Personally ( my opinion) I think you very likely did have an attack. With the continual rise of troponin and left ventricle abnormalities, and T wave changes, it all points to it. I notice that in your report it mentions a bridge in the mid section of your LAD. This is basically where your artery is under some heart muscle instead of on top. The heart muscle can compress the artery in certain circumstances, but it does say it is probably a shallow bridge. If your blood pressure was particularly high and the heart was pumping hard, it may have been compressing the LAD. Just another thought.
In many cases, unfortunately, people do not survive a heart attack from a blockage in the LAD, but there are also many who do. Your heart is basically covered with hair like blood vessels called collaterals which can open up and act as a natural emergency bypass. It doesn't work in everyone, but more research is needed to understand the mechanisms for this. My LAD was totally blocked for over 2 years but collaterals were feeding the bottom of my LAD, taking blood across from the Circumflex. I agree with what you say about cost, but people who look after the money in hospitals and make the policies seem to believe in false economics. Surely if they use FFR once and get all the arteries sorted with a good flow in the first procedure, it must be cheaper than keep running tests and reperforming angiograms. I've never understood the logic.
Ed,
Having an opinion of course is NOT irresponsible.:) But there is a fine line, answering certain specific questions like what original poster was asking: “What do you think? heart attack? “……well that what I meant it would be very irresponsible from us to say. We are not doctors. Let the doctors do the diagnosis.
Also forgot to mention that the Echo showed Concentric Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.. which is weird since I never had high blood pressure until recently, and am not an athlete of any sorts.
Thank you for your input. My mothers cardio thought she initially just needed a triple bypass only to find when they got in there that she needed a quad.
I've also heard that the LAD is not a good place to have blockages.
My EF on Echo is showing 50-55% so I'm not sure which is right, but it is a change for me. (it was 60-65)
I too wish they would use the available equipment.. its all about the money.
I will talk to my cardiologist about the possibility of stenting, particularly since I am still having problems and at high risk for another MI.
I don't think having an opinion is irresponsible :) that's why the poster is here, to ask opinions.
You can't go by EF, this is irrelevant with heart ischemia in so many cases. My EF has never dropped below 70% in my 5 years of problems and my arteries were a real mess.
One thing your cardiologist is definitely wrong in saying is that a 20% blockage is not really a concern. Did your Cardiologist stent the 20% lesion?
I was in the Angio Lab last year and they were very surprised at what they discovered. My left circumflex looked great on the images, but when they used a flow sensor on the catheter tip, it showed a 50% reduction in flow. There was nothing visual to cause this. They stented it with 2 stents and the flow rate increased back to 100%. There was lots of microscopic cracks in the artery lining, causing lots of turbulence, disrupting the flow. It is also known through the FFR sensor that the big blockages are NOT always the problem, sometimes the smallest can be problematic and the big ones sometimes cause no problems at all. I just wish they would all use the equipment available and not just go by eyesight alone.
It would be very irresponsible to say or speculate one way or the other. Listen to your doctors.
Having high bp is not a heart condition. Shortness of breath also can be a symptom for many things not only problem with the heart. Smoking, overweight, food, drink especially drinks that has aspartame, and who knows what other seriously harming ingredients in them. Energy drinks, diet coke just to mention some. Genetically modified food…and the list go on and on….
You said it started to improve that just proof my point. If it was your heart it would not improve.
Also your EF is ok ,if the shortness of breath was there because of your heart your EF could of be around 20-30%. And it is normal for you 55-60.
I cannot read your report , I am not a doctor but I am sure they gave you medications for those problems you are having and they were diagnosed .