Coronary Heart Disease - Diagnosis

[kingrollo]

Not the best start to 2024 - I had a CT scan on my Heart in December - this was because I started getting palpitations after being advised to take ramirpril - I thought he switch me to a different drug - but he didn't he ordered a CT Scan of my heart.

Anyway got a letter confirming presence of coronary heart disease - with the proviso that it is non obstructive. and a calcuim score of 26.5 au

Most worryingly he has recommended the following drugs

Asprin 75mg
Atorvastation 80mg (Statin)
Bisoprolol 2.5mg. (Beta blocker)

Just wondered if anyone has experience of these drugs and there impact on cycling

I am 60 years old - asthmatic

Any advice welcome.

 

[fossyant]

Many of us are on statins, just 20mg of Atoravastatin here. Absolutely no side effects. If you get side effects, there are others to take.

Asprin is also good for thinning blood.

The Bisoprolo may affect cycling - i.e. may take the 'top end' off - there are others on here who can advise.

 

[vickster]

I was prescribed low dose 1.25mg bisoprolol for a month while I was having AF episodes back in Feb (and as pill in a pocket at the end of the course but I’ve not needed it). It made me very tired and dropped my HR by about 10 (from mid 50s to mid 40s). May also have dropped my BP. I was post knee op so not cycling but I am sure the tiredness would have had an impact. You’ll just have to see how you react to the med for a month I’d think.
Statins can cause muscle pain so see how that goes and ask to be switched to another if affected to any degree.
Those drugs are all there to lower your risk of stroke/MI.
Not sure why the asthma would be relevant?

 

[BoldonLad]

I am on Aspirin 75mg and Atorvastatin 10mg.

I am on a different Beta Blocker (Atenenol 50mg).

Have been on more or less the same "mix" since having a heart attack at age 49. I am now 76 and still here, still walking, cycling etc.

My advice, take your meds and stop worrying.

 

[kingrollo]

Many of us are on statins, just 20mg of Atoravastatin here. Absolutely no side effects. If you get side effects, there are others to take.

Asprin is also good for thinning blood.

The Bisoprolo may affect cycling - i.e. may take the 'top end' off - there are others on here who can advise.

Thats what I dont understand my last health check in September showed my total cholesterol as 5.0 - Yet he is recommending a massive statin dose of 80mg ?

 

[vickster]

Thats what I dont understand my last health check in September showed my total cholesterol as 5.0 - Yet he is recommending a massive statin dose of 80mg ?

Did you ask him? Or can you? Or your GP or pharmacist?

 

[kingrollo]

Did you ask him? Or can you? Or your GP or pharmacist?

I only got the letter this morning - have booked in with GP to discuss.

Must admit I dont have much confidence in the cardiology dept at the hospital I am at. My heart murmur which I had been told for the last 5 years wasn't really a problem - Yet it had shown concentric remodelling - which they didn't tell me about.

I could be wrong but they seemed to have prescribed me a load of drugs - which will make me less active - they dont seem to have condidered my lifestyle at all.

Im still waiting for the results of my 72 hour heart monitor test from November - these dont appear to have been taken into account in the letter I received this morning

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I take your cocktail, albeit the Bisoprolol at 3x your dose (safe max is 10 I am advised)

After a while we knocked the statin back to 50% of your dose - my doc says the heart specialists like to 'go large' on the statin dose as a matter of course! My annual not-yet-dead check-ups say all's very nicely under control, which is nice.

Crack on with your life - hasn't affected mine

 

[vickster]

I only got the letter this morning - have booked in with GP to discuss.

Must admit I dont have much confidence in the cardiology dept at the hospital I am at. My heart murmur which I had been told for the last 5 years wasn't really a problem - Yet it had shown concentric remodelling - which they didn't tell me about.

I could be wrong but they seemed to have prescribed me a load of drugs - which will make me less active - they don't seem to have considered my lifestyle at all.

Im still waiting for the results of my 72 hour heart monitor test from November - these dont appear to have been taken into account in the letter I received this morning

Maybe not, but they've considered the guidelines and reducing risk of stroke and MI.
The drugs don't have to make you less active, depends how you are affected if at all.
No idea what concentric remodelling is and if it's an issue.
Ref the monitor, it may have been (essentially) normal hence no mention. GP should have the results (can you see on patient Access/NHS app? I can see any letters/results received by GP)

 

[fossyant]

The high statins are possibly due to the heart disease and playing safe. - Discuss with GP. Any meds take a bit to get used to.

 

[numbnuts]

I'm on all of them, the only thing I found it is hard to get my pulse rate above 130 now

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm on Arvartostatin and a different blood thinner (clopidogrel, not aspirin). Can't remember the doses - prescribed following a TIA.

Zero side effects, apart from the faff of remembering to take them.

 

[Emanresu]

My daughter is involved in medical research and there are a lot of people, and a lot of money, chasing the next medical breakthrough all to preserve and prolong life. However this article in the British Medical Journal had me reassess my medical journeys and where they might lead.

https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o393

 

[kingrollo]

I'm on all of them, the only thing I found it is hard to get my pulse rate above 130 now

Yeah that what bothers me - even on a steady run my average HR is around 130

 

[numbnuts]

Yeah that what bothers me - even on a steady run my average HR is around 130

It use to bother me too, but you just get use to it