In Feb 2005 I experienced some mild chest pain and went to the ER to be safe. My doctor at the ER determined that my heart was fine but wanted me to stay overnight for an echo, thallium stress test and to watch my troponen levels, plus he was annoyed with me (justifyably so) for not knowing my cholesterol, blood sugar ect especially since I was a 47 year old, 300 lb male and wanted to do a full blood panel. All those tests were normal and I was given treatment for reflux and felt better. I also was later dx with RA and that was also causing pain in my rib cage, like costochondritis. Well this was a wake up call, I changed my diet and started exercising and have dropped to 245 lbs (6'1"), still a ways to go. I do 45 -60 mins a day on a treadmill with issues or symptoms, have normal HR and BP response to exercise and feel pretty good. As I still had occassional pain in the chest, even though my family doctor, Rheumatolgist and Cardiologist all felt it's from the RA and Reflux, I have repeated the same test the past two years all have been totally normal. This year when I went into my cardiologist to go over the results in September 07, she said everything was normal again and that she did not feel I needed annual workups going forward and even that I did not have a need for a cardiologist, which I guess is good. She said to call if anything changed but beyond that my family doctor could manage my care. My question is how often should I repeat these tests?
About me, now 49 yrs old, do not smoke, no family history, controlled HP, TC of 151 HDL 40 & LDL of 51, tri's high at approx 300.
I appreciate your input, I just want to remain proactive.
Jon