Heart Disease: Let’s Talk About the Emotional Side

Stacy- I 100% understand. My heart attack has been 18 months ago and i am still miserable.

Hi, I have recently gone thro several heart tests.. I have had several small ischemic sfrokes, also been diagnosed with celebrity vascular small vessel disease and last year suffered a cardiac event, I have feeling of dread, depression, anxiety , when I start back g dizziness and bradycardi, tachycardia I feel it could be it.I'm only 63 but have a family history of strokes and heart attacks. I own my own home etc. And am adding my son to it for reassurance if will be ok for him. Make it easier if it were to happen it's constantly in my mind.

My journey was so long & drawn out. I was 60, working full time & overtime as a home care RN when I had this weird ache in my chest & SOB for a couple weeks I was going straight to bed right after supper. I put it off as Mt hectic schedule, but when the ache didn't go away I went to see my Dr. EKG showed LBBB further testing showed dilated cardiomyopathy and that I was in stage 3 heart failure. I was taken off work & will most likely not return. It has been 2.5 years & I have bouts of depression when I think of all the stuff I don't do anymore. But I am grateful that I found Mayo HF clinic & the eventual placement of a CRT.

This is a difficult diagnosis to accept. Your life is compromised and concentrating on what you can do is a challenge.

I just discovered this Mayo site a few days ago and sent some comments. Per unusual timing I was wondering today if any of these discussions cover the "emotional side" of these heath challenges and procedures. For example, someone referred others to an article describing a procedure in depth written by Mass General Brigham I believe. It was a very detailed step by step article on the procedure from start to finish. I noted how often the article referenced the patient families in the process. In all the related cardio experiences I have faced (appox 2 years) have been absent having a family. To your point: the diagnosis and procedures can result in many emotions. I have yet to see any article or the like over time that address those situations when absent a family that required the added stress in finding a companion. Trying to find those qualified and reliable (key words) resources adds another dimension beyond description. My first experience with this was actually cancer surgery. I had to change hospitals and cities to find that qualified support. The more recent cardio procedures I've faced required a companion every time. Twice I had to delay a major procedure until I was able to find a qualified companion resource and I've become pretty good at it after the first set back I faced with the cancer surgery. Simply stated, it's another layer of emotional stress/trauma.

My doctors require someone to accompany me after a procedure requiring anesthesia. So inconvenient. I have a friend iny city whose doctor wanted her to have a ride home, so she got an Uber --no problem. The NY Times recently had an article about this annoying requirement. Med professionals are primarily CYA.

Here's at least one reader of your comments that can relate ... especially the indefinite response part. Applies to too many aspects of health care these days, it seems.

Interesting to see so many comments about the dizziness and food. I thought it was just me. I have been experiencing the same thing but it's only in the AM when I add the meds to that that are taken with food and it can be extremely concerning. I've tried different foods and ruled our carbs because it happens with eggs. I find the best thing I can eat to avoid this is turkey sandwiches (every deli section of the local grocery stores know me well) or tuna salad. I guess these things are meant for the "go figure" files.

Hi @joaf37, It looks like you are a new member, I'd like to WELCOME you to Mayo Connect! You have probably already noticed that in addition to being a warm, safe and welcoming community, there is a lot of information shared by patients and caretakers. If you take some time to explore you will learn from others and be able to share with others too. I live with HCM--Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and had open heart surgery at Mayo Rochester a few years ago. I don't have any of the rhythm issues I used to have thankfully, but I still have some issues because HCM doesn't go away.
I see that you have posted in the Atrial Fib group and the Heart and Blood health group. It took me some time to learn how to navigate around here because I am low-tech, but hopefully you will find it much easier. I read on one of your posts that you are a Mayo patient. How did you find out about Connect? What was it that lured you to this fine on-line site and gave you the confidence to post finally?

Thanks for this thoughtful message. I am new to the Mayo Connect system and am still not sure how to use it . I've been stumbling along trying to figure it out. But to your point, I have already gained positively from reading the experiences of others whose comments I have read. That's been my driving force to share comments myself. I don't use social media systems at all so not a wizard at this concept by any means. You asked how I heard about the system. I have been a patient of the Mayo Clinic for eons with different intensity over time. I am a current patient but also a patient at Vanderbilt for other issues. While Vanderbilt is distant it's far closer than Rochester per where I live. As a current patient, I've been receiving quite a few communications from Mayo from different perspectives. I also contribute to them per all the value they have provided to me over time and their patient care policies beyond their medical capabilities. Basically one of the emails I received was about this system so I tried it. Again, thanks for your comments!