Aa
scared to death right now
Hi everyone,
Well the past 3 months I've been getting shortness of breath, tightness, and chest pressure. My EKG came back normal, and so did my chest cat scan. I had an echocardiogram done on my heart, and the doctor told me it was good, but my lung pressure was high (38). He said high/normal is 30. Now he wants me to take a stress test, and right now I'm wearing a holter monitor. Im so scared, because he mentioned the word Pulmonary Hypertension & the lifespan isn't long. I'm only 25 years old, don't smoke, overweight but I'm currently losing. Im scared out of my mind right now
Well the past 3 months I've been getting shortness of breath, tightness, and chest pressure. My EKG came back normal, and so did my chest cat scan. I had an echocardiogram done on my heart, and the doctor told me it was good, but my lung pressure was high (38). He said high/normal is 30. Now he wants me to take a stress test, and right now I'm wearing a holter monitor. Im so scared, because he mentioned the word Pulmonary Hypertension & the lifespan isn't long. I'm only 25 years old, don't smoke, overweight but I'm currently losing. Im scared out of my mind right now
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and welcome to the forum.
I am sorry for what you are going through but I am hoping that I will be able to alleviate some of your fears. I will only focus, however, on the pulmonary hypertension (PH) aspect of your question.
As you probably have read by now, pulmonary hypertension (ie the type of PH that is dangerous) is exceedingly uncommon. If you do, indeed, have a normal EKG and a normal ECHO, the chance that you have true PH is almost 0! Also, echo is notoriously inaccurate in the assessment of "lung pressures" as you referred to (I recently published a research study that highlighted this point). Please do not let ANYBODY treat you for PH without: a) a confirmed diagnosis by cardiac catheterization and B) by anyone who is not a PH specialist.
However, the good news for you, is that you almost for sure do not have PH. So, take a deep breath, try to stay optimistic.
Wishing you all the best,
Dr. Rich
I am sorry for what you are going through but I am hoping that I will be able to alleviate some of your fears. I will only focus, however, on the pulmonary hypertension (PH) aspect of your question.
As you probably have read by now, pulmonary hypertension (ie the type of PH that is dangerous) is exceedingly uncommon. If you do, indeed, have a normal EKG and a normal ECHO, the chance that you have true PH is almost 0! Also, echo is notoriously inaccurate in the assessment of "lung pressures" as you referred to (I recently published a research study that highlighted this point). Please do not let ANYBODY treat you for PH without: a) a confirmed diagnosis by cardiac catheterization and B) by anyone who is not a PH specialist.
However, the good news for you, is that you almost for sure do not have PH. So, take a deep breath, try to stay optimistic.
Wishing you all the best,
Dr. Rich
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi. This will be my final reply for this topic in order to try to adhere to the medhelp rules.
The echo number 38 is MEANINGLESS!!!!!!!!!! You do not have pulmonary hypertension. Echo tests do this all the time...they are AWFUL tests for PH because they are frequently wrong. Even if it was 38 that would not be much of a concern at all. But, again, the number provided to you by the echo is meaningless. This is coming from a PH specialist. Please accept this and feel relieved by this.
Wishing you all the best in health and happiness.
Dr. Rich
The echo number 38 is MEANINGLESS!!!!!!!!!! You do not have pulmonary hypertension. Echo tests do this all the time...they are AWFUL tests for PH because they are frequently wrong. Even if it was 38 that would not be much of a concern at all. But, again, the number provided to you by the echo is meaningless. This is coming from a PH specialist. Please accept this and feel relieved by this.
Wishing you all the best in health and happiness.
Dr. Rich
hello,
update- well i got another echo today and an ekg and a regular stress test at a different cardiologist. the doctor said everything was fine, and he said my pressure was normal. (thats what it said on the test). but on the report there was no number there. so i dont understand how last week the other cardiologist gave me a number for my pressure (38) and said it was a little high, and today all of a sudden they say its normal (without giving me a number). everything was normal he said though
update- well i got another echo today and an ekg and a regular stress test at a different cardiologist. the doctor said everything was fine, and he said my pressure was normal. (thats what it said on the test). but on the report there was no number there. so i dont understand how last week the other cardiologist gave me a number for my pressure (38) and said it was a little high, and today all of a sudden they say its normal (without giving me a number). everything was normal he said though
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Glad my comments helped relieve some of your anxiety.
I cant explain why your doctor is ordering the tests that he/she is ordering...but, as I said previously, PH is unlikely to be your problem. And dont even focus on the number "38"...it is relatively meaningless.
If you have significant anxiety, I would strongly encourage you to consider resuming treatment for this. Regardless of whether or not you have any other medical conditions, anxiety makes everything worse. I suspect the quality of your life will improve as well.
Good luck!
I cant explain why your doctor is ordering the tests that he/she is ordering...but, as I said previously, PH is unlikely to be your problem. And dont even focus on the number "38"...it is relatively meaningless.
If you have significant anxiety, I would strongly encourage you to consider resuming treatment for this. Regardless of whether or not you have any other medical conditions, anxiety makes everything worse. I suspect the quality of your life will improve as well.
Good luck!
and i might add, in december is when i went to the ER because of chest pain and they did the chest cat scan which they said came back good, but my D-DIMER test they gave me came back as 55. the range was 0-50. the dr. never mentioned anything about that. they did do the ptt and pt tests and those came back good. i also was on lexapro because i have severe anxiety, and while i was on lexapro i never got chest pain or felt out of breath. i stopped taking it in september, and all this stuff started in december.
thank you for the quick reply! you did make me feel much better. but im still scared as to why the doctor ordered the stress echo then? :( ... maybe he suspects a heart problem. my echo was normal so thats why im questioning the stress test. can lung pressures flucuate though? like even if mine was 38, does that mean that i definitely have it, or could that just be a normal pressure for me?
You are reading content posted in the Pulmonary Hypertension Forum
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
