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Update from new echo and input needed

Aortic Aneurysms | Last Active: Aug 29 10:52pm | Replies (14)

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@boxarrow

I think you should push harder or find another cardiologist. I fought for my husband who had an aortic aneurysm in the aortic root of 5.0 per echo and up to 5.5 per CT scan. He also had mild-mod regurgitation of his mitral valve and mod-severe regurgitation of his aortic valve. These tests were done on 7/24/24. I am an RN and when he got his results from the patient portal, I started blowing up the Drs office phone. They refused to see him until his scheduled appt on 8/23/24. I screamed and hollered and no one listened. Sent messages to Dr through patient portal. Nothing. No response from anyone until I requested his records to go to Houston Methodist Debakey Vascular Unit. Then the “valve clinic RN” called us and said “yes I see how many times you called. Yes I see how long it’s been. I will give your message to the Dr.” I told her right then that my husbands father had died from this exact same thing at 67 yo. My husband was 66 yo. I told her that I was living with a ticking time bomb and that he could blow his aorta at any moment and he needed to be seen NOW. She said, “we will let the Dr make that decision. Keep your appt for 8/23/24. If the Dr thinks it’s an emergency then he will tell us to get him in sooner”. That discussion was on 8/5/24. No phone call has ever been received to discuss his test results. My husband collapsed and died in our home at 8:00 on 8/10/24. I am extremely angry right now at our health system. It is BROKEN. I was the best patient advocate that I could have been for my husband and no one listened to me. I believe the cardiologist clinic office killed my husband by not doing the right thing. This was preventable and should have been handled differently. In hindsight, I should have taken my sweet husband to the ER and told them he was having chest pain. Be an advocate for yourself because the Drs and nurses where we went couldn’t care less about my husbands life. I was so strong with the office and nurses that my husband even told me, “don’t be so pushy. If the Dr thinks I need to be seen sooner, he will get me in.” He put so much faith in his Dr. I didn’t even cancel
his appt for 8/23/24. I thought they might call to check on him since his tests results were so critical. NOPE. Not a call from anyone except the autopsy that I had done on him. He dissected his aorta from his aortic root to his renal arteries. I pray he didn’t feel the pain from this.
I don’t know where you are receiving your healthcare but get to a large hospital and go to the ER with chest pain and tell them that you have an aortic aneurysm on last scan. Hopefully they will save your life.

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Replies to "I think you should push harder or find another cardiologist. I fought for my husband who..."

Thank you for your insights. I am sorry that you had such a great loss. It is never easy to lose someone you love like that. I will be proactive at my appointment tomorrow.

I don't know if this helps at all, but you've convinced me that I need to find a new cardiologist. Mine is similarly unresponsive.

I'm terribly, terribly for what you've been made to endure. If I were you, I'd be talking to a lawyer. You're right about our health care system. (I'm a retired professor and I'll say our educational system is messed up too. People who should know better and do better for some reason don't.) No one should have to go through what you and your sweet husband did. You did everything you could and more. It wasn't you who failed; it was the very people you relied on to help you. This makes me very angry. You have my most sincere condolences.

I can only imagine your rage and the helplessness you felt when they wouldn’t listen, AND the horror of his sudden and fatal collapse. Please know prayers for your peace of mind and the righting of the injustice visited upon you by your sweet husband’s “health providers” have been offered by me. I totally agree with the advice you gave of going to ER advising of aneurysm and saying chest pain… thank you for caring about the rest of us especially when your grief is so fresh♥️