyone else has said.
> 
> If you are 5'8" and weigh 14 stone then you could do with losing 3 stone. No two ways about it you are overweight for your height. Eating healthily and properly is key as is exercising. Do you do much exercise each day? Doing so will help you sleep as well.



Hi Crankarm,

Yeah I cycle at least a couple of miles each day as I use cycle commute and also have cycling as a hobby. I eat pretty heathily, the past year or so has probably been the most heathily I've ever eaten in my life. I used to have a terrible diet until I took up cycling. 

I agree that I am overweight and must confront this fact as soon as possible. I was 15 stone back in about April last year, managed to get myself down to 12 stone 8 in January this year but have ballooned back up to 14 stone. It was my own fault as I drank 25 bottles of wine in just over two months and the weight piled on.It'll teach me not to buy several crates of the stuff again. This might have something to do with the symptoms I'm experiencing but I'm not so sure. Alcohol misuse can definitely be a trigger for heart disease, just not sure if that's necessarily so in such a short time frame.


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## Bill Gates (26 Aug 2010)

If you're really concerned it's angina then take 75 Mg aspirin a day, at least until you get it checked out.


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## Mad Doug Biker (1 Sep 2010)

I am reading this with interest as I occassionally have aches and pains in the left of my chest, normally round the top and into the shoulder.
I used to do rowing where it first developed, but since I have stopped and not rowed for quite a while, it is still there, and comes on for no real reason (I'll be lying in bed and it'll suddenly start for example).

Presumably it's probably a musclular thing, but surely after all this time (well over a year since I rowed) it would have gone away or died down?? also, I can get sudden, deep, sharp pains in that area of my chest.

The thing is, I have a serious health condition and attend the hospital regularly, so I have mentioned it several times before, have had my heart listened too (and scanned a few years back as part of something else entirely), and have shown to continually have normal, if slightly low blood pressure, so I do deeply think it's something muscular, but what?? something like the Deltoids??

I'm 28, 5"10 and 9 stone, so it isn't anything to do with being over weight!

Any ideas??


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## The Jogger (2 Sep 2010)

Mad Doug Biker said:


> I am reading this with interest as I occassionally have aches and pains in the left of my chest, normally round the top and into the shoulder.
> I used to do rowing where it first developed, but since I have stopped and not rowed for quite a while, it is still there, and comes on for no real reason (I'll be lying in bed and it'll suddenly start for example).
> 
> Presumably it's probably a musclular thing, but surely after all this time (well over a year since I rowed) it would have gone away or died down?? also, I can get sudden, deep, sharp pains in that area of my chest.
> ...



Why don't you go to your doctor and asked to be referred for heart tests?


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## steve52 (2 Sep 2010)

if the worst comes to the worst, can i have ya bike?


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## summerdays (2 Sep 2010)

pubrunner said:


> Certainly get you yourself checked out - that is your priority.
> 
> In the past 20 years, I've twice had costochondritis. It is a condition which *worsens* with exercise and does make the chest feel *very* tight indeed. When it occurred, I was certain that I was having a heart attack. But a trip to the doctor soon allayed those fears.
> 
> ...



I too am a sufferer of Costocondritis - complete with the swelling at the sternum version. That was an interesting link - I hadn't realised that it could be mistaken for heart problems as well.


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## mangaman (2 Sep 2010)

Riverman - speaking as a medical man, it doesn't sound anything serious.

It's impossible to know, of course, unless you get it checked.

I know Soton General very well. They have one of the best cardiac units around.

I would go to your GP and say you get pain on exertion and you are worried you have angina.

Sadly, GPs have a tendancy to try to fob you off at times.

My answer (if it's someone I know - and I appreciate we don't know each other) is to say "I spoke to a consultant friend who suggested I ought to be referred to the Rapid Access Chest pain clinic".

This makes it almost impossible for the GP to refuse.

I'm not condoning conning the system / lying. If you fear you have angina, you have every right to a proper checkover.

It will be over in a week or so and probably entail a run on a treadmill.

If all's well you can relax in the knowledge you have a healthy heart.

Linkage below.

BTW - wear clothes you can run in, as you will probably get a fair way on the treadmill. It just gets steeper and faster every few minutes. The further you go without chest pain / ECG changes the better the result.

http://www.suht.nhs....painclinic.aspx


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## The Jogger (4 Sep 2010)

I had a treadmill test at st richards about two years ago and the doctor guy said it would be a while before they see anybody reach the level on the treadmill I got to.


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## stavros (12 Sep 2010)

What I'd like to know is how anyone could do 35mph on the flat on a MTB - slick tyres or not!. If you had any coronary artery strictures you certainly couldn't do that.


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## TheDoctor (12 Sep 2010)

stavros said:


> What I'd like to know is how anyone could do 35mph on the flat on a MTB - slick tyres or not!. If you had any coronary artery strictures you certainly couldn't do that.




Well, probably not twice, anyway...


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## kevin_cambs_uk (12 Sep 2010)

If I did 35 on the flat on an MTB, I think I would have to sit down, probably for a week !
30mph on my road bike with a tail wind was hard enough, and I cycle 8,000 miles a year !


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## Crankarm (12 Sep 2010)

35*kmh*?

 .


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## Riverman (13 Sep 2010)

stavros said:


> What I'd like to know is how anyone could do 35mph on the flat on a MTB - slick tyres or not!. If you had any coronary artery strictures you certainly couldn't do that.




Aye I was wondering whether he'd exagerated it slightly but he did tell me he driving right behind me at that speed on that bit of road. I'm thinking perhaps he may have been accelerating slightly at the time and overlooked this. However if that's the case I must have been going around 30mph.

Anyway that was probably the hardest I've ever had to work on a bike.

It's interesting though what occured before that. I'd just sprinted up a hill and stopped and got stuck in traffic which had allowed me to rest a bit but kinda supercharged my legs so the next thing I did was work about as hard as I was up the hill but on the straight because I was in a hurry. This was compounded further by the fact I was stuck in the middle lane of a three lane road before a junction with loads of cars behind me. 

I'm not particularly fit though, I cycle a lot sure, I'm not that great a cyclist or athlete and hope it doesn't come across like I'm pretending to be. I could just put it down to extreme exertion but it's more the fact that it's happened to me before recently but without the exercise that worries me.


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## Lien Sdrawde (14 Sep 2010)

mangaman said:


> Riverman - speaking as a medical man, it doesn't sound anything serious.
> 
> It's impossible to know, of course, unless you get it checked.
> 
> ...





mangaman said:


> [url]http://www.suht.nhs....painclinic.aspx[/url]




*Good advice above*... use it if you can.

Bad advice below... (from latest research and no knowledge of previous medical history) ... but given with good intent i'm sure.




Bill Gates said:


> If you're really concerned it's angina then take 75 Mg aspirin a day, at least until you get it checked out.



My Mrs deals with concerns like this in her day job - you wanna ring for advice, send a message.


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