Re: chest pain

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - DLB on December 28, 1998 at 08:52:21:

In Reply to: chest pain posted by Marcia on December 27, 1998 at 21:53:04:






I am a 45 year old woman currently being treated for high blood pressure, edema, tachycardia and angina.  I take an ACE inhibitor, a beta blocker and a diuretic.  I had a thallium treadmill test done about 18 months ago.  During that time I was on all above meds except ACE inhibitor.  The test showed no narrowing of the arteries. Recently,  I have started noticing an increase in chest pain when I am tired.   My concerns are:  because of the edema and tachycardia, do I have congestive heart failure?  Also because of the increased chest pain, do I need to have another stress test done?  I feel that I have not been adequately diagnosed, just given a bunch of pills and told to go home and take them.  We have a strong family history of heart disease and I want to know what is going on.  I would appreciate your advise on this topic.  Thank you.
Dear Marcia
Edema and tachycardia can be associated with advanced congestive heart failure. A cardiac ultrasound - echocardiogram - would be able to make that diagnosis. If your symptoms have changed, a repeat stress test may be in order. One option would be a stress echocardiogram, which would provide all the relevant information.
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.