Confused about what doc is telling me about cath results

[evie583]

Hey Everyone , I have a question today about my heart cath. Well first of all I posted here that I was scared to take heart cath test, well I finally made up my mind to take it and boy I don't know why people would want to tell others horror stories, there was nothing to it. Not you guys though , all of you told me it wasn't bad. Anyways had the cath on Sep 30th, was so happy when doc said no blockages. So I said to him so I don't have CAD right ? He said yes you do. I was confused, so were nurses. He said we will discuss it in my office. Had the office visit and  and he explained to me the problem is in my small arteries in heart muscle and no stents or by pass can be performed on this type of problem because arteries too small. Went home looked it up on internet, read article on it from mayo clinic. This article indicated that  blood flow is blocked same as doc said. went to get hospital report today from record department. Guess what ? It said heart cath normal . Why wouldn't this report indicate I had a problem with blood flow because of narrowing of small arterys ? Nothing said about the diagnosis he gave me pertaining to small artery problem ? Huh ? Shouldn't this be on the report . Also the Mayo Clinic didn't refer to this problem as CAD  it was MVD.  What's up with this and why  if I have this small artery disease is it not in the report. Said normal Cath.  . this Doc has always confused me.

[ed34]

Same thing happened to me, had to email support. They did a server restart and it seemed to clear up the issue. Good work on their part though.

[Flycaster305]

sorry I couldn't respond, but thanks Ed and Joan.  I got locked out of Medhelp for a couple of days.  

[joanincarolina]

This is Joan. I am known here as joanincarolina. Please contact me as I have a head full of information about this CMD and would be more than happy to help you get to an answer plus how to manage this issue. Looking forward to hearing from you.

[ed34]

I had a stent at the start of 2007, then up until 2010 I had a further 9 stents and a triple bypass. I don't have angina any more.
My journey was a difficult one, I had to convince Doctors to push the boundaries a bit and I had to find a maverick to do a procedure I wanted done. So far that journey was worth it.
Last year I thought I was having another problem with my heart. The symptoms were very close to all those I had previously experienced, chest pains etc. However, this time it turned out to be an inflamed esophagus, and I can now relate to how confusing it can be for Doctors, because the symptoms are so very close to heart issues.

[ed34]

I believe this is the wonderful lady flycaster was referring to.

http://www.medhelp.org/personal_pages/user/712042

[evie583]

Hey How do you look up a particular person on here  I would like to chat with this nurse  Thanks

[evie583]

Hello  , So do you still have the angina ? I know you said you had a stent but they  said i needed none. No blockage. and also said after stress test before I had the heart cath small  reversable distal perfusion  in native artery near apex Do you happen to know where the apex of the heart is located ? I was wondering why this perfusion didn't show on the heart cath too. Asked doc because when  I looked it up after stress test said was small reversible blockage.   Said we don't use that term. I got the report from hospital and does say that. Never been so confused going to a doc before. Anyway should this small perfusion or blockage showed up on my heart cath. is the apex near the small vessels. Other doc where he works did say  Doc assumed I had  MVD because  couldn' t find a cause for angina . Huh So this is what they do.  Would like to know where this pain is coming from though. Really fustrated with the whole situation. I don't know if a letter will help, Never expereinced this before with a Doc.

[Flycaster305]

There is a nurse on this board with the handle joanincarolina.  You might search for her, or she may find you.  She has a lot of information regarding small vessel CAD.  Best wishes.

[ed34]

Hmm I can see why you are confused. I was the very same, back in 2008 when in hospital with Angina. I was told by a Cardiologist that I had MVD and I argued asking him for evidence. I knew they had never tested for this, so I wanted to be sure it was more than an assumption. Within 24 hours, I was taken into the Angio suite and prepared for an Angiogram. They stented a blockage causing the Angina, but then said they were going to test for MVD. They put a special catheter into each coronary artery, near the bottom, one at a time and took a reading of the blood flow measurement. Then they injected a chemical through the catheter that would force the tiny Arterioles to open fully. These vessels are invisible on the Angiogram because they are far too small to see on X-ray. They explained that with the Arterioles fully open, there should be a fair increase in blood flow through the main Arteries, and if not, then MVD is likely. This made me nervous, but off they went, testing each artery again. Each one increased substantially in flow and they apologised for the false diagnosis. MVD is difficult to diagnose accurately and is often just assumed to be the cause. Syndrome X is another term often used.
So, what would I do in your case? I would write a letter to your Cardiologist (who did the procedure) and ask what led to the conclusion of MVD, what test was done to result in this diagnosis. Make sure you copy the letter to your regular Doctor, to ensure it gets a response and an accurate one. To diagnose MVD in an Angiogram can be quite time consuming, so unless you was in there for at least an hour, I can't imagine they tested anything.