Prayer request - possible heart attack...

Holly, I am so sorry to hear of your trouble. I hope that it was one lone incident and nothing to be worried about! Good luck with all of the tests and Dr.'s. I hope that it goes well and that you feel better soon!

Mary Anne

I have heard of the thallium stress test, but for me, they did a sonogram, then the treadmill (fast! uphill! I am so out of shape) for 6 minutes, til I got to 150, then immediately another sonogram. I was breathing hard before we ever got really underway, then she said 'now we are going to speed it up...' !

It was really hurting my back, but I knew I had to do it if I possibly could... he said my heart itself looks pretty good, but since "something" had obviously occurred, he wants to look at all my arteries, kidneys, and everywhere with the CT scan (I am assuming that will be "with contrast")

I figured I better not take a triptan, nor any cold meds, etc. until I know more. I have been waking up with a headache lately....

It's quite a bee-otch to get old, huh? I enter my golden years on Jan 15 :-)

And on top of all the other crap, my dil lost my Medicaid card when she signed me into the hosp. so I am going to have to try and get a new one asap...

Thanks to everybody---
Blessings,
Holly

Praying for you Holly. The sooner they tell you what's going on with you and build a plan to improve your situation, the better.

Chris

Holly,

What they did was called a stress-echocardiogram. I've had it before. It's main job is to check how the valves are working under stress, and does look at perfusion (how well the blood is flowing into the chambers). It doesn't give a lot of information about blockages in the arteries though.

I can verify, it is a very, very uncomfortable test. Getting good readings after treadmill exercise is one of the negatives of doing a stress-echo.

The CT should be with and without contrast. Take care and be careful.

-mgb

<3
Thinking about and praying for you dear Holly. We love you

holly, any update?

post when you're up to it. hope you're ok.

-mgb

Report from CT scan:

I have 20-30% blockage in two arteries, the left main one, and a branch artery.
The cardiologist will not do a corrective procedure until the blockage is 70%.

The scan also showed a spot on my lung, a non-calcified nodule. These are usually benign, but he will check it again in 6 months. I am not happy about the word "usually", and there was no mention of the size of it...

For prevention, he wants to get my cholesterol and blood pressure under better control. When I go see him on the 20th, he wants me to bring my latest blood tests from my gp with the cholesterol numbers.

This is all I know for now, until I see the cardiologist on the 20th. I have felt so depressed since they called with this... I don't understand it, I eat well, and exercise as much as my back will allow... I think it is a familial thing, since all my dad's brothers and father had bad hearts... But that Nodule Thing is freaking me out.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers----
love to all,
Holly

Dear Holly...my heart sank when I read this..I will continue to lift you up in prayer..Can I do anything for you? Please let me know.

You are so kind and thoughtful and we all adore and love you

Blessings,
greeneyes

holly,

that's good to hear--i hope they can come up with some information abou the spot.

the CT scan can give some good data. 20-30% blockages (not even worth being called blockages, since it's not impeding blood flow) isn't anything to worry about--it's pretty normal and everyone has some plaque build up.

the 70% is a general rule of thumb. for some people, blockages as low as 50% may hinder them. these gets into really complex individual scenarios, so I wouldn't get to fired up.

i hope your doc does a good review. risk factors and hypertension are the biggest things to control.

thanks for the update and best of luck!

Holly, I'm sure if they were concerned about the nodule in the lung, they would have given you another test sooner.

Good luck with all the tests, glad they are checking everything.

I'm still waiting to see a Cardiologist myself, could be months yet though.

Take care.

Hi Holly,
I am sorry to hear that you're going through all this. Must be frightening and worrying.
BP an cholesterol can be easily kept under control, it just takes to check them regularly and be careful with food and stress.
As for the lump, I agree with Ruth: if doctors think that there's a real risk, they'd immediately do a biopsy or a more detailed pet scan.

Holly, I just logged on today after a long absence. I am sorry you are having these new problems, but I wanted to tell you that my husband had a lung nodule discovered on a heart scan, like you did. They repeated a lung scan every 6 months for awhile, and it never grew. They decided that it was an old scar from a childhood bout of pneumonia. Apparently they are not all that uncommon.

I am glad that there was no evidence of a heart attack. Take care of yourself.

Norma

Hi Holly. I'm so sorry to hear what you've been going through, what a worrying time for you.

Good luck and I hope that things start improving for you soon.

Liz

So sorry to her about your health troubles.

How are you now???
Are you feeling better and is everything under control?

Please rest and take it easy. Heart troubles are not to be trifled with.

Bear hug!

P.

Thinking of you dear Holly..We love you

Thank you all so much... you guys are just wonderful.
I am still in "waiting mode" until the 20th. My main problem has been that I have been DIZZY just about constantly since I had the heart thing on the 23rd of Dec. and it is really getting old. The worst part is that I am afraid to drive. If I can't drive, I will be miserable, and a pain in the neck to my kids...

Thanks for the information about the nodule - I made the mistake of googling it, and got everything from "nothing at all" to "it was CANCER!" I am trying to leave it in God's hands, but I will ask the cardiologist for more details when I see him.

Been having some headaches, and now I am afraid to take triptans, but so far, I have been able to sleep them off...

I hope you all are doing well, and staying warm. It is 10 degrees here today (in Arkansas!)
Love,
Holly

holly,

didn't they put you on a blood pressure meds, or any new meds. if so, please list them.

bp meds can make you dizzy. have you checked your pulse and bp by chance when you're feeling dizzy?

I had been taking 240 mgs. Verapamil ER at night. They didn't change that, but I hope he will on the 20th. He told me to go buy a bp monitor (a good one, cost me $60!) and check my bp morning and evening for two weeks. I did that, and it shows it low in the morning and getting high by evening. Which makes me think that the Verapamil isn't getting all the way through the day.

I thought about checking it when I felt dizzy, but I have been dizzy most of the time. Not horribly dizzy, not "room whirling around" but just mildly dizzy - it's very annoying, and I hope and pray it will not be permanent...

Holly

Praying for yoiu..Holly..You are on my heart today..worried about your dizzy feeling..

Love you and Blessings to you
greeneyes

I'm sorry you are struggling with this, Holly.

You may find this site helpful:

http://dizzy-doctor.com/index.html

Cheryl