Pulmonary Stenosis and lots of problems: please help.

[Avamabel]

Hello all. I am a 30 year old woman who in my mid-20s was first misdiagnosed by a couple of doctors with pulmonary hypertension (which was terrifying). However, I sought another set of opinions and was promptly re-diagnosed by a couple of other doctors as having mild to moderate pulmonary STENOSIS. I have been seen by two cardiologists in the US who have both said that my condition should be "asymptomatic" and I "shouldn't have any problems."

In light of all the things I do experience, however, it's incredibly hard to trust that they're right. I have recently been dealing with:

chest tightness
heart flutters
a feeling of a pounding heart, especially at night
hot flashes and feeling sweaty
anxiety and weepiness
perception of a difficulty getting enough air.

I know what you're thinking: panic/anxiety attacks. Now, I do indeed have a tendency towards anxiety, especially with relation to my health. I know that the above symptoms could have NOTHING to do with pulmonary stenosis. Then again, I'm not convinced that they don't--or that they indicate something more, well, sinister than pulmonary stenosis. There just seems to be too much going on in my chest area in the past 5 years for "shouldn't have any symptoms" to be reassuring. Obviously something is going on.

My main question, I think, is this: can pulmonary stenosis be easily confused with pulmonary hypertension? Can one cause the other?  

Thanks for any input, experiences, advice.

[markmsn10]

Depending on how moderate, this may not need any treatment.   Mild to moderate pulmonary stenosis doesn't affect life expectancy unless the right heart chambers start to enlarge.   It is true that pulmonary stenosis affects the pressure to some degree (causing functional tricuspid insufficiency) this is how they determine the pulmonary pressure.   In the presense of pulmonary stenosis, this reading is no longer accurate as it creates false pressure from the pulmonary valve (rather than pressure from the pulmonary artery)    So most likely your pulmonary pressure is normal; but can only be verified accurately with right heart catheter.    

If pulmonary stenosis is in fact an issue and causing your symptoms; they can usually use balloon dilatation to correct (with no surgery needed)  

Remember anxiety is a powerful thing; it can cause all kinds of issues and cause symptoms far beyond what you should have.   If your cardiologist doesn't think the pulmonary stenosis is affecting you, I would trust that person.

[Avamabel]

Thanks Markmsn10. I really, really appreciate the input.