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Heart Disease Community
This patient support community is for discussions relating to angina, angioplasty, arrhythmia, bypass surgery, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, defibrillator, heart attack, heart disease, high blood pressure, mitral valve, pacemaker, PAD, stenosis, and stress tests.
Just diagnosed with CAD and scared
by IrishGirl63, Jun 15, 2008 11:13PM
Hi
I am so glad I found this forum as this is a very informative site with lots of support to the many questions we all have when diagnosed with a disease that is very alarming. I been reading it the past days and decided to join as it is all scary to me and no one understands what it is like unless you go through it. Nice to know there are so many friendly people who share their stories and advice.
Recently I had a TIA back in March but was not aware as I thought the numbness in my left side of face and arm was due to my herniated discs. Then my vision was getting worse and I was seeing double plus the headaches were so bad I wanted to cry. I went to my family physician who told me my blood pressure was 201/108 and sent me to a neurologist immediately. They did MRI's and scans of my head and confirmed it was a mini stroke but luckily I did not loose the use of my arm and just had the numbness or tingling feeling you would have if you went to a dentist and got novacaine. He did neurological testing and told me my left side was weak and also my left arm was swollen which I did not even notice. That same day he sent me to the cardiologist at Jefferson Hospital right next to his office as he was worried I also was having a cardiac issue being my father has bypass surgery at age 42 and it runs in his family. I went to the cardiologist who put me on blood pressure medication and did a cardiac ultrasound which showed there was an abnormality in the right side of my heart. He then ordered many blood tests plus a Nuclear Stress Test the next day which confirmed there was something wrong. I was born with a heart murmur and have a history of back/neck issues due to a car accident. Never had high blood pressure until this all happened but looking back ....I should have noticed the symptoms with my eyesight and headaches. Never had chest pain but was getting winded or short of breathe when climbing stairs. He ordered a cath to be done but that was cancelled in April when my blood tests showed a elevated PTT so they told me I has to see a Hematologist. Well they ran even more blood tests which showed I also had Lupus anti-coagulant and also have Lupus as well which does explain all the issues I had growing up with infections or arthritis at a early age. I just thought working around children I was more exposed to infections yet everytime I got sick I ended up on prednisone to help the antibiotic work. Maybe due to my anemia off/on my whole life they just figured I was run down and why I would crash and sleep. Oh and I also had issues with bleeding after any surgery but being I was a red head, the surgical staff would tell me ohhh red heads bleed easy and so forth.
OK so getting back to the heart.....well they finally cleared me to have the cath which was last Tuesday and that is when I got the bad news. My entire right side of the heart is diseased plus I have a 90 percent blockage near the top of the right side. Bad news was they could not place a stent due to the Lupus and said they would have to discuss how to treat this with the Hematologist. Apparently this Lupus thing makes you form clots and can cause strokes and heart attacks ...yet I bleed easy so it is all so confusing. They put me on 2 medications which one is a nitro spray and the other is a beta/nitro drug to open up my arteries. This is so scary as I am only 45 plus was not able to get the stent or blockage fixed yet. Now they did say my left side of my heart grew veins or as they called it little jumpers to the right side so I am getting blood there but the blockage is still there. That is why they told me to use the nitro should I feel the tightness or even pain in my neck or arms since that is where I feel it...sometimes in my back but hard to know if it is my heart or the herniated discs. Maybe that is why I never noticed and thought it was that instead of a heart condition. All I know is it must be all in the genes as I do not even eat red meats and always try to eat a healthy diet......plus excercise as much as I can.
After the heart cath I went home but woke up in the middle of the night with hives and looked like a tomatoe from my waist up to my head. Luckily my mother had stayed with me as she was worried about me bleeding when I came home. Well I then was rushed back to jefferson and they gave me steroids and benedryl as I had what they called a delayed dye reaction. Never was allergic to shell fish and have had MRI's ...cat scans and never reacted to dyes presently or in my past. The ER doctor said my body must have had too much and I developed a allergy to it. That alone was scary as my throat closed up and I could not breath. My question is has anyone had a reaction and if so ....what will they do should they need to cath me again? Also am worried due to this blockage that I risk having a heart attack until they figure out what to do whether it be prepare me with medications for a stent in time or surgery.
Sorry for the long and yes confusing intro but I am just scared and very anxious since they told me my results. I feel like all of a sudden I am falling apart. TIA, CAD and Lupus dx so yes it is overwhelming. How can one be healthy and just turn for the worse where their blood pressure goes from being low to HIGH in just 2 months? I never had high blood pressue until now. Also as far as the lupus.....well from what I read that is also bad for the heart. Sometimes I think to myself that the less I read maybe I will not be more nervous as some articles are either frightening or confusing.
I am hoping to learn more from people who have been through all this and maybe sharing with you or reading your stories will help me to cope. Did you feel anxious when first diagnosed or even depressed? if so how did you help yourself to calm down and not feel like a walking time bomb? I think the stress of worrying is far more dangerous to me now then the actual disease. Try to calm down but until they fix my heart it is hard to not worry or fret.
Thank you for listening to my story and again I do appologize for the long post and yes rambling. Just scared but trying to cope one day at a time. I appreciate any advice or your stories of how you dealt with it all.
Thanks~Kelly
I am so glad I found this forum as this is a very informative site with lots of support to the many questions we all have when diagnosed with a disease that is very alarming. I been reading it the past days and decided to join as it is all scary to me and no one understands what it is like unless you go through it. Nice to know there are so many friendly people who share their stories and advice.
Recently I had a TIA back in March but was not aware as I thought the numbness in my left side of face and arm was due to my herniated discs. Then my vision was getting worse and I was seeing double plus the headaches were so bad I wanted to cry. I went to my family physician who told me my blood pressure was 201/108 and sent me to a neurologist immediately. They did MRI's and scans of my head and confirmed it was a mini stroke but luckily I did not loose the use of my arm and just had the numbness or tingling feeling you would have if you went to a dentist and got novacaine. He did neurological testing and told me my left side was weak and also my left arm was swollen which I did not even notice. That same day he sent me to the cardiologist at Jefferson Hospital right next to his office as he was worried I also was having a cardiac issue being my father has bypass surgery at age 42 and it runs in his family. I went to the cardiologist who put me on blood pressure medication and did a cardiac ultrasound which showed there was an abnormality in the right side of my heart. He then ordered many blood tests plus a Nuclear Stress Test the next day which confirmed there was something wrong. I was born with a heart murmur and have a history of back/neck issues due to a car accident. Never had high blood pressure until this all happened but looking back ....I should have noticed the symptoms with my eyesight and headaches. Never had chest pain but was getting winded or short of breathe when climbing stairs. He ordered a cath to be done but that was cancelled in April when my blood tests showed a elevated PTT so they told me I has to see a Hematologist. Well they ran even more blood tests which showed I also had Lupus anti-coagulant and also have Lupus as well which does explain all the issues I had growing up with infections or arthritis at a early age. I just thought working around children I was more exposed to infections yet everytime I got sick I ended up on prednisone to help the antibiotic work. Maybe due to my anemia off/on my whole life they just figured I was run down and why I would crash and sleep. Oh and I also had issues with bleeding after any surgery but being I was a red head, the surgical staff would tell me ohhh red heads bleed easy and so forth.
OK so getting back to the heart.....well they finally cleared me to have the cath which was last Tuesday and that is when I got the bad news. My entire right side of the heart is diseased plus I have a 90 percent blockage near the top of the right side. Bad news was they could not place a stent due to the Lupus and said they would have to discuss how to treat this with the Hematologist. Apparently this Lupus thing makes you form clots and can cause strokes and heart attacks ...yet I bleed easy so it is all so confusing. They put me on 2 medications which one is a nitro spray and the other is a beta/nitro drug to open up my arteries. This is so scary as I am only 45 plus was not able to get the stent or blockage fixed yet. Now they did say my left side of my heart grew veins or as they called it little jumpers to the right side so I am getting blood there but the blockage is still there. That is why they told me to use the nitro should I feel the tightness or even pain in my neck or arms since that is where I feel it...sometimes in my back but hard to know if it is my heart or the herniated discs. Maybe that is why I never noticed and thought it was that instead of a heart condition. All I know is it must be all in the genes as I do not even eat red meats and always try to eat a healthy diet......plus excercise as much as I can.
After the heart cath I went home but woke up in the middle of the night with hives and looked like a tomatoe from my waist up to my head. Luckily my mother had stayed with me as she was worried about me bleeding when I came home. Well I then was rushed back to jefferson and they gave me steroids and benedryl as I had what they called a delayed dye reaction. Never was allergic to shell fish and have had MRI's ...cat scans and never reacted to dyes presently or in my past. The ER doctor said my body must have had too much and I developed a allergy to it. That alone was scary as my throat closed up and I could not breath. My question is has anyone had a reaction and if so ....what will they do should they need to cath me again? Also am worried due to this blockage that I risk having a heart attack until they figure out what to do whether it be prepare me with medications for a stent in time or surgery.
Sorry for the long and yes confusing intro but I am just scared and very anxious since they told me my results. I feel like all of a sudden I am falling apart. TIA, CAD and Lupus dx so yes it is overwhelming. How can one be healthy and just turn for the worse where their blood pressure goes from being low to HIGH in just 2 months? I never had high blood pressue until now. Also as far as the lupus.....well from what I read that is also bad for the heart. Sometimes I think to myself that the less I read maybe I will not be more nervous as some articles are either frightening or confusing.
I am hoping to learn more from people who have been through all this and maybe sharing with you or reading your stories will help me to cope. Did you feel anxious when first diagnosed or even depressed? if so how did you help yourself to calm down and not feel like a walking time bomb? I think the stress of worrying is far more dangerous to me now then the actual disease. Try to calm down but until they fix my heart it is hard to not worry or fret.
Thank you for listening to my story and again I do appologize for the long post and yes rambling. Just scared but trying to cope one day at a time. I appreciate any advice or your stories of how you dealt with it all.
Thanks~Kelly
Member Comments (3)
by remar, Jun 16, 2008 07:02AM
hi kelly, this is remar. wow, are you going through alot right now! yes, it is very normal to feel anxious and depressed. i have'nt had any heart problems but my mother had a heart attack 9 years ago, she had to have bypass surgery. she was very scared. and i'm so happy to say that she's in the best of health now. i can understand why your drs. are doing what they're doing, with you having lupus and the bleeding problems. they're just taking precautions. have you asked your dr. about an antianxiety med to take until you get through this? it may help. i wish i could help you more. i am glad you found this site because there are alot of great people here. let us know how your doing and take care. remar
by phoenixdave123, Jun 16, 2008 11:48AM
To: Kelly
You certainly have had a lot to deal with in a short period of time. The TIA and heart