Foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to the doctor who quickly responded to my inquiry and was able to provide additional clarity to my situation. I would also like to extend that appreciation to those who have enabled this site to exist.
Due to the forum and its diversity of topics, one is able to find a degree of comfort from a medical perspective, as well as from those who post their comments and experiences.
I am in deep appreciation of those who have taken the time out and have chosen to post their own experiences in response to my inquiry, thus enabling me to have a degree of clairty with respect to the decisions I must make. Your comments have proven to be quite comforting, as well as informative. Thank you for your kindness and genorosity in sharing your experiences.
I can't pass a nuclear test, so they always lead to a cath lab visit, but the nuclear tests were always ordered because of my a-fib condition, not because I experienced symtems.
On the plus side, when I did experiance chest pain that seemed to fit the " if you feel this call an ambulance " pattern, the doctors felt comfortable enough to tell me to take antacids with out having to do any more tests. So there was a comfort level obtained from the tests
Just as Al Dente, I too am a veteran of the heart cath lab. I had my 7th heart cath this year on Friday, and luckily they didn't find any blockage. My nuclear stress test showed some abnormality, but luckily all was okay. I agree with Al Dente and Luke L - the heart cath is the gold standard. I don't think everyone should jump right into a heart cath, since the 64 CT is a good test, but with your test results and symptoms (added to your active lifestyle) I would think the doctors are going to want to do a cath anyway. I'd certainly recommend researching the facility and cardiologist you choose to do the procedure - they are not all equal. You can usually find the most advanced heart facilities online, and I recommend calling the cardiac group at the hospital and speaking to one of the nurses for thier opinion on who the best cardiologist is - they've been very helpful/frank with me. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. I wish you well!
Just remember that every procedure has risks, but the risk of the procdure is FAR less then the risk of having a heart attack or unstable angina. I also would not go with a CT scan as a cath is the gold standard for detecting CAD.
Hello,
The answer to this question will vary depending on who is responding. Either procedure will likely answer the question, although the cardiac cath will be more definitive. If there is any question about the CT, they will probably want a cardiac cath anyway.
A history of rest pain that only occurred once is not that convincing for cardiac pain, however, if you are competing in ultra endurance sports, it is probably best for your piece of mind. I would probably proceed with the cath if your doctor wants it.
I hope this helps. thanks for posting.