Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Could this be related to my previous condition
Answered by
Cleveland - OH
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.
Could this be related to my previous condition
by jraines, Oct 14, 2003 12:00AM
I am a 40 year old woman that has Marfan's Syndrome. Two years ago I had a baby and 6 days after delivering had suffered a tpye A aortic aneurysm and a type b aortic dissection. The doctors did an aortic graft, valve replacement and subclavian graft. The type B dissection was left to "heal" because at the time it would have added too much more to an already risky surgery. After returning home I had to be hospitalized three more times for episodes of atrial fib and CHF. I take various BP meds to control my BP. The doctors say that I have to keep it as low as possible. At this time I take capoten, lopressor, norvasc, lasix, k-dur, and recently, nitroglycerin transdermal. I still have a lot of pain between my shoulder blades that my doctor says is probably caused by the dissection and I have daily episodes when my heart doesn't seem to beat right. It either skips, or seems to be bounding, and I am always aware of my heart beating because I can feel it in my shoulders and back. I have tightness across my chest that I say feels like someone is giving me a bear hug all of the time.
My doctor has run every test on me that he could possibly run, holter monitoring, event monitoring, mri, ct, stress test, ekg, etc, but nothing seems to be an issue. What could be causing all of these problems, and why can't it be caught on record? Could any of these be related to the existing dissection? Should I do a follow-up at the Cleveland Clinic with the surgeon that did my aneurysm surgery? If the dissection was going to be electively repaired the first time shouldn't it be now?
My doctor has run every test on me that he could possibly run, holter monitoring, event monitoring, mri, ct, stress test, ekg, etc, but nothing seems to be an issue. What could be causing all of these problems, and why can't it be caught on record? Could any of these be related to the existing dissection? Should I do a follow-up at the Cleveland Clinic with the surgeon that did my aneurysm surgery? If the dissection was going to be electively repaired the first time shouldn't it be now?
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Oct 15, 2003 12:00AM
, Oct 15, 2003 12:00AM
jraines, thanks for the post. Sorry to hear of your ordeal. It unfortunately is a common occurence for people with Marfans to suffer dissection with delivery.
If your dissection were progressing I would expect it to have shown up on subsequent imaging. Typically type B dissections are handled with medical therapy unless they cause complications to the organs that the aorta supplies.
I don't have a good explanation for your pain. A better person to followup with would be your cardiologist to explore your symtpoms.
good luck
If your dissection were progressing I would expect it to have shown up on subsequent imaging. Typically type B dissections are handled with medical therapy unless they cause complications to the organs that the aorta supplies.
I don't have a good explanation for your pain. A better person to followup with would be your cardiologist to explore your symtpoms.
good luck
