Aa
TIAs casued by underlying heart problems
This year I have had two TIAs but no such diagnosis. Most recently,I was unable to open my right eye, and kept driving off the road onnto the right side of the street; in Feruary, I was unable to raise my right arm; both of these lasted a short time, but I have had about 4 other similar episodes. I just got out of the hospital and my tests were all negative. My father had heart disease and repeated TIas that eventually caused dementia, but never had a stroke. I was wondering if I might have a heart problem that is causing th TIAS an wht types of heart conditions might cause tiaws? Is this within the expertise of a neurologist or a cardiologist or some other specialty? These TIAS really scare me, and no one believes I am having them. I have also experienced blackouts from momentry ones to much longer ones and have periods of time I cannot acount for.
I'm a 59 year old male. I have suffered from acute hypertension most of my adult life. Over the last 10 years my Spinal Stenosis has worsen into other vertebrae, especially my lower back L5-S! I'm a high school teacher, talk about a stressful job. In Jan 2009, I had a series of TIA's after a barrage
of MRIs a. I was given an all clear. I was told I was a border line diabetic(runs in my family along cardiovascular disease, which has been diagnosed).
Some people deal with stress better than others but me and stress don't get along. I'll try to compress what I have to say because
I'd be writing for an hour. Specialist only address their area of expertise and other issues can be overlooked, I've haven't been the same since my series of TIAs. I've been very sedintary, to keep my back from starting to hurting, I'm 25 pounds over weight, which adds to the problems and I'm tired all the time. I'm not as mentally sharp as I was before the TIAs. Today
I'm having a Myleogram MRI with contrast dye, to give a better idea what nerves are being affected in my lower back. I imagine surgery will be next. I'm divorced and the only Health Insurance is COBRA from my last school district I worked for, after my contract was not renewed(missed 40 days out of the school year). I've had Orthopedist tell me that Neurologist and Orthopedist, still don't fully understand TIAs, when they come back all clear.
I'm probably pretty much done teaching high school, due to my back problems. My life revolves around me catering to my back problems,I've been on Vicodins for the last year and a half. Standing or walking for much more than 30 minutes sets my back to start hurting. Next, after back surgery will be going to a new Cardiologist. I have to go through all this to get a disabilty retirement from my teacher's retirement pension and that isn't a for sure outcome. Best of luck
.
John
ave very bad family history of
of MRIs a. I was given an all clear. I was told I was a border line diabetic(runs in my family along cardiovascular disease, which has been diagnosed).
Some people deal with stress better than others but me and stress don't get along. I'll try to compress what I have to say because
I'd be writing for an hour. Specialist only address their area of expertise and other issues can be overlooked, I've haven't been the same since my series of TIAs. I've been very sedintary, to keep my back from starting to hurting, I'm 25 pounds over weight, which adds to the problems and I'm tired all the time. I'm not as mentally sharp as I was before the TIAs. Today
I'm having a Myleogram MRI with contrast dye, to give a better idea what nerves are being affected in my lower back. I imagine surgery will be next. I'm divorced and the only Health Insurance is COBRA from my last school district I worked for, after my contract was not renewed(missed 40 days out of the school year). I've had Orthopedist tell me that Neurologist and Orthopedist, still don't fully understand TIAs, when they come back all clear.
I'm probably pretty much done teaching high school, due to my back problems. My life revolves around me catering to my back problems,I've been on Vicodins for the last year and a half. Standing or walking for much more than 30 minutes sets my back to start hurting. Next, after back surgery will be going to a new Cardiologist. I have to go through all this to get a disabilty retirement from my teacher's retirement pension and that isn't a for sure outcome. Best of luck
.
John
ave very bad family history of
Aloha,
hoping since last year you have gotten closer to a diagnosis on your issues but thinking this info may be of help:
I am a 44 year old female with 2 children a husband and a full time restaurant upper management position. A year ago exactly I experienced a TIA. I originally ignored all the symptoms thinking they were the effects of a medicinal reaction.
Symptoms were:
Stuttering and slurred speech, it was very difficult for me to push my words out even though I knew exactly what I wanted to say.
Numbness on the right side of my body from my arm to my toes.
Unable to write ( I am right handed) at the end of my work day, like my speech, it felt as if I lost all control of my gross motor skill function and all that would come out of my writing attempt were ink blobs.
I experienced these symptoms for 5 days before going to the ER. My family forced me to do so.
I had a CT scan, no evidence of any problem. Doctors chalked it up to stress and the sleep meds I was on. My husband insisted they run an MRI (his sister was an ER nurse and gave us this advice, she knew that the ER would be inclined to brush off a patient like me because I was an incredibly low risk candidate for a potential stroke). After speaking with the ER physician, he determined it wise for us to go ahead with the MRI just to be sure. Sure enough that is where they spotted the evidence of a TIA. They admitted me immediately for further testing so they could determine why I had a stroke to begin with. Someone my age and physical type just should not have had one. One thing to note I am a high stress individual. Have always thrived off of it and considered it a good thing to have in my life. During the time preceding my stroke, I was experiencing the highest stress level of my entire life. Basically trying to fufull the job responsibilities of two jobs- an acting general manager as well as my usual title as assistant general manager for a very high volume facility.
After 3 days and a series of more MRIs, an Echocardiogram and meeting with a fantastic Neurologist, a Pulmonary Specialist and a Cardiologist, they found in my chest a few things called Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations. Although we will never know exactly what caused my stroke, the likely suspects were these PAVMs and their continued presence presented a high risk for another event. After 4 different Angio procedures and many tiny plugs inserted into my veins later, the risk factor was reduced by half. Which is much better but still not a definitive solution.
It has been a rough year, missed work a total of about 3 months of work out of the year. When I was at work, I had been in and out of the ER every 30 days for about 5 months thinking I was having another stroke.
Finally I was paired up with a Neuropsychologist who helped me get through the other side of this entire phase of my life so that I could psychologically come to terms with all that had happened to me. Without her I would probably still be struggling. I have been back to work not for 4 months and hospital free for 5 months.
I return to my pulmonary specialist in two weeks for my annual review and testing to make sure there has been no further AVM growth.
In the meantime, my entire perspective on life has changed incredibly. I passed on an opportunity to take a bigger position and am staying in my current one. My work stays at work, my family is the center of my like. I take it one day at a time and only worry about what is reasonably within my control. The rest of it I push aside.
PAVMs are not commonplace in terms of diagnosis and are in most cases only identified after an individual has passed and they find them in autopsy. They can be hereditary but sometimes not. Stroke can be a common mate for this malformation and from my experience, is best detected by CT scan and Echocardiogram testing.
Hope this is helpful to anyone reading.
hoping since last year you have gotten closer to a diagnosis on your issues but thinking this info may be of help:
I am a 44 year old female with 2 children a husband and a full time restaurant upper management position. A year ago exactly I experienced a TIA. I originally ignored all the symptoms thinking they were the effects of a medicinal reaction.
Symptoms were:
Stuttering and slurred speech, it was very difficult for me to push my words out even though I knew exactly what I wanted to say.
Numbness on the right side of my body from my arm to my toes.
Unable to write ( I am right handed) at the end of my work day, like my speech, it felt as if I lost all control of my gross motor skill function and all that would come out of my writing attempt were ink blobs.
I experienced these symptoms for 5 days before going to the ER. My family forced me to do so.
I had a CT scan, no evidence of any problem. Doctors chalked it up to stress and the sleep meds I was on. My husband insisted they run an MRI (his sister was an ER nurse and gave us this advice, she knew that the ER would be inclined to brush off a patient like me because I was an incredibly low risk candidate for a potential stroke). After speaking with the ER physician, he determined it wise for us to go ahead with the MRI just to be sure. Sure enough that is where they spotted the evidence of a TIA. They admitted me immediately for further testing so they could determine why I had a stroke to begin with. Someone my age and physical type just should not have had one. One thing to note I am a high stress individual. Have always thrived off of it and considered it a good thing to have in my life. During the time preceding my stroke, I was experiencing the highest stress level of my entire life. Basically trying to fufull the job responsibilities of two jobs- an acting general manager as well as my usual title as assistant general manager for a very high volume facility.
After 3 days and a series of more MRIs, an Echocardiogram and meeting with a fantastic Neurologist, a Pulmonary Specialist and a Cardiologist, they found in my chest a few things called Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations. Although we will never know exactly what caused my stroke, the likely suspects were these PAVMs and their continued presence presented a high risk for another event. After 4 different Angio procedures and many tiny plugs inserted into my veins later, the risk factor was reduced by half. Which is much better but still not a definitive solution.
It has been a rough year, missed work a total of about 3 months of work out of the year. When I was at work, I had been in and out of the ER every 30 days for about 5 months thinking I was having another stroke.
Finally I was paired up with a Neuropsychologist who helped me get through the other side of this entire phase of my life so that I could psychologically come to terms with all that had happened to me. Without her I would probably still be struggling. I have been back to work not for 4 months and hospital free for 5 months.
I return to my pulmonary specialist in two weeks for my annual review and testing to make sure there has been no further AVM growth.
In the meantime, my entire perspective on life has changed incredibly. I passed on an opportunity to take a bigger position and am staying in my current one. My work stays at work, my family is the center of my like. I take it one day at a time and only worry about what is reasonably within my control. The rest of it I push aside.
PAVMs are not commonplace in terms of diagnosis and are in most cases only identified after an individual has passed and they find them in autopsy. They can be hereditary but sometimes not. Stroke can be a common mate for this malformation and from my experience, is best detected by CT scan and Echocardiogram testing.
Hope this is helpful to anyone reading.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Community
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.
