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Cardiology question for anybody knowledgeable
Posted on 2/15/19 at 5:48 pm
Posted on 2/15/19 at 5:48 pm
SO had been having some abdominal issues so went to her PC. They did an ultrasound and abdomen was fine but found a heart abnormality...something to do with a valve. Followup scheduled with a cardiologist next week. She has been having problems with rapid heartbeat and fatigue, which we had been attributing to depression, which she is also under long term treatment for. She is in early fifties, not overweight, in fact a little underweight. She walks, does yoga and pilates. Her father also suffered from heart arrythmias. Understandably she is pretty freaked out, as am I a little.
Any input would be appreciated. The doctor didn't have any instructions except maybe take it easy with strenuous walking.
Any input would be appreciated. The doctor didn't have any instructions except maybe take it easy with strenuous walking.
3
Posted on 2/15/19 at 5:59 pm to Jim Rockford
What’s the actual question? They mention she may need a valve replaced? Anything about A-fib they mention?
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:02 pm to windshieldman
nothing yet. Internist basically handed her off to the cardiologist. I'm getting this secondhand. I guess I'm asking how worried should we be.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:13 pm to Jim Rockford
I’m only a medic not a doctor so hopefully one will chime in. My FIL had a valve replaced a couple years ago and he is doing well. The surgery wasn’t bad on him. She may have A-fib and many times that can be treated with medication and not surgery. There’s a lot of variables though
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:22 pm to windshieldman
Thanks. It was a surprise. Go in worried about one thing and come out worried about something else entirely.
Posted on 2/15/19 at 6:26 pm to Jim Rockford
quote:
Thanks. It was a surprise. Go in worried about one thing and come out worried about something else entirely.
That’s the way it works with us all getting older
My FIL went to ER via me on ambulance with bad abdominal pain, next thing you know they meet with cardiologist and are scheduling a valve replacement. He’d been having dizzy spells also
Posted on 2/15/19 at 9:11 pm to Jim Rockford
Really need to see what the EKG interpretation is but just hope it isn't anything too serious. But, if he is referring it to a cardiologist, he must've seen some abnormal rhythm reading on the EKG or lab values. Tell her to not overexert herself and try to relax. Hope all goes well with the cardiologist!
Posted on 2/15/19 at 9:24 pm to PropofolPapi
EKG was normal but saw something unusual on the echo. She also has a very low pulse rate. It was 50 today. Although occasionally it is quite rapid.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 7:30 am to Jim Rockford
Mitral valve problems fairly common in women,most do not require intervention.Fast heart rate with normal EKG may be anxiety.Try to relax-both of you.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 7:51 am to LSUA 75
I’m confused as to how they saw her heart doing an abdominal US that would lead them to be concerned about a cardiac issue. Sometimes if a valve leaks too much or is too stenotic it can lead to arrhythmias but I doubt that’s the case here unless they mentioned a murmur. Possibly just some sort of little arrhythmia picked up on EKG that’s more than likely not a big deal but further testing will give y’all some clarity. If she does not have any significant symptoms ( SOB, decrease in exercise tolerance, rapid HR, CP), the likelihood of something significant is pretty low, although not impossible. Hope everything turns out ok.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 7:54 am to jdaute2
So they did an echo? Did a cardiologist review the echo or her PCP?
Posted on 2/16/19 at 9:33 am to jdaute2
quote:
I’m confused as to how they saw her heart doing an abdominal US
You don't have to see the heart to know something is wrong with it.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 10:06 am to jdaute2
PCP reviewed the echo. Will be reviewed by a cardiologist. I dont know what they saw that made them want to do an echo. She has had fatigue and shortness of breath, which we had been putting down to depression/anxiety. OTOH she walks at a fast pace for 60-90 minutes at a time several days a week and does other strenuous exercise.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 9:42 pm to Jim Rockford
A PCP reviewing an echo is not really within their scope of practice unless they’ve trained in cardiac ultrasound. I do echo and vascular ultrasounds for a living and we get referrals for all sorts of crazy shite from PCPs like murmurs or mitral prolapse and the echo we do is essentially completely normal. Not saying there’s nothing wrong with your SO, and the symptoms she’s having definitely need to be addressed, maybe that’s why they referred you to a cardiologist. A PCP shouldn’t be reviewing cardiac ultrasounds and unless there was some extremely obvious abnormality, they wouldn’t really be able to interpret much of the scan. From my experience at least.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 9:50 pm to MrSpock
quote:
You don't have to see the heart to know something is wrong with it.
No shite. The way it was worded led me to believe they saw the heart doing an abdominal US which was confusing. Come to find out they did an echo as well and he mentioned maybe a valve issue but it appears they were very vague in explaining what they were possibly concerned with. Strange there was no mention of EKG or anything. You will most certainly need to see a heart valve to know exactly what’s wrong with it eventually.
Posted on 2/16/19 at 10:09 pm to jdaute2
I dont know what prompted the echo. Two things mentioned were thickness of the heart wall and something about a valve. Anyway, we'll see. She's not in any distress, she just has a very slow pulse (except occasionally when it is fast) and some vague symptoms once in a while that could be attributed to a lot of things.
Posted on 2/17/19 at 9:40 am to Jim Rockford
Gotcha. Evaluating thickness of the heart walls is somewhat subjective and Can be overestimated. I wouldn’t be overly concerned with that unless your SO has been passing out or coming close to it. Hope it’s not anything too serious and can be treated easily.
Posted on 2/28/19 at 11:40 am to jdaute2
So she saw her cardiologist. Bloodwork was fine except for vitamin D deficiency. BP normal. ECG was unconcerning. Dr heard an arrhythmia on examination and wanted to do a 7 day test, which started today. She wears a patch with a chip in it. While calibrating the equipment, the tech said her pulse ranged from the thirties to the sixties.
Maybe relevant or not: her father had a lifelong arrhythmia and needed a medical waiver to serve in the military. He also had Afib and a pacemaker later in life.
Maybe relevant or not: her father had a lifelong arrhythmia and needed a medical waiver to serve in the military. He also had Afib and a pacemaker later in life.
Posted on 3/1/19 at 6:17 am to jdaute2
The same way you can see someone’s liver looking at at heart subcoastally.
Posted on 3/25/19 at 1:17 pm to Jim Rockford
Had a 7 day heart monitor. Today was the followup. Dr is concerned about her irregular heartbeat. It is normal for a while followed by some irregular beats. Does not have a working diagnosis. Wants to do a nuclear stress test. Is this a normal course of action? Do we need to be worried?
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