myocardial ischemia?

[artskip]

I was looking at a stress test I had, to see if it had an EF number, and I read this "There are ST changes in the anterolateral and inferior leads consistent with myocardial ischemia" The test was takien awhile ago and many Dr's have seen these results and never said anything to me. It's kind of technical so I just wondering if anyone knows what myocardial ischenia is?

[artskip]

The EP I saw said that PVC's are painless, and didn't know why I was feeling pain. He said it is probably the way I was precieving the pain. All I know is that sometimes they hurt.

[sueinns]

That's good news that he's following up with tests that will give you some definitive answers.  I hope that you are feeling better. Please keep us informed of the outcome.  

I had assumed that all PVC's were painless until I started reading on this forum that it isn't always the case. I would love to know why some people get this symptom and others don't.

[artskip]

Thanks to all, I went to my Dr this morning . He felt it was a good idea to get a 24 halter and a new stress echo. He also said not to worry about the old report till we see what the new one says.

[erijon]

Give your cardiologist the benefit of a doubt. If he did not tell you he must have had a reason, they just don't miss this kind of thing. As I said, there may have been other findings that make him doubt the accuracy of the dx of ischemia, I would start with him first, you could probably get an answer over the phone, but I would follow up to be safe.

Hope it works out for you,

Jon

[artskip]

It's really strange, because when my PVC symptoms changed, the main problem was that I was having so much pain with them, especially on excertion. I've had PVC's for years, but the pain started after a very painful tachacardia. The tachacardia resulted from a situation I found myself in. I was facing a sudden, life or death situation. I asked could I have had a heart attack and they said no.
I have an appointment on Monday to see my family Dr. Maybe it's time to change cardiologists.

[sueinns]

Agree with erijon - a medical followup is warranted.  Myocardial ischemia is a constriction of the arteries which causes a reduced blood supply to the heart.  It is usually caused by atherosclerosis (coronary artery disease).  Do you have a history of high cholesterol, hypertension or family history of heart disease?  Have you ever had angina? (chest pain on exertion).  

I don't want to alarm you - it is treatable with drugs and/or lifestyle changes.  It is odd your doctors have never mentioned this to you.  Hopefully this means they weren't concerned for the reasons erijon pointed out.

[erijon]

Myocardial Ischemia is an area of your heart that is not getting enough blood when under stress. This is a significant finding and I can't imagine that a doctor would not mention it to you unless there were questions in his mind about the accuracy of the reading or if the changes were within normal limits. There may have been other findings that disputed the accuracy of the ST changes, in addition in most cases you would feel pain or discomfort or have a reduced tolerence to exercise if this were the case.

I would still follow up with my doctor for an explaination.

Good Luck!

Jon