Jaw Pain and 128-slice CT Angio

[ak1979]

My father aged 66 years recently complained of jaw pain and went on to show a dentist who immediately asked him to get himself referred to a neurologist. The pain did not subside and we admitted him to the local hospital. All his tests were normal but there was a change in ECG during brisk walk. The doctors immediately referred him for catheter angiography. Instead we took him back home on medication and got a 128-slice CT Angio done. Attaching the results and report. Please suggest what should be done next and what precautions need to be taken?

[ed34]

I have messaged you my email address if you want to email the images to me. Well, one will do for the left side of the heart.

[ak1979]

I have got a CD in DICOM format. All the images like the one you have shown can be seen but the size is too big to post here.

[ed34]

If it's the 3 images in your profile, then you still can't see the detail on them, A catheter angiogram produces the image from inside the arteries, clearly showing the lumen. A blockage is very easy to spot, along with the location. You can see an angiogram example in my profile.

[ak1979]

I was unable to post more snaps in this post

So just have a look at my album "ct angio" in my profile.

Thanks,
AK

[ed34]

Just to add. Some people don't realise this but jaw ache is a common form of angina. It's a symptom often mistaken for sinus or tooth issues. Throat discomfort is another symptom often mistaken for heart burn. Not everyone gets the same symptoms. Some people feel a pain down one arm, or perhaps in their back. This is why there are so many misdiagnosis. For over a year my general Doctor had me on heart burn medications. I then got fed up and demanded to see an expert, so I was referred to a gastroenterologist. Within minutes he became very angry and said I need to get to a cardiologist. That appointment was 2 days after I had a serious heart attack. So it's very difficult to go by symptoms alone.

[ed34]

Personally I wouldn't have gone against the catheter angiography. This report is useless, it's nothing more than a calcium score. It doesn't say WHERE in the LAD the blockages are, and how big they are. You are basically back to square one again except you know he has bad disease in the LAD, a VERY important vessel. If it was me, I would ask for a catheter based angiogram, unless there are some images that went with this report giving all the missing details. I wouldn't go by symptoms alone either, many people have heart attacks, feel nothing, then years later they discover patches of dead heart muscle. He should definitely have been put on aspirin by his Doctor, a statin ideally, and if necessary, blood pressure medication and beta blockers.