Chest tightness even after stents

I had a HA and stent placement 4 months ago. I was getting some tightness off and on but lately it far more on than not. My heart also seems to pound quite heavily in my chest. All tests come back normal and my BP is okay but it's very unnerving.

We hear you, my husband had a stent placed in, end of November’22, and had some chest pressure since than here and there what we thought isn’t normal. Everything else is fine. It finally stopped 2 weeks ago, we were glad because it made us really nervous and unsure. We went back to the cardiologist a few times, they got impatient with us because everything was looking good.
We tried to explain why we were unsure, he had the same symptoms before the stunt and one of his main arteria was blocked %85.

I am 61 year old male. 2 stents in LAD in March 2023 and 1 stent in circumflex in August. Before the stents, I was always very active hiking, biking, mountain biking 4-5 times a week. Ater the 1st stents, I went through cardio rehab w/o issues and was feeling good, like I did before the stents. I started hiking again, then after some longer hikes I started to feel energy level drop. This continued into August where it was hard to even go to the store which led to another angio and the 3rd stent. Again cardio rehab for 1 1/2 months w/o issue until after 1 session (not during) in early November I became very winded. This happened 6 days in a row after activity and led to trip back to the hospital for an angio to check the stents. No issues - heart was strong and stents working perfectly. Since then I battled daily bouts of lightheadedness and fatigue when I was up and around, and stopped doing anything remotely strenuous like even taking walks. I never experienced any chest discomfort or tightness until after that day in early November. It was infrequent, short duration at first but gradually increased to where I get some chest tightness, even up into the throat, almost daily now during or after activity and can last an hour or so. This is a bit concerning. I have been back to the ER once and was discharged with no heart realted issue seen. My cardiologist office says they have done all the tests they can, all ok, and seem a little put off with my calls saying it is not a heart issue. I need to get on with it and work with my PCP. I did see a pulmonologist - got a CTA of chest and was clean. I have started to take short walks again recently and I seem ok as long as I move slow. I feel like I am back at square 1 again. I keep hoping the chest tightness will go away someday - but maybe this is how it is going to be. Hard to not think it is something serious. I am in process of making appointment with a different cardiologist for a second opinion.

Since my husband got his stent, he is low on energy as well. He got his stent a year ago. After getting his stent he had chest tightness as well, same than before the surgery. We were very worried, had ER visits, appointments with our cardiologist, we had the feeling, they ignored us and didn’t take us serious.
The tightness disappeared after a few months.
We changed the cardiologist and now Tests are running to check if everything is fine to get rid of some medication.
I am not sure, we will see, but I can imagine, that maybe the medication has the side effects that causes this energy deficit?
Good luck for you and don’t give up, get other opinions.
Have a blessed New Year.

I agree with rainerhans on this. Sometimes you cannot be a passive patient, but an active advocate for yourself.

I remember thinking my cardiac issues were stress. When I went to see the physicians, they said they found nothing in the diagnostics which included radiology. But I knew something was happening. The only symptoms was the difficulty breathing and tightness in my chest. Had stress test a year earlier and passed with flying colors. They added a medication and was told to come back in a month. Six weeks later, they found a 99%+ blockage in the circumflex.

My point is your body is telling you something. Looking back, there was too much reliance on measurable test results in my case. I was my own worst enemy because I could tough it out. If my heart was not as strong as it is, I would have been in a cath lab weeks earlier.

I think a second opinion is in order. A fresh pair of eyes and ears may add a new perspective.

I hate to broach this subject, but keep an open mind about the psychosocial (stress) side of this as well. You have been through a lot. These are traumatic events. Regardless of the second opinion, be open to talking about your feelings as well. It's healthy and in my opinion, too many patients are not informed about the psychosocial needs after a cardiac event.

Best of luck to you. I am anxious to find out what happens if you ever wish to update us.

I had stemi surgery a little over a year ago. Starting to feel ongoing chest pressure and at times pain of various levels..EF is 44

I’m considering exosomes therapy has anyone done that? Plus, some advise continue using jardiance and some Entresto

My husband had a stemi with stents placed in 2011 at age 48. He has had no chest pain or cardiac symptoms to speak of, until finishing cancer treatment in June, shortly after which he developed heart failure with his EF dropping from 41% to 22% over the course of 3 months. He was put on lasix, then Entresto on which he feels much better in terms of fatigue and his leg swelling has decreased considerably along with his BP being under better control. Jardiance was added then but he developed hives after the first dose so that was stopped. Farxiga is another option, but our insurance is putting up a fight on this.

I've not heard of exosomes before so I can't speak to that, but the entresto has made a big difference in how he feels overall. Have you spoken to your cardiologist about your symptoms? I would definitely do that. To survive a stemi is remarkable in itself. Maybe a repeat angiogram is in order to be better able to see if there are other blockages before your symptoms worsen.

All the best

I too felt that way after a stent. After my first month I had an anaphylactic reaction to Clopidrogel (plavix). Leading up to the reactions I kept saying I think I am reacting. Low energy, weak legs, cold, no appetite, high anxiety. Everyone kept saying go see a psychologist. They kept saying that drug doesn’t do that. The kicker was I did keep having the odd good day so I believed them and kept taking it. I ended up being admitted to hospital and as I was in another city I had new eyes looking at me. The cardiologist and allergist there both said it is the Clopidrogel. Changed me to Birlinta and I am now back to my old self. When I told my cardiologist what happened he said “facts are facts, in my 30 years I have never seen that happen”.

Jardiance is the trade name of empagliflozin my doctor prescribed it for type two diabetes it worked okay for one and half years but in the recent past it started to give me some serious side effects like an increase in urinary output so much so that it caused dehydration and hypertension then suddenly my urinary output would decrease and the urine was smelly ever since it was stopped things have gotten better as for your feeling of tightness in the chest did your doctor prescribe angised or panadol panadol extend works for me but my advice is to consult your cardiologist