[elliot830]

My mom had just started taking Xeloda (3 pills in the morning, 3 at dinner). She was also taking Tykerb (5 pills daily). She made it through the first day with a very little queasiness, light diarrhea. But during her second day of treatment, that evening before she had taken her Xeloda, her stomach started burning, similar to acid reflux moving up to right below her breasts. She didn't think anything about it, being she has had acid reflux before. But then the chest pains started. She thought that the acid reflux had just moved higher. It happened a couple of times, and I felt I should call the ambulance. She could not stand up with these chest pains. She felt it radiating to her left arm and to her back. When she arrived at the ER, they did an EKG, which looked terrible, and she was given nitro which eased the pain. They rushed her for a heart cath. The doctor said all this was happening in the front of her heart, but when he did the heart cath, nothing was there. He did not see the signs that she had a heart attack. No damage, etc. Long story short, the Xeloda can cause your coronary arteries to spasm mimicking a heart attack. Basically, it is causing your heart to do the exact same thing it does when having a heart attack. She was taken off xeloda. She had a couple of milder episodes during the next day, was given nitro which relieved it, then it stopped. (when the Xeloda had decreased in her system). So if you have any chest pains, stop Xeloda and seek immediate help. It can be lethal. It is rare, but everyone should be made aware of this before taking it.