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)
End of Line?
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.
End of Line?
by Bad Heart, Jul 26, 2004 12:00AM
I am a 72yr. male. Had heart attack at age 38, 4-bypass surgery in 1976 and 3-bypass surgery in 1989. Got worse in 99-2000. Another heart cath indicated 2 arteries blocked, they tried to open them without any luck. Had (one only) seizure a week later. Started having head pressure when I lay down as if I were hanging upside down. No one can find cause even 2 Neurologist. Sleep most of time in lounge chair. More chest pain now. Tried EECP. Have had an AICD for about a year . Wearing patches now. Taken all kinds of tests. No more seizures. I take Dilantin,Coreg,Simvastatin,Lisinopril,
Plavis,Digitek, & Ecotrin. I walk slowly a block or two and angina starts.I am treated by Nebr. Heart Institute. Have been to Cleveland Heart Clinic 4-5 years ago. No help there. Last stress test EF 35% about a year ago. Stress test about kill me esp. if they (inject) the stress. A lot of chest pain and head seems like it will explode. All blood tests are good but I seem to be growing weaker as time passes on. It is becoming a lot of work just to walk a few blocks now. I go to bed tired and wake up tired.---In your opinion is there anything more that can be done other than just let the remaining arteries plug up? Thankyou.
Plavis,Digitek, & Ecotrin. I walk slowly a block or two and angina starts.I am treated by Nebr. Heart Institute. Have been to Cleveland Heart Clinic 4-5 years ago. No help there. Last stress test EF 35% about a year ago. Stress test about kill me esp. if they (inject) the stress. A lot of chest pain and head seems like it will explode. All blood tests are good but I seem to be growing weaker as time passes on. It is becoming a lot of work just to walk a few blocks now. I go to bed tired and wake up tired.---In your opinion is there anything more that can be done other than just let the remaining arteries plug up? Thankyou.
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Jul 26, 2004 12:00AM
, Jul 26, 2004 12:00AM
I'm very sorry to hear of your event.
Your question is difficult to answer, as there is clearly a large amount of information that I do not have access to.
From your post the questions I would ask are:
1) Is your coronary disease associated with significant ischemia. The answers to this would generally come from stress testing. It might also be good to know if there are areas asleep because they do not recieve adequate flow. The specific stress testing that could answer these questions are PET scanning and dobutamine echocardiography. If there are areas, then high risk revascularization may be beneficial. Also, if pain is from ischemia, I would be encouraged that EECP might help over the long run.
2) I'm not sure why you are having the head symptoms. These do not generally correlate with heart problems.
3) I would want to optimize your blood pressure control and heart failure medical regimen. You are on a good selection of medicines and would want to optimize doses.
The other question is wheather your symptoms are not caused by your heart. If your stress test are negative for ischemia, I would make sure you see a good internist to look for other common causes of fatigue. These include things as diverse as thyroid disease and depression.
I know this is frustrating. I hope this is a start.
good luck
Your question is difficult to answer, as there is clearly a large amount of information that I do not have access to.
From your post the questions I would ask are:
1) Is your coronary disease associated with significant ischemia. The answers to this would generally come from stress testing. It might also be good to know if there are areas asleep because they do not recieve adequate flow. The specific stress testing that could answer these questions are PET scanning and dobutamine echocardiography. If there are areas, then high risk revascularization may be beneficial. Also, if pain is from ischemia, I would be encouraged that EECP might help over the long run.
2) I'm not sure why you are having the head symptoms. These do not generally correlate with heart problems.
3) I would want to optimize your blood pressure control and heart failure medical regimen. You are on a good selection of medicines and would want to optimize doses.
The other question is wheather your symptoms are not caused by your heart. If your stress test are negative for ischemia, I would make sure you see a good internist to look for other common causes of fatigue. These include things as diverse as thyroid disease and depression.
I know this is frustrating. I hope this is a start.
good luck
There are a lot of people on this board who have a lot of first hand knowledge and great Drs. someone will come along to help you and answer your questions.
Linda
Wow... you certainly outlived many patients in similiar situation! Keep up and hope doctors will find what's causing your symptoms.
-jeff