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My Carotid Ultrasound Results have me concerned but my Cardio Dr. said it came back good...why???

I had 2 tests last week which I took it upon myself to see my primary care dr. to get a referral to a cardio dr. due to my severe chest pains with pain under my jawbone with it for 2 years now and it had got worse. I got an appt. with a cardio dr. the very next day after I called to make an appt. Which surprised me as I hear it takes a while to get into see a good cardio dr.
anyhow, I went in and I explained that I have had these bad chest pains for a long time now and they are getting more frequent and it always either ends up starting under the R side of my jawbone and also travels to the R side of my ear. The Dr. looked at me like I was retarded and said they thought it was nothing and I said i am 44 and heart deseise runs rampid in my family and I told her that I had a few EKG's and it showed nothing but I have read that a blockage has to be so much of a percentage before it can be seen and I have kids and I want to be safer than sorry. She looked at me like I was a pain in neck but she also had a record from a heart stress test I had done 2 yrs. prior which showed that I had several (PAC's or PVC's not sure which one it was) during that test. If it weren't for me speaking up nothing would have come out of this appt. I suggested she did some tests to find out what the heck is going on with me as nobody gets these chest pains and pain under my jawbone for no reason. I asked for a 64 slice CT scan but she said my ins. wont pay for it so I cant get one of them. She wanted to redo the stress test and I said NO I want to find out what is going on under my jawbone causing these severe crushing chest pains. So she ordered 2 tests. One was a CT scan w/contrast of my soft tissue in the front of my neck. The 2nd test was a Doppler ultrasound of my carotid's.
I went in the next day to medical records as I had a bad feeling of this Dr. and I had my results and read them. I almost fell of the floor when I read it:
The CT scan sounded Ok but it did say that abnormal soft tissue mass or focal abnormality was seen and bilateral small sub 1 cm lymphadenopathy is seen predominately in the upper cervical area and lower occipital area plus it said there was a moderate amount of these on both sides but it appeared nonspecific in nature even though there was a moderate amount of these.
The next tese result was the ultrasound of the carotid which the impression stated directly: I am somewhat concerned about the findings. The color flow pattern shows suggestion of plaque and the peak systolic flow on the left side suggests a 50-69% stenosis yet there is laminar flow. It also said that the left carotid bifurcation between the wall of the artery and appearance of color flow is a  significant space and they wonder if it could represent anechoic plaque formation and it says the peak flow in the let caratiod artery is 133 cm per second and the right side is 104cm per second. In the impression it alos suggests they do a MRA of the carotids to evaluate more specifically.
Now these are the exact finding of 2 tests so I called the cardio dr. office as I was nervous about results and when she called me back she told me the tests all came back fine and that everything is normal. I was like "what"...I said I have the results right in front of me and it does not say it is fine. She then said to me I am too young to have a heart condition and she thought I was overreacting. I told her look I have children and it runs in my family and I am telling you if something happens to me I will tell my oldest child that you said my tests came back fine and I have nothing wrong with me and if my kids are ever left w/o a mother due to wrong diagnosis that it will be on my dr. not listening to me. I said I get chest pain for some reason and I want an answer as to why it is happening. So the dr. said i am going to refer you to a vascular dr. and gave me a # to call and make an appt, I would really like some help and opinions here from all of you. Thanks so much
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Avatar universal
I can understand your concern and frustration, but I think you need to repost you question with just the facts and less feelings. I am NOT a Dr, but if I were I would NOT reply to your post because you sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen.      I think if you repost some of the doctors might be more willing to help you.  Good luck with everything.  I hope we all live long enough to watch our children grow old.
Helpful - 0
187666 tn?1331173345
I understand you want some answers ASAP but if we haven't had your experience it's going to be hard to comment. From what I've been reading for the past couple of months most people here tend to have arrhythmias. Your situation is more unique. I'm glad you're going for another opinion from a doctor more qualified/specialized.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I posted this the other day and  got 2 replies and that was very nice but I would love to see more replies and possibly from people who might have dealt with the same type of symptoms or diagnosis so I can know what I should do about this and how serious I should take these results. Thank You.... Look Below for my Question:

I had 2 tests last week which I took it upon myself to see my primary care dr. to get a referral to a cardio dr. due to my severe chest pains with pain under my jawbone with it for 2 years now and it had got worse. I got an appt. with a cardio dr. the very next day after I called to make an appt. Which surprised me as I hear it takes a while to get into see a good cardio dr.
anyhow, I went in and I explained that I have had these bad chest pains for a long time now and they are getting more frequent and it always either ends up starting under the R side of my jawbone and also travels to the R side of my ear. The Dr. looked at me like I was retarded and said they thought it was nothing and I said i am 44 and heart deseise runs rampid in my family and I told her that I had a few EKG's and it showed nothing but I have read that a blockage has to be so much of a percentage before it can be seen and I have kids and I want to be safer than sorry. She looked at me like I was a pain in neck but she also had a record from a heart stress test I had done 2 yrs. prior which showed that I had several (PAC's or PVC's not sure which one it was) during that test. If it weren't for me speaking up nothing would have come out of this appt. I suggested she did some tests to find out what the heck is going on with me as nobody gets these chest pains and pain under my jawbone for no reason. I asked for a 64 slice CT scan but she said my ins. wont pay for it so I cant get one of them. She wanted to redo the stress test and I said NO I want to find out what is going on under my jawbone causing these severe crushing chest pains. So she ordered 2 tests. One was a CT scan w/contrast of my soft tissue in the front of my neck. The 2nd test was a Doppler ultrasound of my carotid's.
I went in the next day to medical records as I had a bad feeling of this Dr. and I had my results and read them. I almost fell of the floor when I read it:
The CT scan sounded Ok but it did say that abnormal soft tissue mass or focal abnormality was seen and bilateral small sub 1 cm lymphadenopathy is seen predominately in the upper cervical area and lower occipital area plus it said there was a moderate amount of these on both sides but it appeared nonspecific in nature even though there was a moderate amount of these.
The next tese result was the ultrasound of the carotid which the impression stated directly: I am somewhat concerned about the findings. The color flow pattern shows suggestion of plaque and the peak systolic flow on the left side suggests a 50-69% stenosis yet there is laminar flow. It also said that the left carotid bifurcation between the wall of the artery and appearance of color flow is a significant space and they wonder if it could represent anechoic plaque formation and it says the peak flow in the let caratiod artery is 133 cm per second and the right side is 104cm per second. In the impression it alos suggests they do a MRA of the carotids to evaluate more specifically.
Now these are the exact finding of 2 tests so I called the cardio dr. office as I was nervous about results and when she called me back she told me the tests all came back fine and that everything is normal. I was like "what"...I said I have the results right in front of me and it does not say it is fine. She then said to me I am too young to have a heart condition and she thought I was overreacting. I told her look I have children and it runs in my family and I am telling you if something happens to me I will tell my oldest child that you said my tests came back fine and I have nothing wrong with me and if my kids are ever left w/o a mother due to wrong diagnosis that it will be on my dr. not listening to me. I said I get chest pain for some reason and I want an answer as to why it is happening. So the dr. said i am going to refer you to a vascular dr. and gave me a # to call and make an appt, I would really like some help and opinions here from all of you. Thanks so much
Helpful - 0
61536 tn?1340698163
Admittedly your post was longer than I could read.  However, I did catch two things; your doctor doesn't seem to be listening to and/or addressing your concerns and your insurance company sucks.

My insurance company refused to pay for a repeat ultrasound after I was diagnosed with placenta previa.  That can cause a fatal hemorrage if not followed.  My son was also breech, common with placenta previa.  But yeah, the follow up ultrasound was unnecessary.

Not that pregnancy and your issue are the same, but it just highlights how stupid insurance companies can be in both cases.  Tests can be expensive, but the ramifications of NOT testing tend to be much more costly.  You have a family history.  That warrants some investigation.

If your doctor doesn't listen, fire him.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
It is really unfortunate that there are drs. out there like this. Without US they wouldn't even have a profession yet some of them treat us with such unprofessionalism that it is a wonder they are even in business! you are right, follow your gut. I work in a hospital and see young people all the time with heart problems and I know that we have all known or heard of someone younger than 50 that have had a heart attack. first of all, don't let this worry you to the point that you will suffer great anxiety and make the symptoms worse. YOU have to take control of YOUR health. Many drs just want to reassure you and passify you and send you on your way and collect the money. Please don't feel stupid or think that you are bothering anyone. even if you are bothering the dr. , WHO CARES! If you don't push for these things, you will always wonder "what if". you do what you think is best and it will go a long way to help you, if nothing else than to reassure you with solid test results. In the end, YOU know what's best for you more than anyone else. Doctors only know so much and they get too comfortable in statistics and norms. good luck to you and please keep us posted.
Helpful - 0
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