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Heart attackArrow
Age 61-70
Interview HA04  

Interview HA04

Age at Interview: 63
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 62
Background: Retired computer manager; Married, 2 children
Brief outline:Heart attack 2002. Thrombolytic (clotbuster) drug. Angioplasty and stent, in hospital eight days. Current medication: simvastatin, aspirin, ramipril, atenolol


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Male
He has side effects but reckons this is a small price to pay and they don't interfere with his life.

 



Have you experienced any side effects from your medication ? 

Yes, plenty, both real and imagined. There was a time when I thought the statin I was taking was responsible for the pain in my hand and wrist, but that was just wishful thinking. However I do experience a number of real effects, but only one is becoming a nuisance and may need a change of medicine. 

I have a frequent and very irritating dry cough, which can escalate almost to a kind of retching. I've recently had a bad spell of bronchitis and I suspect all the coughing and hacking brought it on. My GP reckons it might be due to the beta blocker I am taking and is reviewing the situation.

It does take me time to get up to speed these days and I think that is a consequence of the medication as a whole. For example, if in the morning I walk a few hundred yards around the corner and up a short incline to the post box, I feel completely knackered by the time I get there. If, however, I continue walking for a few more minutes I get into my stride and can walk briskly for miles. It's a bit like doing a warm up period in the gym before getting stuck in.  

I also experience a number of minor reactions; my digestion is upset most of the time to the point of threatening to become inconvenient - I have a small supply of anti-diarrhoea pills just in case but have not yet had to use them; for a good part of the day my fingers are white and cold due to a restricted blood supply but other parts are quite the reverse. 

Unfortunately this is principally my nose, which lights up like I'm a bottle a day man. Apart from the coughing it's all minor stuff that doesn't interfere with my life. It's a small price to pay and I'm not complaining.
Heart Attack
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