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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
CAD & spasms of the left anterior descendry
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
CAD & spasms of the left anterior descendry
by john-Taylor, Oct 06, 1998 12:00AM
I have always had chest pains as long as I can rembember in June of 98 I had a severe heart attack my right coranary arteries had collapsed leaving me with 2 stints.And continued angina type chest pains after further evaluation my cardiologist tells me that I am having spasms in my left antererior descendry.These pains come at will and hurt badly.He has put me on Diltiazem,antenonal,ismo,procardia,ticlid,ecotrin nitro,nitro spray.nitro patch.I have just had another stint implanted on the right side .I am being told nitro is going to be my friend regarding these spasms this seems such a painfull way to live.In a time of discovery is there not another answer.I have changed my life style low fat,low sodium a good regiment of exersising and these attacks come as will day night walking sitting my doctor is correct in the fact that I dont leave home without my nitro it is my only release from the pain. Since my stints my breathing is a hundred % I just cant shake these chest pains supposedly caused by a spasm in the left anterior descendry I am 36 years of age and this is a hard pill to swallow
isnt there anyway I can be released from this, a procdure or something.Or do I really have to live the rest of my life not knowing when or where these pains are going to strike, Thanyou John Taylor
Doctor's Answer
by CCF Cardio MD - MTR, Oct 06, 1998 12:00AM
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Dear John, thank you for your question. I sympathize with your predicament, but I need more information to better answer your question. First, was coronary spasm documented either during a catheterization or from transient ischemic ECG changes during episodes of chest pain? Second, have you had a recent stress test performed, and if so, what were the results? Third, did you have an acute heart attack involving the right coronary artery or did your cardiologist think that you had spasm of that artery also? Fourth, what are your risk factors for coronary disease - high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol, or a positive family history of early coronary disease (before age 55)? Fifth, has another non-cardiac cause of your chest pain like acid reflux been investigated? Sixth, are you totally incapacitated by chest pain or can you still carry on your daily activities and exercise? If you could write back with answers to these questions, I will be able to give you a more complete, informative answer. I look forward to hearing back from you.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
