I had stent put in my LAD Feb 2004 and again in Oct 2004 same artery. I've been feeling like I'm not getting enough air when I lay down (kinda winded feeling) just sitting talking on the phone. It comes and goes. I climb steps sometmies it happens sometimes it don't. I asked my cardiologist the other day and he doesn't think it's related to the heart problems. I also have pain in my left shoulder and it itches if that makes sense. I have fibromyalgia which is muscles related so any pains in chest, shoulder blades, arm pain is hard to distinguish if it's heart related. I have rib pain also alot (costochondritis) Doc says I'm a difficult case to know heart realted pain or fibro related pain. My concern is the winded feeling, doc say's I don't have heart failure so he doesn't believe the winded feeling I experience is realted to the blockages espcially when I'm laying down and resting. Does anyone relate to this winded feeling? Should I be concern and insist on another cath. That's what I had to do when all this started, heart tests proved neg and I insisted on a heart cath which showed the blockages in my LAD and R circumflex. Do any of you experience this. Like to hear your opinions since most of you have heart problems. I guess it could be stomach related or rib related but never sure. I have a lot of belching and bloaty stomach also.

Thanks.....

The winded feeling wouldn't come from costochondritis. I would try using nitroquick when you have that winded feeling and see if it takes that away. I'm guessing that you are a woman and because of that doctors will sometimes overlook the warning signs. If the nitro causes that winded feeling and the pains to go away I would insist on another cath!

Also there have been recent studies on something called female pattern coronary artery disease. With this type of disease the female arteries narrow but blockages may not show up on a heart cath. The cath is reported as negative because there may be no sufficiently narrowed points in the artery. It is actually throughout the entire artery.